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Moses! Moses!

Charlton Heston has died.
We, most likely, will remember him for the wonderful roles he played in the movies...as Michelangelo, as Moses.   Judah Ben-Hur.   It's a lot better than remembering him as a fear mongering, front man for a bunch of demented bigots who chose something else other than a Mount Rushmore-sized SUV in order to compensate for the smallish size of what they all think makes the most of them as men.

Charlton Heston was a great movie star.   May he rest in peace.

The people he fronted for and championed, however, think that the Second Amendment rights of the incipient terrorist cells that might be in our midst right now are sacrosanct.   I just thought I'd put all this in perspective.

"He was in 'The Ten Commandments', right?"   Rochelle sits at the desk in the 'massage office', on her break.   She's asked me to join her.   Just hang out, you know?
"Yes."
"Great movie, I watched it with the kids a couple of weeks ago, on DVD."
"I know you weren't paying attention to Charlton Heston, though."
"Huh?"
"No, you were paying attention to John Derek."
"Who?"
"Joshua."
For a second, Rochelle draws a blank; then, the recognition comes.   She closes her eyes, holds the palm of her hand to her face, and bites the heel of her palm.   She moans.   "Great God almighty..."
I laugh loudly.   "Yep.   That was every woman's opinion.   My mom used to talk throughout the movie about John Derek."
"Oh, that man'd have a good hurt after I get done with him!"
"You wouldn't have been his type.   He's famous for being with razor thin blondes with long hair and high cheekbones."
"He'd change after me, though."
"My aunt said that, too."
Rochelle takes her legs, lifts them up, and rests her feet on the desk.   She lets out a whoosh.   One tired woman.   During the day, she's over at the Department of Labor, and on Friday and Saturday nights, she's here at the Palmetto.   She also has two kids (Leathea, her troubled sister who worked here more regularly in the past, can count as a third, sometimes...and let's not forget Gregory, her manchild boyfriend, he'd be number four), and a recovering alcoholic mom.   Rochelle is strong...and she's pretty much lived a whole life within her young years.   "Trade my legs for yours," she says.
"Nah, you don't want these legs.   They're not worth much anymore."
"Must be better than mine."
"I wish."
"How's school going?"
"Fine, I guess.   I think we're getting a new instructor next week, we'll see how that pans out."
Rochelle takes a deep breath.   "By the way, did Brenda threaten to kill Phyllis earlier?"
I laugh.   "Nah.   Phyllis said something that wasn't pleasant, and Brenda told her she'd flatten her like a manhole cover or something, I can't remember."
"Because one of the customers complained, she kinda got nervous."
"Aw, you know nothing would ever happen.   Hey, I've threatened her with bodily harm myself.   You blow on her, she'd turn to dust."
"I know tonight, she's trying to talk to Iago.   About politics.   Iago thinks she's one of those bag ladies you see at the train station."
How metaphoric is that?   Meanwhile, the rest of the world considers this Administration to be filled with mental defectives found wandering around bus and train stations.   I guess you are what you defend.   Sometimes.   "She is a character, isn't she?"
"I know that her husband left her a long time ago, she might not have been screwed too tight before that, but that maybe made her go off the deep end.   She got a daughter, and they don't speak-"
"The one she says is involved in the Obama campaign."
"Right."
"Who knows what her real story is?"   I reach for a jar on the desk, and retrieve a Hershey's Kiss wrapped in red foil.   "All I know is, she's a nut.   Pure and simple."
"Maybe we're all nuts, and she's the sane one."
"Probably."   I unwrap the Hershey's kiss, and put it in my mouth.   "It wouldn't surprise me one little bit."