FROM ADAM WAS A LAD there was always forbidden fruit. In those storied days it was an apple. Today it can be a cherry or a peach, however you wish to look at it. We have some things that they call laws, and we base these laws on the Commandments that they say Moses the Egyptian brought down from the mountain.
Well all right then, we change these laws up a little, modify some here and some there and ignore some too. Overall we have accepted what the Jews wanted us to accept. Europeans, mainly Rule Britannia, accompanied the slave ships with men of the cloth who ensured that the teachings of King James’ Holy Bible were followed. However, although the indoctrination has ensured a proliferation of churches and kingdom halls, many of us today choose our own interpretation of the original laws.
What the Wild Coot is getting at is the embarrassing complaints daily to the NATION newspaper by our ladies, young and old, rich and poor, well schooled and humbly gifted, requesting advice knowing full well the answer that they will be given by the writer of the advice column.
They begin their spiel by heaping mountains of praise on the column writer saying what a great job is being done. Nevertheless, they are hoping that their case will be treated as an exception to the studied answers.
“I got involved with a married man. I knew (I did not know) that he was married, and I fell in love with him” (as if this is an unconscious act). Now I am totally involved (an understatement). The sweetness of the relationship has me ‘bazardee’, the generosity of the gifts, the financial support, the social advancement, the travel to exotic places now have me kafuffle. What am I to do?”
Invariably the answer in reply is: “You know what you have to do so do it.” There is no exception to the rule.
However, when you think of it, forbidden fruit is the sweetest. Adam succumbed, Abraham succumbed, Beersheba succumbed and so did David; Solomon succumbed and so did Samson. It is not surprising that lonely women (even if already married) succumb. The answer given to leave people’s husbands alone has a hollow ring. If you balance the scale you will see from the mere fact that married men are already chosen that they are the pick of the litter.
There is something about the forbidden fruit that tempts women. To explore its flavour? What has he got that single (and so not chosen) men do not have? Is it success? Is it power?
The monkey (our forbearer) says that if he knew “troubie” was so sweet, he would have gotten into “troubie” long ago. Now having experienced “troubie”, women want out, but do not want out. If the columnist can give them absolution, all will be well, they will continue with “troubie”.
But what are the men saying? Nothing! When you have a fish in the net, you do not let it go. Today there is no law against married men fishing. Perhaps that is one of the Commandments that got broken in the descent from the mountain. What the Wild Coot knows is that gradually the strictures of Moses are disappearing one by one as we see in the newspapers and on television. They are now saying “thou shall not procreate”. I am asking myself the difficult question: “How are we going to get the picaninny into the womb of the woman or better still, how are we going to get the picaninny in and out of the man?”
In an article captioned Culture At Risk, back in 2009, I pointed out the growing problem of waning culture for European countries including Ireland, whose fertility rate was far below the required rate of 2.1 children per couple. Connect this please to the article in June 2013 (Darwin come forth) where the Anglican Church has issued an apology to Charles Darwin the evolutionist. Suppose there is nothing to evolve?
The Wild Coot has been battling with a problem. Are we going to see changes in mankind’s evolution that took millions of years afore, right in our lifetime? Will the male on male and the female on female produce the next generation of humankind? More than anything else, will relationships with married men supersede all the new hype and gain acceptance even in the newspapers as a counter to the current marriage trend? Horned wives can still say: “You got the shadow but I got the bone.” Really!
This is Part 1, in case there is a reply from the ladies or the minister.
• Harry Russell is a banker. Email quijote70@gmail.com
