Morning everyone. I hope you are having a good morning. I for reasons I can’t figure out, woke up with the A-team theme song in my head this morning. I can only conclude it had some relevance to the dream I was having but it was the sort of dream that shreds when you wake up so I have no idea what it was. I just have the theme song running through my brain. Maybe the morning prompt will evict it. Timers set and off we go.
Nope, song still there…
Wednesday, July 8th: He listened, trying to remain neutral.
He listened, trying to remain neutral. It was harder than he thought it would be. In his estimation, both of the men speaking were missing the point entirely. They each felt they were right.
‘No,’ he thought struggling for a neutral expression. He couldn’t quite make it and settled into a thoughtful one. ‘They each feel they should be viewed as right.’
He looked between them. Right now, Charlie was speaking. Charles Waltham the third believed he was right simply because he was Charels Waltham the third. ‘Or maybe just because he is a Waltham.’
The family was rich and had been for generations. They owned loads of things and their name was plastered on more places than he could count. True they hadn’t made any thing for the last few generations, living off the wealth that the previous generations bequeathed to them. They still owned enough that they lived off interest instead of capitol so chances were they could continue to coast on familial wealth for innumerable generations in the future. Such a background gave Charlie the feeling that he was right regardless of the situation.
On the other side was Linus Durham. His family was equally wealthy, owned nearly as much as the Walthams and had their name on nearly as many places. The difference was that Linus’ grandfather built the company, his father improved it and Linus maintained it and even added to the family finances.
It was merely a matter of the age of familial wealth and the current involvement that differed as far as he could tell. However Linus seemed to believe that as he was still actively participating in the family business he was more intitled to have his opinion considered. He considered Charlie to be no more than a shiftless lay-about.
The fact that neither of them understood the topic on more than a cursory level was irrelevant. It was a matter of chemistry and physics all told. Neither Charley nor Linus were men of science and so they discussed only the business aspects of the situation.
He had enough scientific knowledge to know that their details of the situation were at best flawed and they would do well to consult an actual chemist or physicist before anything exploded. Given his limited knowledge was greater than theirs he was asked to decide who was right.
He also knew that both expected to be pronounced the victor. Getting out of this with out the situation exploding on him would be tricky.
The voices wound down and expectant faces turned his way. He nodded. “You both raise interesting points,” he said. “In truth both sides must be considered. I will need time to think about it.” He hedged his answer and to his relief both seemed pleased he was willing to take his time reaching a decision.
Ten til Midnight 