A Short Conversational Dialog

[Teacher Mark 53]

The Polluted Beach

Henry is a guy who lives in Tacoma, Washington and Jeannie is a gal who lives there, too. They are best friends, who are now sharing a stroll along a local beach on the Puget Sound.

Henry: This is deplorable!

Jeannie: I know. The pollution here is outrageous. People shouldn’t litter like that!

Henry: Yes! People just throw their garbage wherever they want. My dad said he used to come here to swim when he was a child. Would you swim here now?

Jeannie: I don’t have a death wish!

Henry: There seems to be more than litterbugs at work here, Jeannie. Look over there…see it? There’s a small oil slick leading across the water to that new oil refinery. I bet they’re dumping their waste directly into the water, or they’ve sprung a leak! This is a part of the Puget Sound, which is a very delicate marine ecosystem. Something like this could threaten a variety of species, including Orca whales and salmon. Something needs to be done, toot sweet!

Jeannie: I agree, but what can we do? I guess we could try to organize an all-volunteer work party to help clean up? Yes! We could ask university students to assist! They’re always looking for opportunities to volunteer and are never lazy, right? I’m afraid that refinery’s owned by the Bushwhacker Brothers Oil Company, though. Everyone knows that they’re a ruthless bunch. The eldest, Junior Bushwhacker, is the worst of the lot. Did you know he killed a man out in the desert? In court he said he killed him because he had threatened to kill his father, Beelzebub Bushwhacker. He said he thought the man had a gun, but when the police looked they didn’t find one! He’s as slippery as an eel, as my grandmother used to say. Lucky for him they have all that oil money, with which they retain the high powered attorneys that help keep them out of jail. They probably have the government in their back pocket, too! This is bad Henry.

Henry: The pen is mightier than the sword…or money, in this case! I have a plan. One, we start by writing to our local and national leaders. Two, if someone in the Environmental Protection Agency is on the take, we’ll find out about it and expose them for what they are…crooks! And three, we’ll alert the liberal media. They need to know what’s going on here. Come on, let’s shoot some video of the oil slick, so we have evidence.

Jeannie: That’s a great idea! We could also start an online petition for people to sign electronically. It would say that they agree with us and want the problem fixed. We could call our mission: Save Our Beach, or S.O.B. for short. We can also fire off a letter to the Bushwhacker Brothers, down there in West Texas, and let them know there’s a new sheriff in town!. We’ll bring them to their knees if they don’t clean up their act…and this area!

Henry: Beauty and brains…you have them both! That’s a rare combination.

Jeannie: Thanks Henry! After we shoot the video we should go get a bite to eat. That would give us more time to discuss our plan of action.

Henry: You’re on!

[TBoneTX 45,914]

Why would they want to shoot the video? Shouldn't it go through the legal process and exhaust all appeals first?

[Teacher Mark 53]

Why would they want to shoot the video? Shouldn't it go through the legal process and exhaust all appeals first?

They won't have time for all of that. The Bushwhacker brothers are going to have them snuffed.

[TBoneTX 45,914]

They won't have time for all of that. The Bushwhacker brothers are going to have them snuffed.

Ah -- BEFORE they can shoot the video. Thanks, si man.