Wow. The more you reveal about you, the more curious I become. And my experience with Tom Robbin’s is Only Cowgirls Get the Blues. That title. And Another Roadside Attraction … might be time to revisit as I was young and - shall we say - unwise back then. Thanks for the backstory.
More like cannibal dictators. I don’t know where I stored the pictures, because one was as corrupt and cruel as the next.
I prefer the pictures with happy village ladies, their heathy infants on their backs, as they celebrate pumping clean water from a new village well.
If I could choose a superpower, I would want the power to lighten the loads of overworked and oppressed women around the world, not because I’m a feminist, but because I love my sisters and I want them and their children the opportunity for happy, healthy lives.
You say "...US government employees ... wanted to hear from people like me..." What kind of people were you, exactly? And why did they think your opinion about the end of the world was important? And had you mentioned in some earlier post that Switter was a nom de plume? Once I asked you your first name and you told me it was Colonel. Is it important your identity be hidden? Why? So many questions here...
I spent my life as a lowly aid worker whose job was to metaphorically wipe away the world’s tears and snot.
Switter is a nom de plume because I still have friends in countries where governments search for clues on the internet about people, especially foreigners in their countries. Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean a high ranking official in one country didn’t gleefully show me a 3” thick dossier containing transcripts of all my emails, phone call transcripts and every other piece of communication they could scrounge. I don’t want to add to my colleagues’ angst.
Humanitarian aid people like me are often aware of things the local American embassy can’t get access to. Not spy stuff but health concerns, for example. For instance, we worked in a region during a bird flu scare and our health staff would hear about sick bird sightings, etc, which was important information for their tracking of the outbreak.
As far as the end of the world, tongue firmly in cheek, they were interested in our perspective on trends we saw up close and personal. For instance, we heard some local Iranians were making plans against an American theme cafe where many of us often met. Honestly, our proximity to Iran caused me a lot of concern and I listened carefully to my local staff. I actually thought it was a good idea that the company was interested in reasonably unfiltered information from citizens who were close to the locals.
And Richard Gere is responsible for “Colonel” Switter. As far as I know, Tom Robbin’ Switter didn’t have a first name, but in a Richard Gere movie, where he played an imprisoned IRA terrorist, both the CIA and the Russian FSB were interested in someone only the Gere character had ever seen in person. They got him a reprieve from prison life in exchange for helping them.
In one scene, he is alone with the attractive FSB officer and managed to get her last name from her. Shakashvilli or some such. He then pushed her for her first name, to which she replied “Major, Major Shakashvilli.” I thought it was an amusing crash and burn.
I will always answer questions about what I write, because I cherish the back and forth we have here on Substack. We get to touch each other’s heart and minds in wonderful ways.
I prophecy that you will laugh until you ache reading that book. Did I mention that the title is my own one sentence biography? Everything you need to know about the main events in old Switter’s life.
…i got roofied at a concert in las vegas and paranoid disoriented told my wife who then responded “i sometimes wonder if the 3-letter is trying to recruit you”…an incredibly comforting thought for someone trapped in a dipping fearful delusive illusion…all to wonder if the world of spook onboarding might be so random and substance laden…when in the end it might just be a friend asking for a favor…nice origin story Switter…what a wild journey you are on…
Wow. The more you reveal about you, the more curious I become. And my experience with Tom Robbin’s is Only Cowgirls Get the Blues. That title. And Another Roadside Attraction … might be time to revisit as I was young and - shall we say - unwise back then. Thanks for the backstory.
You reference pictures in the beginning with Kings but where are they oh Switter?
More like cannibal dictators. I don’t know where I stored the pictures, because one was as corrupt and cruel as the next.
I prefer the pictures with happy village ladies, their heathy infants on their backs, as they celebrate pumping clean water from a new village well.
If I could choose a superpower, I would want the power to lighten the loads of overworked and oppressed women around the world, not because I’m a feminist, but because I love my sisters and I want them and their children the opportunity for happy, healthy lives.
You say "...US government employees ... wanted to hear from people like me..." What kind of people were you, exactly? And why did they think your opinion about the end of the world was important? And had you mentioned in some earlier post that Switter was a nom de plume? Once I asked you your first name and you told me it was Colonel. Is it important your identity be hidden? Why? So many questions here...
So many questions, but good questions.
I spent my life as a lowly aid worker whose job was to metaphorically wipe away the world’s tears and snot.
Switter is a nom de plume because I still have friends in countries where governments search for clues on the internet about people, especially foreigners in their countries. Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean a high ranking official in one country didn’t gleefully show me a 3” thick dossier containing transcripts of all my emails, phone call transcripts and every other piece of communication they could scrounge. I don’t want to add to my colleagues’ angst.
Humanitarian aid people like me are often aware of things the local American embassy can’t get access to. Not spy stuff but health concerns, for example. For instance, we worked in a region during a bird flu scare and our health staff would hear about sick bird sightings, etc, which was important information for their tracking of the outbreak.
As far as the end of the world, tongue firmly in cheek, they were interested in our perspective on trends we saw up close and personal. For instance, we heard some local Iranians were making plans against an American theme cafe where many of us often met. Honestly, our proximity to Iran caused me a lot of concern and I listened carefully to my local staff. I actually thought it was a good idea that the company was interested in reasonably unfiltered information from citizens who were close to the locals.
And Richard Gere is responsible for “Colonel” Switter. As far as I know, Tom Robbin’ Switter didn’t have a first name, but in a Richard Gere movie, where he played an imprisoned IRA terrorist, both the CIA and the Russian FSB were interested in someone only the Gere character had ever seen in person. They got him a reprieve from prison life in exchange for helping them.
In one scene, he is alone with the attractive FSB officer and managed to get her last name from her. Shakashvilli or some such. He then pushed her for her first name, to which she replied “Major, Major Shakashvilli.” I thought it was an amusing crash and burn.
Thanks for taking the time for this background!
I will always answer questions about what I write, because I cherish the back and forth we have here on Substack. We get to touch each other’s heart and minds in wonderful ways.
You do beat all, Switter. Just added yet another book to my (long) reading list.
Thank you as always. J
I prophecy that you will laugh until you ache reading that book. Did I mention that the title is my own one sentence biography? Everything you need to know about the main events in old Switter’s life.
…i got roofied at a concert in las vegas and paranoid disoriented told my wife who then responded “i sometimes wonder if the 3-letter is trying to recruit you”…an incredibly comforting thought for someone trapped in a dipping fearful delusive illusion…all to wonder if the world of spook onboarding might be so random and substance laden…when in the end it might just be a friend asking for a favor…nice origin story Switter…what a wild journey you are on…
Best line from this engaging piece: "I told her it meant “concrete” in Chichewa, one of the local languages."
I hope you'll tip off your subscribers if you get wind of the meteor's imminent arrival.