Lysol Baby in the Land of Crickets: A Historical Satire

By Tom Roberts Sr.

The Land of Crickets is a historical satire about a boy named Tommy that was born in 1932, on an Indian farm in Oklahoma. This story is told by his supernatural self which is a Lysol Baby

that woke up in “The Land of Lysol” at the time of his birth in 1932. The author attempts to show how the standards of human behavio

• Language: English
• Publisher: LitFire Publishing
• Release date: Jul 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781641517799

Tom Roberts Sr.

The author is a retired psychologist that was born in Oklahoma and has lived in Texas for 52 years. He spent thirteen years teaching in the public schools and higher education. Following his teaching he served thirty-five years as a psychologist at the Veterans Hospital in Waco Texas.

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Lysol Baby in THE LAND OF CRICKETS

Sharecroppers Son

Copyright © 2018 by Tom Roberts Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher or author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

ISBN: 978-1-64151-779-9

Printed in the United States of America

LitFire LLC

1-800-511-9787

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Lysol Baby in

THE LAND OF

CRICKETS

Sharecroppers Son

Tom Roberts Sr.

Table of Contents

PREFACE

Introduction

Chapter One The Land of Crickets

Chapter Two Family History

Chapter Three Sooey Pigs

Chapter Four World War II

Chapter Five Henryetta

Chapter Six Wichita

Chapter Seven Tulsa

Chapter Eight The University of Oklahoma

Chapter Nine Higher Education Years

Chapter 10 Questions and Answers

Chapter 11 Session Sixteen

Chapter 12 Love not Hate

Appendix

TRANSITION

READER DEFINITIONS

PREFACE

"A merely well -informed man is the most useless bore on God’s earth. When being well informed is combined with the insatiable desire for personal fulfillment and the need to impress his adversaries, an exceedingly dangerous fanaticism becomes apparent.

This manuscript is written with a feeling of necessity because society appears to be incapable of reasonable human behavior as outlined by our creator. Yes, it will be challenged, and debated by intelligent men and women who thrive on controversy. However, when controversy is used as the sole criteria for the subject of debate, the selection criteria should demand it be open to question by only responsible men and women.

If this is the only logic employed in the selection of this manuscript to read, all one need to become widely accepted as an authority or be made a martyr is to run down main street stark raving naked or secure the title Lord of the Flies emeritus from a leading university. If such conditions as these were allowed to exist very long there would be a great probability of responsible men and women perishing with the exception of naked individuals and academic misfits.

When people communicate with precision and clarity they first determine the value, meaning, and adequacy of the words and concepts they plan to use. They seek precise definitions of key terms when such precision is appropriate. They practice restraint, withhold decisions when the evidence is confused, and are never guilty of verbal disagreement for the sake of disagreement and notoriety. They above all give both sides of all crucial issues. Readers of this manuscript are welcome to challenge and debate the many concepts it offers.

However, as the author of this satire, I have faith my readers don’t belong to the same peer group profession as the lame brain. They will communicate with precision, avoid hasty statements, and refuse to put forth opposing arguments until points being made in the manuscript are clearly understood. People that do this usually question the adequacy of conventionality and object to the trite. They make serious attempts to clearly demonstrate they don’t belong to the same peer group or profession as the lame brain.

Ben Franklin once stated that half-wits talk much but say little. He further concluded that a pair of good ears will wring dry a hundred tongues. In an environment such as today’s world which depends so heavily upon man’s ability to precisely communicate with his fellow man the danger of purposeful communicative imprecation is obvious. Surely learned men and women will never allow themselves to become permanently enslaved by the Great Talkers, Little Doers, as these prostitutes have no need of ears.

With purposeful communication the author attempts to tell his life story to a world of insects, a few birds, animals, and creatures of the sea. In each chapter he attempts to show how human behavior changes with time. He describes how overpopulation impacts human behavior and how the world changes in terms of moral and social behavior.

He does not mince words as he tells his life story to an audience made up of the eleven-species left after humanity destroys itself through greed, selfishness and stupidity. He clearly shows the difference between intelligence, ignorance, and stupidity. As he does this he utilizes perceptual concepts to describe how learned men and women who know the difference between right and wrong, have all the facts in their possession and still destroy themselves through stupid behavior.

SHARECROPPERS SON is the life story of a Lysol Baby born during the Great Depression of 1928. Utilizing a combination of straight forward content and satire the author attempts to describe what led up to what he calls The Great Explosion. Because of this explosion a higher power turns man made escape caves and bunkers into caves of transition resulting in only eleven species of life being left on earth along with a few birds, animals, and creatures of the sea.

With great passion he shows how learned men and women became so corrupt they were converted into a species less than human. He matches these species with their behavior pattern on earth as they are transitioned and sent to a place called The Land of Crickets.

