Billboardology

Posted on April 1, 2008
Filed Under Fake Culture, Society |

A dusty haze marked the horizon as desert rolled by. It was easy to get lost out here reflecting in a deep stillness and disturbed only by rubber hissing against road like the soft echo of eternity. The car cruised at a steady 60mph as Thomas drummed his hand on the steering wheel - anticipation slowly replacing the awe he held of the desert…he was after all, nearly there.

He had been preparing for this for the last year, it was to be the final destination on a long journey. Now, he recounted the many steps he had needed to get this far; the hardest part by far had been leaving everyone behind. Even then he could no longer ignore the calling he felt deep within himself. He followed that calling, yet it hadn’t been easy by any stretch. And the financial cost! That bordered on astronomical. He knew now on a deep level, precisely why most people would not follow this path, yet Thomas had wanted this more than anything else.

The Community existed out in the desert, it was a small gathering of huts, caravans and trailers - ‘trailer trash’ some would say, but they were wrong. This was a community in and of itself - it represented freedom! Not the ‘patriotic’ perversion that word had come to represent in Thomas’ mind, but a freedom of intrinsic value…somewhere he could be himself. And so he had jacked in the accountant job he had held for 12 years, emptied his bank accounts - paid up his debts and simply left. But that had been the simple part. To be ‘free’ he needed to remove the shackles of his old life, and unfortunately that meant leaving family. Of course he couldn’t tell them where he was going - he couldn’t tell anyone. He hadn’t even taken his own car.

There wasn’t a shred to mark his passing.

The fake ID had been one of the most difficult things to obtain - after much fretting, he had eventually found certain channels via the Internet. It had cost a small fortune, but it was essential that the community thrive on anonymity. Anonymity was after all, an essential aspect of freedom.

Ahead now, in the sunny haze a rectangular object began to emerge. Thomas edged off the gas slowing the car as he approached the Sign. It was simplistic but - to his mind - full of beauty. A large wooden billboard plastered in red - large white letters stretched to each edge of the sign; “FREEDOM!”

He pulled off the road and into the hidden community. The first thing that struck him was the lack of parked cars, and so he wasn’t sure where to stop. Momentarily he pulled up underneath the billboard. The community was ‘poor’ by financial standards but - it was said - rich in vitality and life. The sun baked sand, caught a breeze sending dust skimming in tiny swirls as three people approached. Outside, Thomas was greeted with warm handshakes, ‘Welcome, welcome!’ greeted the oldest of the little troop. He possessed a large bristling white beard through which a gapped toothed smile peered. Thomas wondered how they knew he wasn’t just some random passer-by, as if hearing this thought the old guy said, ‘It’s always reassuring to know only those of The Community can see the Sign.’ Already Thomas was starting to feel welcome here - he could tell that these people were like him - a fact mutually recognized - they accepted him without any question.

The usual greetings passed between Thomas and the three Welcomers as they moved into The Community. A younger guy in his early twenties emptied Thomas’ luggage out of the car - what little of it there was. ‘We have a trailer ready for you Thomas, the guys will bring your luggage for you - we all help each other here.’ It was a statement of reason.

Hearing an engine start, Thomas turned see his car being driven away. He looked questioningly at the old man, was told ‘Cars discourage freedom, they make the world a smaller place. The smaller a place the more confined it becomes. We find that when reduced to walking, ones perspective of distance greatly changes. The idea of Freedom is eaten away when one starts considering where they may or may not run to. Without a car you cannot run.’ It was a total reversal of the sort of Logic Thomas was used to, but he had to admit it did make a form of sense. He didn’t consider who the driver was or where they may be going.

Part 2 is on its way…