1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media Bronto sours, Bronto sores, Bronto sores. Hello 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:13,399 Speaker 1: and welcome to cool Zone Media book Club, the only 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: book club where you don't have to do the reading 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: because I do it for you. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy. 5 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:23,079 Speaker 1: And if you couldn't tell by the title or the intro, 6 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: or just the fact that this is what I've been 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: doing for several months now, it's a Dinah Wars episode. 8 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: A Dinah Wars episode of book club, imagine that, which 9 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: means that we have for you a podcast from the future. 10 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: That's right. This is a podcast I recorded in the 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: year twenty fifty five and then sent back to myself, 12 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,280 Speaker 1: which was nice of me to give me this heads up, 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: to give all of you this heads up. And so 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: without further ado, here's an episode Hello and welcome to 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: Cool Zone twenty fifty five, how to Survive the Dinoh Wars. 16 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and this week we are 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: continuing to relay the last podcast script sent to us 18 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: by our fearless correspondent Mix bunny Face Murder And if 19 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: you're spelling that out, that's just the bunny face emoji 20 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: and then the dagger emoji who is currently trapped behind 21 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: the Iron curtain on the Iberian Peninsula. Although it goes 22 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: without saying, I'm going to say it anyway. The only 23 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,280 Speaker 1: way that mixed Bunnyface and the rest of the millions 24 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,559 Speaker 1: of people in Catalonia are going to survive the year 25 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,039 Speaker 1: is if we are able to fight our way to 26 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: them and distract the Iberian failings. I know everyone thinks 27 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,800 Speaker 1: we've got our own problems here wherever here is, and 28 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 1: you're right, but we cannot fight this war as a 29 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: series of localized skirmishes. The revolution will be worldwide or 30 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: it will fail. We've made it this far because of 31 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,560 Speaker 1: international Soliday already in coordination, and it will be exactly 32 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 1: those two things, plus bravery, that will see us through 33 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: and into the world. We know that we can make 34 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 1: a world in which many worlds are possible, an internationalist world, 35 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 1: an anti capitalist world, an anti authoritarian world. We've made 36 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: it this far, and we've got to keep pushing. And 37 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: I know you know all of that already. I know 38 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:29,960 Speaker 1: you're already working, you're already putting your queer shoulder to 39 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: the wheel. I just want you to know that I'm 40 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: proud of you. I'm proud of us, and we've got 41 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: to keep going. Whoever you are, dear listener, you have 42 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: got to keep going even though you don't feel like 43 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: you're useful to the revolution right now, write this moment. 44 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: The fascist death machine wants you dead and we don't 45 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: want to let it win. Stay alive. If not for today, 46 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: then for tomorrow you will have your chance to be useful. 47 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: And look, there are thousands of ways to be useful. 48 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,520 Speaker 1: The revolution needs bookkeepers and line cooks, and it needs 49 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: singers and metalworkers and project managers and engineers and hackers. 50 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: It needs party planners and historians. It also needs you know, fighters, 51 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: and it needs trained Dino writers. You know where I'm 52 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,440 Speaker 1: going to take this. If you want to become one 53 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: of the many, the proud, the Dino writers, there is 54 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: no better way to get started than to sign up 55 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: with Cool Zone Media's biggest and most generous sponsor, Dino Cadence. 56 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: That's right, Dino Cadence. From dance troop to elite fighting school. 57 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: Dino Cadence is a living example of how all of 58 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: us can turn our talents towards the struggle. So apply 59 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: today and then tomorrow you can ride a Dino into 60 00:03:54,560 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: war banner streaming battalion screaming. Admission is free, but spots 61 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: are limited, So apply to Dino Cadence today. And now 62 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: here's from Mixed bunny Face Murder, who where we left 63 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: them last time, had scarcely survived in ambush that saw 64 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: nearly all of a unit of mighty Dreadnoughts defeated, and 65 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: made it most of the way back towards the main 66 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: camp before I collapsed in exhaustion and the world drifted 67 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: out of focus and my mind drifted out of focus. 