The author uses his own life to describe a period of time stretching from his birth to some mystic date in the 21st century. He intentionally leaves this date to the reader’s imagination. Readers are referred to the list of operational definitions used to determine the transitional change, so their physical selves would match their behavior patterns. He attempts to uniquely show how human behaviors in the real world can impact life forms in a new world that is rid of a corrupt humanity.

I know, you don’t believe such a thing could happen??However, based on the sound psychological principles of SEEING, PERCEIVING, BELIEVING, AND BEHAVING, if you can’t see it you can’t possibly perceive it, SO DON’T BELIEVE IT. I DON’T CARE! Just don’t let yourself behave less than human while here on earth as you might be turned in to a cockroach.

Introduction

Sharecroppers Son is a story about a boy named Tommy that was born in 1932 on an Indian farm in Oklahoma. This story is told by his supernatural self which is a Lysol Baby that woke up in The Land of Lysol at the time of his birth. It was during the Great Depression of 1929-1941. The mother had used diluted Lysol as a birth control agent because she thought she couldn’t afford another child. This was not uncommon in those days as the general public was in dire straits financially.

The author attempts to show how standards of human behavior changed during his lifetime. One of these changes was a world with locked doors rather than unlocked. Others included a world where handshakes were worthless, and the contract became a necessity. The word honesty changed to deception and meeting needs turned to greed. Sharing changed to taking and honest pricing to gouging. Even worse, truth telling changed to lying and diplomacy to outright threats of war.

During his lifetime the United States advanced from the industrial revolution into the electronic age. It became a world of computers, iPhones, iPads and tablets. The world saw the introduction of antibiotics in the nineteen thirties, the introduction of the atomic bomb during World War II, along with a wide range of improvements in transportation, medical treatments, and weapons of war.

There were drones controlled by computers operating from thousands of miles away. Some of these drones delivered bombs with great accuracy and destruction. These changes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries brought about a hoard of changes in human behavior that were both good and bad, and even evil.

The population tripled during the author’s lifetime. Highways became overburdened with two hundred fifty million vehicles moving at one time. Commercial airliners were equipped to carry four to five hundred people rather than thirty. Sound barriers were broken, and man actually walked on the moon.

Simple rifles advanced from single shots to automatics with magazines carrying one hundred or more bullets. Telescopes made hunters capable of killing a deer a mile away with great accuracy. Hunters changed from hunting for food to hunting for sport and recognition. Walls were decorated with animal heads throughout the world as trophies of power and dominance over animals. Murder with guns advanced from murder for specific reasons to mass murder for notoriety and television spotlights.

Nations became bullies throughout the world to the extent they were capable. Those nations with material goods and money bragged to one another about how powerful they were, and they gloated about having the means to destroy one another. Nations with the largest number of atomic silos aimed their weapons at one another while smaller nations worked furiously to develop atomic weapons to offset the bullying. Nations became nations of cowardice and felt the insatiable need to develop their own capabilities of mass destruction.

Sharecroppers Son tells it like it happened and predicts what the results could actually be if humanity does not change its behavior. It leaves the reader with a mystical feeling as the Lysol Baby silently floats away in the moonlight on the outgoing tide from the Land of Crickets. It brings to light a point of view that rings with Ten Commandment truism and psychological reality.

While the straight forward story may be as boring as hell, the satirical portions of the manuscript will make you wonder what the next chapter has to offer. In the end you will feel the impact of the bird of love as he quietly flies over the Lysol Baby while making his exit from a world of leftovers into a world that humanity will never understand. In the end peace will conquer war and humanity will be no more. Please God, help us all!

Chapter One

The Land of Crickets

The light of day showed its face through the cloud riddled sky and the soft sound of the sea washing upon the shore. The tide left a little boy with silver hair strapped to a sealed bottle on the barren beach. Around the bottle were thousands of crickets that had assembled with looks of alarm and fright. With fear in their eyes they called out to their leaders.

The crickets made a path as three large cockroaches made their way through the crowd. The little boy was trying frantically to break the bonds that had him strapped to the bottle. However, he was overwhelmed by thousands of crickets jumping on his body as he lay there crying out where am I. The screams of panic suddenly turned to dead silence as the roaches walked through the crowd.

Get off from him yelled the roaches. Give him a chance to speak. Nobody could understand the little boy. What language is he speaking asked a silver roach with diamond studded cheeks and a platinum crowned head. Once again there was dead silence.

Then a red roach stepped forward. He speaks ancient English sir. According to my study of the languages of the world he is speaking English. This was one of the primary languages used around the world prior to the Great Explosion of the 21st century. Ask him who he is and where he comes from commanded the silver roach.

The red roach said, our leader wants to know who you are and where you are from in English. With tears rolling down his cheeks the little boy replied, my name is Tommy and I’m not sure where I come from. I think it is called the Land of Lysol. What is Lysol, asked the red roach?

At this point a huge white roach stepped up and said, I am the preacher of purity. Lysol was used during the 20th century’s Great Depression." It was used to rid the world of germs and dirty things that polluted the earth. Following this statement both the crickets and roaches began to back up. Does this mean this human has come to do us harm? Do you mean us harm asked the red roach?

