Day 879: 5 Minute Freewrite: Tuesday - Prompt: half off

Rev. Obsidian and Mrs. Freedom Belle Stone were doing a lot that had to do with organizing the great memorial that was coming to its conclusion on Friday of that week, but they couldn't do everything and had sense enough to find talented people to handle the public relations side.

Let's just say that they and Harvey Harrison, the publisher of the Lofton County Free Voice, understood that people needed a place to call to get public comment in, correct information out to sincere people, and also to pick up quotes – good, bad, and indifferent – for the news organization!

Big Loft, VA was the county seat of Lofton County, and the city and county had been gravely hurt by the massive Ridgeline Fire that had consumed three of the seven neighborhoods where Big Loft met the foothills of the Blue Ridge.

The Ridgeline Fire had consumed 4,000 homes and 12,140 people.

But somehow, Big Loft had neglected to count 12,020 of those who just happened to be Black and Latino servants working in those 4,000 homes.

The elite of Lofton County in general – although there were notable exceptions – were among the least humane in Virginia, a state working in many ways to move past its racist history. But, the majority of the elite did not believe and would not support those 12,020 being counted – they had never counted and never would count, so far as they were concerned. They had led much of the White population astray with that thinking as well, so, much of the whole county was more backwards than it needed to be in 2019.

Nobody expected the 39 percent of the city and county that was Black and the three percent that was Latino to decide they weren't going to take it anymore.

Thus, the call center the organizers of the great memorial set up for public relations got a ton of calls – a lot from media around the country trying to catch up with what in the world was happening. But the local calls were about 50/50, half supportive, half angered, about it all.

Those who called in angry were treated to 400 years of pent-up clapbacks.

“When is this going to be over? Well, it's 2019 – give it about 100 years if y'all would cooperate, but, with your attitude, I'd think this date in 2419 would be about right.”

“No, we're not cutting any city official a break – we had to break the city to get it to do right, and you don't get applause for doing what you are supposed to do.”

“Look, friend, you apologized but then tried to justify the foolishness. Half-off repentance will not even get you half-off forgiveness – get off my line with that mess.”

“Good thing 50 percent of the county doesn't know exactly where they're calling,” Harvey Harrison said to George Jones, who had lent out his den to the purpose.