68 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: They're awake, I heard in Cotalan. My first thought was, Hey, 69 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: that's cool that my cottalan is good enough that I 70 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: can understand it when I'm half conscious. My second thought 71 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: was there is a very handsome woman looking down at me. 72 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: My third thought was I appear to be in some 73 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: kind of hospital tent. Only then did awareness truly come 74 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,280 Speaker 1: over me. My brain refused to incorporate the recent trauma, though, 75 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: and it was just a fuzzy oh that didn't go well. 76 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: It's strange being a journalist, because I knew that soon 77 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: enough I would be writing what happened. I have to 78 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: not like because it's my job, but because you know, 79 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,680 Speaker 1: it's what I do. It's how I contribute to this 80 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,799 Speaker 1: terrifying and glorious world. I let people know what's happening 81 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,239 Speaker 1: in my strange corner of that world. I tell people 82 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: how I'm feeling in case they can resonate with it. 83 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: I entertain people, I hope, which has value to forgive 84 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: me these introspective asides. They're only going to get worse. 85 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,000 Speaker 1: I am particularly aware of my mortality. Just now, for 86 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: some odd reason, I woke up in a hospital tent 87 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,919 Speaker 1: in the main camp, and that first face I'd seen 88 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 1: was doctor Abodi, a surgeon from Ohio. Good news, she said, 89 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: in an accent that felt like home. I'm not going 90 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: to cut off any of your limbs. So I laughed 91 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: until it hurt, which didn't take long. Once I moved 92 00:05:56,839 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 1: my arm by accident, pain coursed through me and I 93 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: felt better. Look I am a simple creature. Okay, how 94 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: bad is it? I asked? Your wounds are the war either? 95 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: I suppose? Well, they're setbacks, for sure, she said. In 96 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: both cases, you're not going to be walking for a while. 97 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: Then you're going to be walking on crutches for a while. 98 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: If I had to guess, you're a cane user now 99 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: long term, at least some days, for the rest of 100 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: your life, but I suspect you'll regain full use of 101 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: your arm. She reached up and scratched the shaved half 102 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: of her head reflexively in thought. As for the war, 103 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: they don't tell us civilians too much, but I'll tell 104 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: you that it is not looking good, not here, not 105 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 1: for us. We're not cut off, not yet. There's still 106 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: soldiers and materiel flowing in from Barcelona. But Barcelona itself 107 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: is cut off unless a new front opens up for 108 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: the Iberian Phalanx. It's kind of just a matter of time. Unspoken, 109 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,279 Speaker 1: we both knew what she meant by that. Maybe, dear listener, 110 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: with all the horrors of this war, the fall of 111 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: Valencia in twenty fifty three went unremarked upon in your circles. 112 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: In different times, the exodus would have been one of 113 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: the most important events in human history. When a million 114 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 1: people died, helping a million people flee by boats, When 115 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 1: horrid Nazi sea monsters rip people down into the depths 116 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: of the Mediterranean, when Spanish soldiers and angry workers and 117 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 1: art militias. Do you remember the art militias fighting as 118 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: a form of expressionist art, the field of battle as 119 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: the canvas when all these people with different politics fought 120 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: alongside one another against the iron tide of fascism, but 121 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: collapsed under its weight. It was the stand of Valencia 122 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: that brought me to Iberia in the first place, to 123 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: interview refugees who'd made their way to Barcelona. Many of 124 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: those people have since joined up. Many of those people 125 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: have since died in the fighting. Everyone who didn't make 126 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: it out of Valencia was sucked into the Iberian Phalanx's 127 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,840 Speaker 1: war machine as conscript labor, as lab rats, as dead 128 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: bodies to resurrect as literal food for the terrors they 129 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: were designing and growing in the nightmare labs in Madrid. 130 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: Imagine having the people eaten by Nazi sea monsters as 131 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 1: the lucky ones. The twenty first century has given total 132 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: war a new definition. It's not that if we don't fight, 133 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: we fall under occupation. It's not that if we don't fight, 134 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: we die. It's that if we don't fight, we will 135 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:50,360 Speaker 1: be transformed into horrors beyond the comprehension of the human mind, 136 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: horrors that challenge the cruelty of even the old gods. 137 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: So when doctor Abadi said it's kind of just a 138 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: matter of time, it was with a weight that would 139 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: have seemed almost unknowable to people only a generation or 140 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: two back. But do you know what else would have 141 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: seemed unknowable to people only a generation or two back, 142 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:19,880 Speaker 1: the sweet sweet deals being offered by our advertisers. This 143 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: podcast is brought to you by the Council for Naming 144 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: All the objects that you can see? Are you feeling overwhelmed? 