I mean you no harm said Tom. Where I come from everybody was afraid of germs, disease, and death. Terrorists were rampant and repeatedly threatened the people with germs, poison, and death. They were constantly being threatened with destructive devices such as bombs, mines, poison gases, and weapons of mass destruction.

At that point a beautiful white dove flew over the crowd and circled three times. Untie him the silver roach commanded. We are a nation of love not hate.

Slowly and with great caution the crickets began to untie the straps. As Tommy stood up the crickets and roaches were stunned by how tall he was. They walked around the bottle and as they reached the bottom they saw an inscription. They called upon the red-roach to read it in the language they could understand. He called out 100% Lysol 1932.

Is there anything else this Lysol was used for other than as a cleaning agent asked the silver roach? Yes, said the white roach. It was used in a diluted form as a birth control agent during the Great Depression of the nineteen thirties. I don’t understand what you are saying said Tommy. The red roach said, I will interpret for you.

Once again, he asked, do you mean us harm with this Lysol? I would never use it on anybody. It was used on me and I’m not supposed to exist. How can it be that I am here? Where am I? You are in the Land of Crickets the red roach retorted. Are you a cricket asked Tommy? No, I am a cockroach. Those that survived the great explosion turned into what their behavior matched as dictated by a higher power.

All human beings including their leaders, especially their leaders tried to escape the explosion by running into caves they had built to protect themselves from the weapons of mass destruction they had developed to control other nations. However, they found a higher power had changed the caves from safety to caves of transition. Let me introduce you to our historian so he can explain this to you.

A huge black roach with yellow stripes stepped forward. I am the historian of our land. I am a teacher of world history for all the species that survived the Great Explosion of the 21st century.

The red roach interpreted for Tommy as he sat down on the ground to better communicate. There were four roaches, silver, white, and red roaches sat down as the black one began to speak. These were his words.

What is your name he asked? "My name is officially Tommy, but I prefer to be called Tom. Well Tom, I will take you back to the beginning of the 21st century when the world was saturated with fear. There were still humans, animals, birds, and creatures of the sea. None of them liked insects. In fact, they used every means known to man to kill them. Humans used pesticides to get rid of them. Birds ate them for food as did the creatures of the sea. The animals would slap them with their tails and jump into water to drown them. In fact, we were the most hated beings of life in the world.

The humans were at a distinct advantage as they were more intelligent. So much they developed all kinds of ways to control all other species of life on the planet.

The greatest weakness the humans had was their insatiable desire to control each other. They achieved this desire by developing weapons that kill, cheating each other to gain wealth and power, and trying to push their religious and political beliefs on one another. A thing called money became the medium of control rather than exchange. Greed for money and wealth became rampant.

Their leaders became corrupt and were willing to risk the lives of their human counterparts to gain control. Some nations of the world became fat and lazy. Others were virtually starving and therefore became angry with nations of wealth and power. An era of secrecy, deception, and lies developed. Out of this resulted in what we today call The Great Explosion.

During this period of time the so called great power brokers built huge caves to escape to in case a disaster should occur. What they didn’t know was that when The Great Explosion, occurred, their safety caves would be turned into caves of transition by a higher power. By running into the caves, they were turned into various types of insects in accordance with their behavior as humans.

Only a few animals, birds, and creatures of the sea survived in their natural form. Now you have appeared here upon our shore strapped to a Lysol bottle that contains a substance that was supposed to abort your birth. The black roach stepped back amongst his peers. He said, we will talk more about this after your future is determined. The diamond studded silver roach then ordered a group of crickets under the command of a plain silver roach to lead Tom and his interpreter to what they called The Hall of Interrogation."

Tom was to be given a disposition hearing. The hall was located some two miles inland from the sea shore where Tom was found.

As they made their way along the trail thousands of crickets were stalking them. Upon reaching the hall an owl and falcon flew over the crowd. As they made their entry into the hall Tom noticed the lights were as bright as the sun. The hall was circular with elevated seats. At the center floor level of the hall was a conference table with eleven seats. Behind the table were three elevated platinum bird perches. In front was a smaller conference table with five seats. The floor was made of polished lava rock and the conference tables were granite.

Shortly after Tom was led to his seat at the smaller conference table eleven roaches filed in and took their seats at the larger conference table. The center seat was taken by the diamond studded silver roach. To his left were seated a red, black with yellow stripes, along with a light blue, gold, and simple silver roach. To his right were seated platinum, bronze, crimson, grey, and white roaches.

These eleven roaches were obviously the leaders. It appeared to Tom the crickets had no power what so ever except influence and persuasion.

As the crickets filed into the great hall Tom began to wonder what was going to happen to him. So far, he had become aware of the roles of the diamond studded silver, red, white, and black with the yellow stripes. What did all these other colors represent?

When the last