[Written last night before the Tooth Fairy went to bed; published the next morning using newfangled computerized timer device.]
I won't make a habit of this. But it's largely Daily Kos's laudable liberal tolerance's fault that the real me gave up Facebook 459 days ago. It was this diary at Daily Kos, which I cross-posted on Facebook and have since "hidden," that compelled me to say goodbye to most of my "friends":
Three Questions for Uncle Francisco and the Living Scholars of Marx. In the comments at Daily Kos, a few kind and smart people dialogued with me about some lingering questions I had about Marx. By then I was already secretly a card-carrying "Democratic Socialist of America" anyway. And at Facebook, it was time to go.
I was tired of taking grief from all my old and new conservative "friends," and more importantly, I needed to find a way to be myself politically. Even the few liberal friends I had at Facebook had a hard time identifying with my professed politics, which from their vista were steadily moving to their left into an area where Democratic politics alone and Keynesian "stimulus plans" would not suffice. (Truth be told, I had been a variable shade of reddish pink in my closeted heart and mind for a quarter-century, but no one wanted to know--some things never change.)
At least here at Daily Kos the self-identified liberals are the overwhelmingly dominant group and feel in a strong enough position to tolerate "serious leftists" who also embrace democracy. So, along with linking to that Daily Kos diary, I simply said to my Facebook friends:
PUBLIC/POLITICAL POST: Friends not expected to comment (but always welcome to, although I won't be reading them for a long time):
From the ever-popular and socially-dominant Christian contemplative-activist left: Signing off facebook for a long time: Feel free to reach me at my email address: _______ or by phone or text message at _____.
Wherein, culminating a period of provocative deep democratic legacy writing, I synthesize my world view, channel my best Reinhold Niebuhr, and conclude that Uncle Francisco would be proud. Peace out ya'll.
That was my somewhat hedging GBCW Facebook post. Rather than fully burning my bridges, as I am wont to do, I simply dropped digitally out of sight, and, in the real world, where I cannot be my real self, I now smile and wave. But, over here in Daily Kos Tooth Fairy land, since then I have been going full political monty under cover of Galtisalie, hoping that my conservative Facebook "friends" will be too busy, drunk, or old to remember me or that I am
that dude--that dude who is now pseudonymously openly on the left side of the possible.
So when you, Daily Kos friends, say, "What the heck is Galtisalie doing posting a second-day-in-a-row Facebook-like post?," know that, virtually, you are all the friends I have these days. After this, I promise to go back to serious topics. But first, below the break, I will give you the follow-up to today's burning saga, A Scientific Approach to the Tooth Fairy.
$2.61 later, I am now in possession of a first molar. She was careful to brush it and rinse it in mouth wash so that the Tooth Fairy would find it appealing. She made sure by asking me, an authority, that the Tooth Fairy would take a tooth in a plastic bag, used to assure that fine fresh dead tooth cleanliness, and meticulously labeled by her for the most fastidious imaginary Tooth Taker.
After receipt of the plastic bag with the "extremely clean" tooth inside, I realized that I had shorted her 39 cents. By tomorrow morning, I will have put some more money under her pillow, fallen asleep and forgotten my mission, or decided that she needs to get used to disappointment and give up her dream of a new watch. After all, she had a perfectly good watch but left it at dance class, so somewhere out there a child, possibly in a tutu, is wearing her watch (to each according to her chronological needs).
Here is the tooth:
The Tooth Fairy had a nice day. The child listened for the first time to the first side of a great record, spun the old-fashioned way. She said "it's cool," something not usually associated with my actions these days. I explained that we would have dance parties with bottles of Sprite (no caffeinated beverages for us, no siree), and popcorn (her favorite) and have a great time playing records (which was true). (No need to talk about the meaning of some of the songs, much less mention the odd dilated pupil in attendance--not on the Tooth Fairy, no siree.)
She wanted to know why they stopped recording together, and I couldn't satisfy myself, but she seemed to be okay with whatever it was I said. She asked if any of them are still alive, and I said two, and that I miss the other two very much. She wanted to know if the two who are living still see each other and are friends, and I said I hope so.
The day ended with the child playing several hands of blackjack with me for pieces of green paper she insisted on using. She couldn't get over that "these cards stink," and I explained that was just a new card smell, which didn't make a lot of sense because it was a really old deck of cards, but she kept repeating "these cards stink" until I threatened not to play.
Then she read the secret agent Tooth Fairy the first half of
Arthur's Honey Bear. The Tooth Fairy had to finish the rest of the book because she was too tired to go on.
And now it's the Fairy's turn. Sweet dreams comrades. "You say you want a revolution." We'll save the
White Album for another tooth.
[Morning Update: The Tooth Fairy remembered to go back and supplement. She got a total of $3.03.]