Some of you may be aware that there are some political “sensitivities” around here at the moment at both our Provincial and Federal levels of government. Most of you are probably aware of the “sensitivities” in the UK regarding Brexit. All of you are no doubt aware of the “sensitivities” in the USA. Probably none of you are, however, aware of the issues surrounding the Greenwoods election.

Greenwoods is a small rural community which includes Moonbeam Farm (the basis for “The Odessa Chronicles”), and below is another story from that book … “The Greenwoods Election”.

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The farm, where the Man-Servant lives with his friends Dewey, Jaxon and Odessa, is called Moonbeam Farm, and is within the boundaries of the Township of Greenwoods. It was election time there as the Mayor’s term in office was coming to a close.

There were two candidates for the job of Mayor, and neither impressed the Man-Servant too much. One of them, Jake Fullofitt, was promising so much that was either unrealistic or would destroy the Township of Greenwoods as they knew it. He was promising lots of development and new jobs, but did not seem to appreciate the beauty of the rural area and how that would be destroyed along with the natural habitats of many creatures.

The other candidate, Dolores O’Dear, seemed to have a much better grasp on how the Township of Greenwoods could go into the future without undue conflicts with nature, but she did seem rather secretive and possibly devious in her methods of getting things done.

On election night, the Man-Servant knew what he had to do. He had talked about this important decision with the other three, and Dolores was going to get his vote. He just hoped that the rumors about her were untrue (and probably created by Jake Fullofitt), and that her education, common sense, and an overall desire to do the best she could for the area, would prevail.

Later that night, the Man-Servant was watching the election results as they came up on his TV screen, and was getting concerned because Jake Fullofitt seemed to be winning. Not all the votes had been counted, but it was looking rather bad for the Township of Greenwoods. He went to the back door and called across to the barn for Jaxon and Odessa to come over and join him. He then woke up Dewey and said they were having an urgent meeting!

They were all sitting around the log fire as the Man-Servant explained his concerns. He really wanted Dolores O’Dear to win, but it was not looking good. Odessa looked very thoughtful “You know,” she said, “I’ve been around quite a bit and have seen these situations before!” “Great!” said the Man-Servant. “How are they resolved?” “Easy.” said Odessa. “The unpopular candidate wins! What would you expect with a democratic voting process?” The Man-Servant looked at her and shook his head. “Thank you Odessa. Dewey… you are a devious creature when you want to be. Do you have any thoughts?” Dewey was asleep!

Jaxon, however, was looking really thoughtful. “Man-Servant.” he said. “What if I could influence the end result with my magic. Should I?” The Man-Servant looked at him. “Well Jaxon, we really should not interfere with the process, but Jake Fullofitt has lied so much that I think the future of life around here as we know is being threatened. Let’s just wait a little longer and see the results as more votes are counted.”

It was not long before the situation deteriorated further, and so the Man-Servant asked Jaxon to do whatever he could. Jaxon was sitting at the time, but soon stretched out with his head resting on his front legs, and clearly he was concentrating. The Man-Servant had never seen Jaxon look so focused, and was fascinated by what he was witnessing. Was it jackalope magic perhaps? He noticed Jaxon’s nose twitch a few times and then he was motionless, and with his eyes closed, for a good minute or two.

He then opened his eyes and smiled. “Man-Servant!” he said. “I think it has worked. I think Dolores O’Dear will win now so you just go to bed and have a good sleep!”

The Man-Servant smiled and went to bed but, as he lay there, he was thinking about what Jaxon did. Had he really manipulated the democratic process? Should he have allowed that to happen, after all it is the majority vote that should win? He tossed and turned and had a generally very bad night, with lots of questions on his mind and very little sleep.

When he turned on the radio the next morning, he heard that Dolores O’Dear had in fact won the election! He immediately went over to the barn to talk with Jaxon, and to explain that perhaps it was a mistake to interfere with the voting process. Odessa saw the Man-Servant first. “What’s up Man-Servant? Baffled by logic again?” The Man-Servant looked at her. “Odessa… this is serious! I asked Jaxon to fix the election process, and that was very wrong.”

Odessa looked a little puzzled, and looked at Jaxon (who had just arrived) and then back to the Man-Servant. “Are you saying that you believe Jaxon had something to do with the end result of the election yesterday?” “Yes!” said the Man-Servant. “That is exactly what I am saying!” Odessa took a couple of steps sideways towards Jaxon, and kicked him. “Don’t you have something to say to the Man-Servant?” she asked.

Jaxon was looking at his feet, which is what he tended to do when put in an awkward situation. “Well Man-Servant. My magic could not possibly affect an election process.” The Man-Servant shook his head. “But it did Jaxon! It did! I saw you do your magic thing, and Dolores won the election!” Jaxon looked up. “When you asked me to do that magic, Odessa winked at me, so I thought that I would pretend… just for a laugh.”

Odessa jumped up and down. “I didn’t wink at you! I was winking at Dewey because he was sneaking behind the Man-Servant to get to his food bowl!” Just at that moment, Dewey wandered into the barn. “I heard that Odessa!” he said. “I wasn’t sneaking around behind the Man-Servant, I was just going around him so that I could get a better view of Jaxon as I thought I heard magic mentioned!”

The Man-Servant sat down on the barn floor while the conversations were going on. “Tell me Jaxon.” he said. “Did your magic have any chance at all of impacting the election?” “Not a chance!” said Jaxon. “Not only does it have severe limitations on what it can do, but I am still trying to understand it so… no chance Man-Servant!”

Odessa then stepped closer to the Man-Servant. “You really have to smarten up you know if you want to fit in with us! We all know that Jaxon’s magic really sucks most of the time. Why aren’t you getting it?” The Man-Servant looked directly into Odessa’s eyes. “But Dolores won the election! How could she have done that without Jaxon’s magic?” Odessa just shook her head. “This may be difficult for you, being a mere human, to grasp… but please concentrate. Dolores received the most votes! That is how she won, but why am I explaining that to you? It is your democratic process after all!”

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There are many more stories about those characters in “The Odessa Chronicles” (stories for children ages 4 to 104). It is available direct from Friesen Press Bookstore, and from all the usual on-line book retailers worldwide. Click the book cover link in the right column (may have to scroll) for more information.