Free The Clarkl Soup Kitchens by Mary Carmen Page A

mode of transportation is the one-person vehicle. My farmhand friend has the idea these vehicles are given away, but it is not clear to me why some entities do not have them.
    Most of our clientele are Drones, who are sterile. For this reason, we don’t have many children coming into the dining room. The Reverend Walters has seen only three or four children in the sanctuary. Perhaps they were brought there to see the sights and hear the music.
    March 23, 2144 – Another comfortable day in my redecorated cabin.
    The merchant returned today just after breakfast. It said it wanted to thank me for my business and to present me with a framed drawing of the planet’s spectacular Crystal Ice Ponds.
    We placed the drawing over my desk, and the merchant took its leave.
    I cannot imagine a more pleasant experience than I have had with this Clarklian. If it had cost me half as much, I would have been happier, but merchants are merchants all over the universe. This one was very congenial and very attentive. Even the painting work was carefully supervised.
    Our services were essentially empty today. The choir, the Reverend Walters, and I were entirely alone for the first service, and we had two Clarklians in the pews for the second service. Both left before the offertory.
    The shows went on. The Reverend Walters continued with his homilies on the evils of the Roman Catholic Church, even though that organization is essentially out of business in America . I suspect he learned those sermons in divinity school and has not yet thrown out his notes.
    The manager in charge of the farming efforts came to the staff dining room today to discuss what vegetables were expected to be harvested in the next two months. It looks like cabbage is booming. I heard from one of the cooks he was berating the dining room manager for the poor numbers of meals served. Certainly he has a big stake in the productivity of our dining room.
    March 24, 2144 – Easter services are in less than two weeks, and we started our preparations today. I’m not sure if anybody will be in the pews, but we are pretending it will be the most important day of the year.
    There won’t be any new clothes in the congregation, that’s for sure. These Clarklians don’t ever think of replacing their garments until they are worn out, and there is no place for Earthlings to go to buy the latest in fashion.
    The choir is very enthusiastic, anyway. Ever since I began recording nearly everything they prepare and present, they have been on time to each practice session and even occasionally on pitch.
    The modulation system really has been wonderful, and we use it for every service. However, the individual members of the choir need to stand somewhat apart so no microphone picks up more than one singer, and they have had to get used to that.
    One so-called soprano is quite a boomer. She must have come from the revival tent circuit. I have set her input maximum so she no longer drowns out the others, and I wonder if she has noticed. Certainly the recordings present a good blend of these voices.
    We started with the Bach today, and it sounded very good. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is one number nearly every Christian chorister can sing, and our choir is almost ready to present it. Then, we moved onto something new to the choir, a John Charles Myllar number with plenty of fireworks for the accompanist. Rough going there.
    March 25, 2144 – My mother has sent, via the latest spacecraft, some boots and several scarves her friends have knitted. I put the scarves on a table right outside the dining room, with a note that said “Free to Good Home.” Within fifteen minutes our locals had gathered to examine the garments and to snap them up. Somebody left a coin worth about $10, and I put that into the plate before the second service.
    The boots are very warm, and I sent a letter of appreciation. I also sent a picture of one of the locals wearing the most colorful of the scarves.
    March 26, 2144