145 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: Got that familiar itch of anxiety creeping up your spine? 146 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: Pretty sure you're about to have a panic attack. Try 147 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: naming all the objects that you can see today, house, planned, dog, partner, ceiling, fan, bookshelf, 148 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: Kalshnikov alter containing the cremains of seven of your unit 149 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: mates that died during that first terrible engagement with the enemy, 150 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: and the ruins of Palo Alto. Whatever's around you, just 151 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: name it. This is a reminder that no grounding technique 152 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 1: is guaranteed to work in every situation. If naming every 153 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: object that you can see does not bring relief within 154 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 1: five minutes, to consider alternative tack tchniques. If panic is 155 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,679 Speaker 1: a routine part of your life, consult with a therapist 156 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: and or psychiatrist at the nearest available opportunity. If you 157 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: live in a country in which you do not have 158 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,480 Speaker 1: affordable or free access to therapy and or psychiatry, consider 159 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: anti capitalist revolution. This podcast is brought to you by 160 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: Wimpy Wobble's Wizard World. Yes, the theme park. There are 161 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: still theme parks, Okay. Sometimes you just want to experience 162 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,680 Speaker 1: a mild simulation of danger in a low key environment, 163 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: surrounded by actors and wizard costumes that you know receive 164 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: a living wage for their work of entertaining you and 165 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 1: bringing smiles to the faces of children. All families of 166 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: active duty anti fascists receive free admission and a fifty 167 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: percent discount on all ride tickets. So come on down 168 00:10:45,800 --> 00:11:10,360 Speaker 1: to Wimpy Wobble's wizard World today and we're back. Doctor. 169 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: Our body cleared me from the hospital tent in the 170 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: early evening the day after the battle. It turns out, 171 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: because I lost a day to pain and drugs, powered 172 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: chairs were in short supply, so I let a handsome, 173 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: old orderly volunteer to push me around in an old 174 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: fashioned wheelchair. His name was Florencio and he'd been born 175 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 1: in the twentieth century. Just barely, and he blushed like 176 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: wildfire every time I flirted with him. He'd spent his 177 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: whole life in Madrid, and his whole career as an 178 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: orderly He'd evacuated during the coup, and he wept openly 179 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:47,560 Speaker 1: and fiercely when he talked about the triage of which 180 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: patients they could get out of the city. They'd prioritized 181 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: anyone the fascists were most likely to kill, But he 182 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,080 Speaker 1: was certain, as certain as he was that the sun 183 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: would rise each morning that the remaining patients had been 184 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 1: trans into the demonic labs, into the nightmare factories. I 185 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 1: did what I could do. Signor Senora, he said, using 186 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,240 Speaker 1: one of the many outdated non binary honorifics that people 187 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,959 Speaker 1: have explored over the decades. I found it quaint and charming. 188 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: We were outside in the cooling air, watching the sun 189 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,440 Speaker 1: set over the hills. I've been a war correspondent since 190 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,160 Speaker 1: this war kicked off, I told him, and I haven't 191 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,000 Speaker 1: met many people who've directly physically saved more lives than 192 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: you have. You have to focus on what you've accomplished, 193 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: on the people you've saved, not the things that you've failed. 194 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: War has made an old person of you, he said, smiling, 195 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: glad I got to live to be old. Then I 196 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,599 Speaker 1: told him, even if I had to speed run the 197 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 1: whole thing. The old books always say that war is 198 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: mostly waiting around, bored and miserable, until bad stuff happens. 