Читать книгу Bigger Brother - Matthew Vandenberg - Страница 19

*Based on true events, Monday February 10, in Central Plaza Ladprao, Bangkok*

'They're present when your head's lighter than the dark period of a journey,' Aria says, noticing a Thai nurse or two entering the dim house. 'Headlights. Impact. It's hard to know just how light until it's heavy enough to get you on more than your knees (there's a heavy body the passage brings to life, taken down). You find yourself on the ground, surrounded by passers-by, like surround sound now has a physical presence. That's a new record for you: a single dizzy spell (no album necessary), wandering around like a wand that's walking (who's in control now?), fueled by loneliness and isolation if we're to take a bad break, for instance. Get it? The effect of the fall. But the fuel that enables the rapid descent can be fanned away by the generous Thai women now present: generators (for generations) of a better warmth than the crippling heat of the Thai day, holders of cheap but effective fans that figuratively push away that fuel that keeps people down in the West, for the sake of a newly assured resting mind and body separated from the scent that may have caused the blackout: it's light outside now.

'So there you lie, a busted bag on your back, on your back, in the bustling quarters of the thriving Thai marketplace of Central Plaza Ladprao, Bangkok. And there they stand or squat, the women attracted to you specifically because you look down, and really . . . and you are, I think that's as clear as the chemicals in the tiny bottles they offer you, for the nose. That's for you to be up (exciting?). Everything cheap, everything available: this isn't just an apt description of the marketplace but also the health care in Thailand. In the States, over a trillion dollars a year goes toward health-insurance [2.] that's barely ensured, and the prices of drugs are through the roof [2.]: but you long to simply get up now, and this simple and cheap liquid is the perfectly adequate means, along with sugar - ironically, that is indeed cheap in the States, but therefore not the drug marketed by drug companies.

'Price lists here are not closely guarded [2.]: aid and sugar are FREE. Everyone is up. The nurses come up in no time (not guards but helpers, much like light angels), the treatment is targeted (you're the one white pill in the sea of stalls that they take away like it's a drug, without hesitation: you a foreign concept), any headache is met head on by a pillow and accompaniment of a bed, like it's a traditional courtship dance (an age-old tale for a bedtime story), any depression as nurses are warmly met is wrestled away by a massage of arms and forehead (but hardly are you exasperated by such meetings: you don't have an available parking spot for your scooting arms on your head now), and memory problems are non-existent given this aid cannot be forgotten. So I don't think post-concussive syndrome [1.] is an issue.'

'You weren't expecting us?' the first Thai nurse says.

'Not really,' Aria replies. 'But we're super glad you're here. Thanks for coming.'

'House rules,' the nurse says, shrugging. 'It's early in the day and we have to make sure that everyone is up.'

'Smart,' Aria says.

'In a sense the help is conservative,' the nurse says. 'But not so much so that it's mental. Like, we're not concerned about who's in bed, unlike in Brazil [3.], but just making sure that everyone can get up.'

'Everyone can get up,' Gao says, strolling into the kitchen, stretching. 'But now it's time to haggle. To haggle like politicians but with the normal people, to see what we can buy. Can we take socialism to the States please. And the viewers DO care who's in bed with whom, I'm sure. That's why we're popular.'

"#FeelTheBern [4.]"

_____________________

References

1 New Scientist, Why our understanding of concussion has been completely wrong , https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532691-800-why-our-understanding-of-concussion-has-been-completely-wrong/, ["Some people develop a chronic condition called post-concussive syndrome, especially if they don't receive education and targeted treatments. Typical symptoms include headaches, depression and memory problems."]

2 The Economist | What he did, not what he said https://www.economist.com/node/21779307?frsc=dg%7Ce,["Presidents can have a lot of influence over American health care through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), an organisation that is much more interesting than it sounds.'; "In 2019, America spent a mere $685bn on defence compared to the $1.2trn spent at HHS—most of it on Medicare, the government health-insurance programme for the elderly, and Medicaid, the programme for the very poor."; "New transparency rules, requiring drugs companies to include prices in advertisements and hospitals to publish their closely guarded price lists, are sensible but have been stalled by lawsuits."]

3 The Economist | A new war of religion https://www.economist.com/node/21779369?frsc=dg%7Ce, ["Their concern is mainly, but not solely, to oppose gay rights and abortion. In some cases they dismiss science and have intervened in foreign policy."; "In Brazil, 195 of the 513 deputies in the lower house of Congress are members of the evangelical caucus. They include the Republican party, formed by the Universal Church of Edir Macedo, a wealthy megapastor. Evangelical pastors are more likely than Catholic bishops to tell their flock whom to vote for."]

4 Twitter, #FeelTheBern, www.twitter.com/#FeelTheBern

5 All Saints - Pure Shores (Official Music Video), https://youtu.be/dVNdTXEJv1A