Wednesday, November 9, 2005
Geppettos and Pinocchios
You will likely recall the story of Pinocchio, the puppet (a
wooden dummy) carved by Geppetto. The poor little marionette -
who wished to be a real human boy - had all kinds of troubles,
including a nose that grew if he didn't tell the truth. The
story was turned into a wonderful Disney movie in 1940. Well,
here in the land of NewportMesa we have a little scenario going
on that reminds one of that story. We have at least a couple
players in town who could certainly pass for some of the more
memorable characters in that delightful story - except for the
"delightful" part.
For example, a couple of our current councilmen do resemble Pinocchio. In fact, so similar are they, that they might be referred to as the "Pinocchio Brothers". Their thoughts seem to be scripted - almost to the level of Brown Act violations. These men occupy high positions on our city council, which means they are in a position to control the flow of debate as it occurs. They can choose to recognize speakers, or not.
Many times it seems that these marionettes have never had an original thought, but rather echo the words of one particularly persistent activist in town. Which brings me to my next character.
The man in question resembles in many ways the character Geppetto, the kindly old fellow who created the puppets mentioned above - except for the "kindly" part. He not only pulls the strings, but scripts the dialogue, as well. Such a master puppeteer is he that he's been able to manipulate events using his creations, the wooden dummies.
Sadly, what seems to be missing from our little scenario is the character of Jimminy Cricket - the conscience for Pinocchio - because the script in our little puppet show has taken some dark turns recently. We can only hope that, as our drama unfolds, we will hear the chirping of a "Jimminy Cricket" out there somewhere, trying to set our puppets back on the right track.
In the meantime, I recommend that you stand back if you get close to the puppets in question - growing noses can be dangerous.
11:38 pm pst
For example, a couple of our current councilmen do resemble Pinocchio. In fact, so similar are they, that they might be referred to as the "Pinocchio Brothers". Their thoughts seem to be scripted - almost to the level of Brown Act violations. These men occupy high positions on our city council, which means they are in a position to control the flow of debate as it occurs. They can choose to recognize speakers, or not.
Many times it seems that these marionettes have never had an original thought, but rather echo the words of one particularly persistent activist in town. Which brings me to my next character.
The man in question resembles in many ways the character Geppetto, the kindly old fellow who created the puppets mentioned above - except for the "kindly" part. He not only pulls the strings, but scripts the dialogue, as well. Such a master puppeteer is he that he's been able to manipulate events using his creations, the wooden dummies.
Sadly, what seems to be missing from our little scenario is the character of Jimminy Cricket - the conscience for Pinocchio - because the script in our little puppet show has taken some dark turns recently. We can only hope that, as our drama unfolds, we will hear the chirping of a "Jimminy Cricket" out there somewhere, trying to set our puppets back on the right track.
In the meantime, I recommend that you stand back if you get close to the puppets in question - growing noses can be dangerous.
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