199 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: And certainly it really is mostly waiting around. There'd been 200 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: a flurry of excitement when I'd first arrived, sure, but 201 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: I spent the next two weeks without much going on. 202 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: I wasn't bored and miserable. Though. Morale is a terrain 203 00:13:06,679 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: of struggle, and it's one of the terrains we're winning on. 204 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 1: I think that the complex stew of ideologies and frameworks 205 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: and nationalities and just types of people and ways of 206 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: looking at the world has made even a poorly fed 207 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: camp on the losing side of a campaign into a 208 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: place that is vibrant and exciting. We had enough fanatic 209 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 1: nihilism to accept our dire situation, enough diehard old and 210 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: archosyndicalus to remind us of the glory and legacy that 211 00:13:32,559 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: we were part of. We had enough religious sorts to 212 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: keep us arguing over theology, and enough political sorts to 213 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: keep us arguing about politics. The semi democratic nature of 214 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: the command meant that everyone kept up with planning and 215 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: strategy and felt invested in our decisions. There was music 216 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: from around the world. I took my turn telling stories 217 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: around the fire, and I kept busy talking to dino 218 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 1: handlers and medics and messengers and scouts. By the end 219 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:02,080 Speaker 1: of the second week, I could get around on crutches 220 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,720 Speaker 1: and even manage to be able to type a little again. 221 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: But there's no getting around it. The Iberian Phalanx could 222 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: attack at any moment, and the odds are not going 223 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,679 Speaker 1: to be in our favor if they do. I've been 224 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 1: compiling this missive, this podcast script. What would I write 225 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,520 Speaker 1: if it were the last thing I would ever say 226 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,200 Speaker 1: in public? Some days, especially first thing in the morning, 227 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: with a lover's arm draped over my chest and a 228 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: little bit of a drool on my shoulder, the immediatism 229 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: of many of the soldiers around me appeals to me. 230 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 1: Maybe it's better to be forgotten. But after the midday meal, 231 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: hardtack and tea, lately not something to write home about. 232 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: I sit down to write, and there are so many 233 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: things I want to say, so many things that I 234 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: don't want lost forever. If you'll forgive me the self indulgence. 235 00:14:54,320 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: I want to tell you about well. Me born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 236 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty eight. Back then Pennsylvania was a state, 237 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: but I don't remember it as a state. I was 238 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: in elementary school when our statehood was revoked and our 239 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: teacher was replaced by someone quote less woke, who informed 240 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: us that in the state's rights era of the Republican government, 241 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: only states that understood core American values could be trusted. 242 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,880 Speaker 1: With such a high degree of independence, Pennsylvania joined Rhode Island, Maryland, 243 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:34,240 Speaker 1: and Massachusetts as an fat a federally administered territory. At first, 244 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: this didn't change too much. I was still a second 245 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,520 Speaker 1: generation non binary kid and a third generation anarchist, so 246 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: what the government said we should do didn't change my 247 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,480 Speaker 1: life too much. By middle school, though, my family started 248 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 1: a home school co op because too many of my 249 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: generation of kids was getting suspended or even sent a 250 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: juvie or being trans and or non binary. I remember 251 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,680 Speaker 1: really loving my childhood. We were poor as hell, but 252 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: so was the whole city, and we shared. We lived 253 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: with my grandmother, missus Jones. She insisted that everyone call her, 254 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: even though she had never been married. She just thought 255 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: it sounded classy. She'd bought a cheap house in the 256 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: mid auts, and there was always a rotating cast of 257 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: folks passing through or extra families living with us. Sometimes 258 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: there was drama, and more than once my grandma ran 259 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: people out at gunpoint if they couldn't act right, if 260 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 1: they weren't safe around us kids. But I had a 261 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: lot of friends, and when adults in our lives told 262 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: stories about the bullies and the homophobia that they'd faced 263 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: us kids, it felt almost exactly the same as when 264 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: they told ghost stories about murderers and demons. These were 265 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: just imaginary tales to scare kids. All three of my 266 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: immediate parents worked full time, and missus Jones. She let 267 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:57,360 Speaker 1: me call her another name, but she swore me to 268 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: never mention it in print. Zones was the closest adult 269 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: in my life. The federal administration rescinded our co ops 270 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: homeschooling license when I was thirteen, and they sent us 271 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: back to public school. My peers were mostly good, but 272 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,160 Speaker 1: the stuff they taught us was pure Christian nationalist propaganda. 