Sunk

IT'S FRIDAY! Man, I never get sick of this! I don't know about you, but I look forward to Fridays and I feel like we got a steady flow of content going on here huh?

I'm excited to introduce this week's post and the rhetorical situation of it. There is no miraculous story about how I received this idea, but it was in London on January 8th 2023. The original idea was constructed to be a poem and was first entitled: "Bail, But Plug The Hole." The concept was supposed to be centered on the theme of solving problems completely so that nothing comes back to bite you in the end, but now it is a little bit different... in many ways! So enjoy:

"Sunk"

There is an ancient mythic legend which highlights the civilization of pure-bred warriors who lived long ago on the coasts of a distant unnamed island. These soldiers were instructed daily to prioritize military and combat procedures above all else. Education was based on fighting technique and physical actions. Careers were based on power and daily training. Families were based on war-conspiring comrades and strategic allies. Every role that has, was, and ever would be played by these peoples was structured on the foundation of strength over knowledge, power over growth, and destruction over mending.

These violent peoples were known as the tribe of Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah. Their leader: "Stuh Borne" refused to let the individuals under his reign let up from these traditions and would lead conquests on neighboring islands as often as their fleets could make preparations to do so.

To the islands surrounding the people of Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah, their looming fleets posed a great threat, for their giant ships were constructed of fine woodwork and designed for ramming other vessels while still containing cargo of warriors.

It is said that the greatest opposing tribe to ever contest the Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah tribe were the Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah peoples led by a strategic man known as: "Wiy Ze." The Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah focused their resources and talents on improving their skills related to creativity and engineering. Education was well received and common sense ruled over brute force.

On land, the Shuu Dahv Bayl Dahs could leave Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah cities in desolation, but when it came to sea battles, the maneuvers and planned routes of the Yuu Za Yur Heh Dahs were uncontested.

Warring between these two civilizations lasted decades and the fatality trade-off was detrimental to either society. Until one day...

Night had fallen quicker than usual as the rolling storm clouds covered the rising moon in the cool winter air. Stuh Borne and his trusted military leaders gathered their men together in hopes to debrief them on a plan that they had developed to exterminate the Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah tribe. They were to set out immediately in the cover of nightfall and destroy Wiy Ze's fleet as their boats lay docked and dormant on the shores of their hideouts. The plan was to rain down heavy cannon fire and then rush the beach once their vessels were taken out.

Arm-in-arm, the warriors cried out in excitement and rushed to the boats as if they were full of flame-charred meat. In no time at all, every ship the Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah fleet had, was setting sail for enemy territory.

Soon, and in complete surprise, the fleet was joined by the vast collection of Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah's boats, loaded with heavy cannons and other artillery.

Panicked, Stuh Borne commanded his troops to divert and retreat back to their home shores, but it was too late. As the boats began to turn in hopes to flee, Wiy Ze called down fire. Each boat, under Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah control, received a heavy blow of at least two massive holes. Water flooded in at lightning speeds as the fleet managed to leave the line of fire and break away from the remainder of the enemy's attacks.

As they sailed homeward, just out of reach of the opposition, the water continued to spew in rapidly. Stuh Borne spread word to the soldiers on each vessel to scoff at the flow in the bottom of their boats and shift their attention to re-mounting their crossbows and cannons in such a way that they could land a return attack.

The troops worked double time to haul their weapons to the back of their ships and take aim at the Yuu Za Yur Heh Dahs. Each shot that they took was precise and direct.

As the soldiers of Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah cheered upon the blows landed on enemy vessels, their excitement was interrupted by the scene of each member on the opposing crew bailing water out of the ship with large buckets and then patching their holes with large tree logs and clay splotches.

The Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah tribe watched in horror as the enemy outplayed them repeatedly. Stuh Borne, and the rest of his cocky brutes stared in shock until they had all been swallowed up by the icy darkness of the unforgiving ocean.

The myth concludes with the following principles:

1) When it comes to the choice of being Stuh Borne or Wiy Ze, only the knowledgeable see why growth is necessary. Those who refuse subjective change refuse objective chance. Thus, it is better to be WISE than to be STUBBORN. So a word to the "Wiy Ze," don't be "Stuh Borne."

2) It is important to USE YOUR HEAD in dire situations, for if you are able to think straight while the circumstances are zigzagged, then you aren't left with the guilt of what could have happened. In the context of your boat flooding because of a few massive holes created by your enemy, it is smart to think about the situation with your brain, would it be smarter to attack the enemy back and flood their ships with water or would it be smarter to bail the water out of your own ship? You never want the guilt that follows when someone, who witnessed your sad attempt to attack instead of patch, tells you, "You SHOULD HAVE BAILED!" So, when you think about your past trials and how you "Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah" the water out of your 'sinking ship,' let that govern your future and remember to always "Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah."

-Cale K. Montoya (12/01/23)

To me, this post feels a little hit-or-miss. If you didn't catch it, which is entirely possible, I used a certain strategy in my writing this time. The strategy is known as "Phonetic Theory" and is based on the physical sound of a written word or sentence. Often, in phonetic theory, the words used have little-to-no scholarly definitions and are used entirely in hopes that the sound of the set of letters can tell the story.

In the story, I used the made-up names of tribes and individuals such as: "Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah," "Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah," "Stuh Borne," and "Wiy Ze" to hide terms and words that I would later use in the conclusion. The intent was to hide the fact that these fake names contained phonetic identities and then use such a secret to have a big and obvious reveal... kind of like a punch line to a joke!

"Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah" said aloud quickly, sounds like: "Should have bailed."

"Yuu Za Yur Heh Dah" said aloud quickly, sounds like: "Use your head."

"Stuh Borne" said aloud quickly, sounds like: "Stubborn."

"Wiy Ze" said aloud quickly, sounds like: "Wise."

The theme of this short story is found in the last two principles and are fairly self-explanatory. It really boils down to this summary though: "Those who refuse subjective change refuse objective chance." This basically just means that if you don't put in the effort to improve and reject changing factors in your personal life, you will miss plenty of opportunities—for the "Shuu Dahv Bayl Dah" tribe, that opportunity was to live another day.

Hopefully this made sense to you, but if it didn't, I'd love your feedback!

Thanks for tuning in, please tell your friends and loved-ones to read and check out my website! I tell you what, if I ever reach 200 views or higher on a post, I'll start a "Slow Notion" swag, merchandise, and special content giveaway! (Remember to subscribe too for weekly updates!)

-Cale Montoya