Disaster Management

Brown : President, seems like there’s another storm coming our way.

Bush: Brownie, you’re doing a hell of a job.

Brown: But…..I was sacked last week.

Bush: Oh yeaaaaah…..It slipped my mind. Seems to happen quite often these days. Get me Saddam on the line. I bet he has something to do with this.

Brown: But he’s in prison ….

Bush: Hell yeah……Condi….where the hell are you?

Rice: Yes Mr.President.

Bush: Condi, what’s this new thing Brownie is yakking about?

Rice: Rita Sir.

Bush: eh?

Rice: It’s a hurricane projected to hit the coast of Texas Sir.

Bush: The coast of Teexxxxaaaaaas? Wait a minute….what about Crawford?

Rice: We don’t know if it’ll get that far. Atleast not yet.

Bush: Find out Condi….find out. And get me Jeb on the line.

Jeb Bush: What’s up Georgie?

Bush: Hey Jeb, aren’t you the Governor of Texas?

Jeb Bush: Nopes, Florida.

Bush: Oh yeah, how can I forget, after all the fun we had there in 2000. Well, then who is the Governor there?

Jeb Bush: Rick Perry.

Bush: Hey, Brownie, get me Rick.

Perry: Mr.President, I’ve been trying to reach you all day. But they said you were busy.

Bush: Busy as hell Ricky boy, trying to finish the first page of the new Harry Potter Book.

Perry: Sir, we have made all evacuation plans and things are going as planned. We anticipate all towns along the Texas coast to be cleared out by tomorrow.

Bush: What the hell for?

Perry: Hurricane Rita, Sir.

Bush: Oh, yeaaaahhhhh. Good going Ricky. Why don’t you get some pointers from Brownie here on all that? He’s good!

Perry: Umm….maybe later Mr. President. I just needed your go ahead on the evacuation.

Bush: Of course you do. What else are Presidents for. And while you are at it could you get that skunk Michael Moore in there somewhere and tie him to a post.

Perry: I don’t quite think that’s within the rules Sir.

Bush: Rules……hmmmphhh… I’ll just ask Colin to do it.

Dedicated to Sourav Ganguly

I was groping in the dark,
But I knew no fear.
The future seemed gray and stark,
Even twilight did so far appear.

But I knew no fear,
I was loved by millions.
In the hearts so near and dear,
Of commoners, saints, murderers, villains.

And then the sun shone through,
Blades of warmth caressed my skin.
It was the love, I knew,
Of my countrymen, my kith and kin.

Now I grope in the dark again,
I’m scared as hell.
All I feel now is the wretched pain,
At nights I hear the death knell.

For the hearts that throbbed with love,
Are now with apathy filled.
Oh ! The fall from the paradise above ,
What a fall! The fall from grace.

The road....

There are numerous exits
With large advisory speed limit signs at the start.
The exits thin out as I go further,
The road gets smoother,
Smooth as silk.

The speed limit signs dissapear,
Fuck....I'm doing 120.
The ain't no cops here,
It says so right there,
On the fluttering flag over McDonalds.

I floor the throttle,
The engine moans in despair.
My Honda Civic,
An unwilling partner,
...who cares?

The cold wind whistling by,
It feels like heaven.
The asphalt is a grey blur,
Wait ...I see colors,
Hear distant voices.

Where am I, I wonder.
This can't be real.
It's scary, being alone,
Yet it feels good,
Good to ride the wind.

"Last Exit : 100m ",
Says a sign by the Road.
Alas! I'm going to fast,
Can't make it this time,
Will there be another ?

"Highway ends : 100 miles",
"No more exits".
"Thank You, "
"Hope you enjoyed,
Riding on the road to perdition".

That was the last sign I saw,
I slowed down.
Slowed down to a crawl,
Tried to turn around,
Honked my impotent horn.

I've driven 50 miles since then,
Now I am resigned to my fate.
I'm driving at 20,
But its just slower this way,
Like pulling your guts out,
One by One...One by One.

Now I hit the throttle again,
Doing 120.
The stench of failure overpowering, suffocating,
The death of a dream
When I crash..please God let it be quick.

It was fun while it lasted,
Riding the Road to Perdition.