273 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: I used to get sent to the principal's office almost 274 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,960 Speaker 1: every day. The principle, though he was secretly on our side, 275 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 1: so he'd say, when you walk out here, you'd better 276 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,120 Speaker 1: look like I scolded you, or they'll take me away 277 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 1: and disappear me. What's worse, he he meant it that 278 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: whole situation didn't last. When I was sixteen, the war 279 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: came and it shattered well everything. My whole family and 280 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: our whole extended network fled the city and crowded into 281 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: a land project out in the mountains of the still 282 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: a state because it was full of boot liquors West Virginia, 283 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:54,960 Speaker 1: and we were sheltered in our way by being in 284 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: a place that just no one gives a single shit about. 285 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,919 Speaker 1: We were also sheltered by these goods and services the 286 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: sponsors that support our show. I don't know is something 287 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: here's ads. Hey there, old fashioned Look at you still 288 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: listening to podcasts. Well, if you like this podcast, you 289 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:23,120 Speaker 1: will love the new true crime show Hatchets and hand Jobs, 290 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: where hard hitting reporters track down the solicious details about 291 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: the sexiest murders and history. This podcast is brought to 292 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,000 Speaker 1: you by the Council for the Abolition of overhead Lighting. 293 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 1: Do you want your house to look good? Want to 294 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: make your guests squint while they look for silverware, try 295 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: using only floor lamps and electric candles, guaranteed to make 296 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:51,920 Speaker 1: your house beautiful and your life slightly worse. This podcast 297 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: is brought to you by Brother Tim Sandwich Place. Are 298 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,879 Speaker 1: you tired of alliteration? Want to buck the trend by 299 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: eating somewhere that believe is that the multiple words and 300 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 1: proper names can start with different letters. Come on down 301 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: to Brother tim Sandwich Palace. We've got sandwiches, we've got heroes, 302 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: we've got tacos, we've got French fruit fried potatoes in 303 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:41,960 Speaker 1: long string four and we're back. I lost missus Jones 304 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,440 Speaker 1: and two of my three parents in the six months 305 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,679 Speaker 1: of the war. We could have stayed out of it. 306 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 1: Probably certainly us kids managed to. There's one moment that 307 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: will stay with me, haunt me forever. My dad's name 308 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:00,680 Speaker 1: was Erico. He wasn't Italian, he was fourth generally Polish, 309 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:03,720 Speaker 1: but he was a history nerd, so he named himself Rico. 310 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,880 Speaker 1: He wasn't my birth father, but he had gone through 311 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,439 Speaker 1: the endless legal ordeal to adopt me and marry my 312 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 1: birth parents, so that there was a registered cisgender caretaker 313 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,360 Speaker 1: to protect me legally. During those anti trans years, he 314 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 1: was fighting in the anti war movement. And it's funny 315 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:22,640 Speaker 1: to say fighting in the anti war movement, and by 316 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: that mean he carried a rifle and he trained in 317 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,600 Speaker 1: a militia because they were delivering EMP devices to communities 318 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: across Appalachia and they were regularly involved in firefights in 319 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,239 Speaker 1: the process. I was sixteen and I wanted to go 320 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: with him. We got in this massive blow up fight, 321 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: just screaming and yelling. I started the yelling, but he 322 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: yelled right back, which he wasn't allowed to do, and 323 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: I told him as much while I threw things. And 324 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: the reason we were fighting is because I wanted to 325 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,560 Speaker 1: go with him. One of my best friends from the 326 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: Land Project had gone off to fight already. They're seventeen, 327 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: you're sixteen. Erico yelled at me. What kind of anarchist 328 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,679 Speaker 1: are you? I yelled back, I'm your father first and 329 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: an anarchist second. He yelled, I would disgrace my ancestors 330 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: before I'd put you in danger. And look, I yelled 331 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,239 Speaker 1: the thing that everyone in my position has yelled at 332 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: some point or another. I told him, you're not my 333 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: real dad, and I stormed up to my room on 334 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: the second floor of the old barn, and I slammed 335 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: the door and the whole building shook, and outside my 336 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: room in the common space, I heard Riko crying talking 337 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: to my other parents, and I knew they were arguing 338 00:21:40,119 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: about whether or not to let me come with them. 339 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 1: And then and then they left. My seventeen year old friend, 340 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,520 Speaker 1: ginger Erico, Missus Jones, and my other father, Tomas, my 341 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: real dad, which wasn't something I ever believed in. They 342 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: went out that night on a mission, and they never 343 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: came back. We never found their bodies. Probably, almost certainly, 344 00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: they were killed by a drone strike outside of Martinsburg, 345 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,199 Speaker 1: West Virginia that night. Of the seventy people killed in 346 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: that strike, only fifty four were successfully identified. For a 347 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 1: long time, I like to think that they were still 348 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: out there. I don't know what I like to think anymore. 