Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

The 8th Day could be fun

Creation Saturday!

An eighth day has been added to the week, and you've been chosen to decide why. The only caveat (process to suspend, law, buyer beware ) is that whatever you decide must be done for at least eight of the extra 24 hours, and what you choose will become permanent for all of humanity until the end of time. What would you do, and why?


There was a knock on the door. Of course, when I opened it there stood Bufferin Bulberry. “ Mr. Bulberry please come in,” I said. “Will you have a seat?” “Perhaps I can get you some tea.” “That would be nice,” Bulberry answered. So, I spoke into the intercom on the desk and ordered a tea service for two.

Marla entered surprisingly soon, with a large tray holding thick white mugs, a decanter of tea, man sized ham sandwiches, cookies, and wedges of cheese. After the food and beverage was laid out she withdrew. I noticed a serious smirk as she pulled the door closed behind her.

I poured boiling hot tea into the mugs. As Bulberry leaned forward to fill his plate he spoke, “You can probably guess I am here to scrutinize your decision. Have you decided? The media is in their normal uproar and the committee would like to make the announcement as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” I said. “You do realize under the terms we agreed on, once I tell you the decision you must accept it without argument. It will become a part of the regular aspect of Society. It will be enforceable by law.

I could see Bulberry was having trouble swallowing the bite he was chewing on. “You did read all the terms didn’t you? If you didn’t I have a copy of the contract right here.” I handed him the two sheets of paper laying on the corner of the desk.

“This contract carries the full signature of the entire committee. They had not made me aware of the terms you’ve spoken just now. But, they did send me here so I guess I will have to abide by the contract as well,” Bulberry seemed to be speaking with a few misgivings, rubbing his forehead as he spoke.

I picked up the file laying on the desk and handed to him. “This is not a simple decision so I layered it into parts as you will see."

A. The 8th day will be considered a blessing to mankind.

1. Every other week People will choose their own recreation or rest for that day. It will be called the On Day.

B.In the alternate week the extra day will be called the Off Day.

1. The Off Day will be a service day to individuals or to society in general.

There will be multiple choices for adults and children. They can take a class or teach a class. Pick up trash in the streets, clean someone’s house, help the elderly, work in a farmer’s field, pick crops, You think of a helpful job and someone will work at it for 8 hours voluntarily. The Off Day will reap a compensation from the Government for funding any outlay the citizen may incur. Twenty-six weeks of the year, one day of each of those weeks, citizens will look for ways to learn and share new information and help each other. There are a lot of details to work out and there will be a lot of backlash. For those people who recognize the benefits there will also be a lot of reward.

“This is outrageous,” blustered Bulberry.” “ How will we ever make such a thing be accepted by the people? How will we police the situation so we know people are living the Off Day properly?”

“There is a whole staff of people presently working on the details. They are amazing people with a lot of vision,” I told him calmly. “We are going to build flexibility into the day so the elderly or sick are accounted for and people can continue in classes that take more than 8 hours to complete. We also have to be flexible to handle all the odd situations, that will come up that no one has thought about yet.”

“Now go make the announcement.” After he left I sat down to eat a sandwich and have a cup of hot tea. Marla came in to tidy up and remove the left over food. “He was sputtering all the way down the hall,” she said. “Why did you decide this is the way to handle the new day?” she asked.

“Financial instability, religious instability, greater uses of technology, rising crime rates, there are so many things forcing wedges between races and people in general. Yet, I can see that people on a one to one basis try to get along. They need a reason to get up on one day a week and try something new. Some will balk but most will find it a fun reason to renew their commitment to living if we can take the time to gently ease them into the swing of one new day a week. Just think of the potential for mankind when they themselves find new ways to help each other and have a day to put it into practice.”

News Flash!!

“We interrupt this Blog with an Announcement.”

Please feel free to send Lists of the jobs you think people might like to spend their Off Day doing. Feel free to include things you would appreciate help with in your own environment. All suggestions are welcome.