Crossing Yesterday

“I bet they were watchin’ us eat.”  Regina giggled.  “Waitin’ to pounce the minute we were through.”

“Dear God, please let this go better than I think it’s going to,” Jorja half moaned, half whispered and wholeheartedly prayed.

“Ok, now, let’s pick up where we left off…where was I?  Oh, yeah.  I want to tell you a little bit about Maxine and myself before I talk to you about George, which by the way, we are very proud of our son. It’s not his achievements and life that we have a problem with.  Anyway, back to me and Maxine.

For the next half hour, Max shared with Jorja the particulars about their journey to the mountains; why he retired from the chemical plant, the dangers many of the chemicals they were producing posed to the environment, his own exposure to dangerous levels of something called “methyl bromide”, and finally, his discovery of the NSA.

“You ever heard of them?  I bet you have, George knows what I’m talkin’ about.  He don’t believe they’re spying on us, but he knows about’em.”

“Yes sir, I know the agency you’re referring to, but they aren’t authorized to spy on the American public.  They’re in place to protect us against terrorists and terroristic plots, like 9-11.”

“Since when do you think this great big government tells you everything they’re doin?”  You know anything about Tuskegee, Alabama?”

Jorja had heard of the experiment that was performed on the enlisted black men of Tuskegee.  She knew about the syphilis.

“Yes sir, I know about that.”

“Now, do you really think they won’t spy on you?  You better think again.  I know for a fact, the last year me and Maxine were in Louisiana, they tapped our phone.  They were interested in what I might or might not say about that methyl bromide.”

“Now, how can you know that?  You think you’re gonna be able to detect if someone’s listening to you?”

“Sure you can.  And you can watch and see what’s happening around you, too.  That’s when I decided to investigate the spy agencies of the government.  It was then that I discovered the NSA, and all their capabilities.  I’ve known about them for nigh on twelve years now.  That’s when we decided to move up here.  Get off the grid.  Rebel against ‘big brother’.  And it’s worked, too.  You don’t get many government folks up here, and if you do, it’s really hard to find us when they show up.”

“But Mr. Durand, the NSA is NOT spying on the American people, I can promise you that’s not their mission.”

“And I can promise you they are.  I can’t prove it, but they are.”