349 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,480 Speaker 1: The last thing I told Erico was you're not my 350 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,199 Speaker 1: real dad, and I'm going to be sitting on that 351 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: in sorrow for the rest of my life. I forgive 352 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 1: myself because I know that not only would he have 353 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,879 Speaker 1: forgiven me, he would have told me there was nothing 354 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 1: to forgive that I hadn't done anything wrong. After they disappeared, 355 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: I fell into a dark place for a while. After that, 356 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: I barely left my room. I definitely never left the 357 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: land until after the war. I did, though, start writing 358 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: a job, which I suppose got me into the mess 359 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: I'm in now. But when I say mess, I will 360 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,440 Speaker 1: also say that I am surrounded by passionate people successfully 361 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: holding back fascism against incredible odds. I'm talking every night 362 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,880 Speaker 1: with so many wonderful people. I'm sleeping next to or 363 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: with so many wonderful people. And I don't know if 364 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,639 Speaker 1: Erico was right or wrong ethically or ideologically to stop 365 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,880 Speaker 1: his sixteen year old kid from fighting in a war, 366 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,400 Speaker 1: but I know that I'm glad he did it. I'm 367 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: glad he was willing to risk his own ethical purity 368 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: to save my life. So thank you eric O Schpora, 369 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: and I miss you Ginger, I miss you Tomas, I 370 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: miss you, missus Jones. Maybe I'll see you soon. I 371 00:23:49,400 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: sort of hope not, but maybe. Margaret here again. Thanks 372 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: for listening to Cool Zone twenty fifty five How to 373 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,640 Speaker 1: Survive the Dinah War. We still have a little bit 374 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 1: more from Mixed Money Face Murder before well I feel 375 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: like I'm dragging it out because I'm really hoping we'll 376 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: get another missive tied to a pigeon, or even better, 377 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: maybe we'll all march in there. Maybe we'll free Catalonia. 378 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:24,400 Speaker 1: That'd be nice. I hope it happens. And plugs at 379 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:28,359 Speaker 1: the end of a podcast. Well, if you like the 380 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 1: work that I do, you should go back and read 381 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: one of the first series that I ever did, Danielle 382 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 1: Kane series. The first book is called The Lamb Will 383 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 1: Slaughter the Lion. If you go back far enough in 384 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media history, you can hear me read it 385 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,440 Speaker 1: on Cool Zone Media Book Club to Robert Evans. And 386 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,199 Speaker 1: the third book in that series was called The Immortal 387 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: Choir Will Send. Nope, that's not the name of it. 388 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 1: That's a maybe mixing up the first two books. The 389 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: second book is called The Barrow We'll Send what it may, 390 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,879 Speaker 1: and the third book is called The Immortal Choir Holds 391 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,359 Speaker 1: Every Voice. And it came out because I remember in 392 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 1: summer of twenty twenty five, but more importantly than that, 393 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: it was kickstarted in March. Yeah, it was March twenty 394 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: twenty five that it was kickstarted, and so people back 395 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: then they could have even as far back as February 396 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:22,160 Speaker 1: signed up for updates about that kickstarter, and then once 397 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:24,320 Speaker 1: the kickstarter went live, they could have gotten all kinds 398 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 1: of stuff, including audiobook versions of all three of the books. 399 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,360 Speaker 1: It was a good time to get into that series, 400 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: That's what I remember. But take care of yourself, take 401 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,480 Speaker 1: care of each other. Where all we got, but where 402 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 1: all we need. It could happen here as a production 403 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: of cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, 404 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:48,919 Speaker 1: visit our website cool zonemedia dot com, or check us 405 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 1: out on the Iheard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 406 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. You can find sources for it 407 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: could happen here, updated monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. 408 00:25:58,720 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening.