by Jerry Bannon
This article appeared in 13 December 2000, Chronicles of Diversity, this updated version was prepared December 22,
2000.
December 6th dawned clear and cold, just as the sun was rising I decided to
begin my walk. Following my usual path I put my head down in a narrow slick and
steep part. I didn't want to misstep because there were only certain places
where your feet will fit. Head down, I bumped into something, or someone
blocking the trail. I looked up and there was this huge man with a short, well
trimmed, white beard blocking my path. "You're Jerry, right? Jerry
Bannon," he ask, but seemed like he already knew the answer. "I was
sitting up there on the log when I saw you coming, Your a bit early this
morning aren't you?
"Well yes sir, I am, and yes sir I am," I replied. He looked a lot
like my retired friend living in Florida, Ray Sheppard. His bulk showed him to
be about six foot five and probably close to three hundred pounds. A big smile
covered his face and he was wearing a crimson Greek fisherman's cap.
"My name is little Richard, little Richard Bonds, but some people call
me big Richard for some reason, I sure can't understand why? He chuckled,
"I thought I would come out here and talk to you about a proposition I
have. I'm not interrupting any deep thoughts am I? I don't want to be any
bother, but here among all this natural beauty I feel right at home. I'm not
one to beat around the bush, so I will get right to the point. I would like you
to be my public relations person and any other jobs you would feel comfortable
with.
"What," I replied.
Someone forwarded me your last email, Chronicles of Diversity, it was on an enterprise paradigm, or something. I
really liked what you had to say about time being God's, and not time being
money. I decided right then you were the one I wanted to do this job. Finally,
an answer to prayer.
As we began to walk, I ask, "Well, little Richard are you any relation to
Little Richard the early rock-n-roll singer, and what is it that you do?
"No I'm not any relation to that Little Richard, in fact I think he really
stole my name and changed my message. Jerry, I'm a wealthy philanthropist. I
give away money. To people all over the world, that just need a little help to
get started. You know that fellow around here, Bill Gates? Well, he really
hasn't figured it out yet, but he is getting closer. I'll tell you a little
secret, I was the one who gave him his start. Hasn't done too bad for himself
has he? And I really like how now he is giving a lot of it away, but he
probably needs to do more of that if Microsoft is going to continue to prosper.
I don't find many people these days that don't think that money is just for
them, and they keep it all for themselves.
"I know you are a C.S. Lewis and Chronicles of Narina fan. You could look at me as like a combination of
Aslan, the lion and Father Christmas. That Narina thing, is really why I think
it is time to begin my new publicity campaign, during this holiday season. Have
you ever stopped to think that the world today is a lot like Narina, when Lucy
entered the wardrobe. 'Always winter, but never Christmas.' I want to change
that beginning right now, and you be (sic) the man, I want.
"Out in Narina, beyond the city and its prosperity which is true in all
countries, a lot of people are living lives without much hope that winter will
ever end, and spring will come. Along with bringing Christmas and the spring, I
also celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of lights. Some times it takes a miracle
of light to bring about a change in people's lives and hearts.
"Tell me more." It seemed as if he paused deliberately to give me a
chance to say something.
He continued, "Actually, my real name isn't Little, or Big Richard Bonds,
you don't need to know my real name, just take my word for it I have all the
gold you can ever profitably put to use, or give away. Little, or Big Richard
Bonds are just aliases for me to use, and so that you can remember what I want
you to do. That is of course publicize my 'Little, or Big' 'Richard' 'Bonds'.
You know bonds, like the investment. Little, like in little, Big, as in big, I
think you can handle that too. Richard is where it gets complicated. Here is a
scrap of paper with what I want Richard to mean, its an acrostic.
He handed me a wrinkled piece of paper, with the name Richard across the top.
Down the side were the seven letters of his name. After each letter were what
looked as some words that had been scratched out or covered over. At the end of
each row was a word beginning with the appropriate initial and underlined. Like
they had been thought over carefully. From the piece of paper I could make out
the following: R-Rural; I-Infrastructure; C-Community; H-Hope; A-Alternative;
R-Resource; D-Development.
"Those are just my first few ideas," he announced. "If you think
you can do better feel free to make the changes required. That is except for
the H, that shall always stand for hope. Hope is the gift, the resource, or
what ever you want to call it, that is always in limited supply. Some people
think its love, in fact there was a song about all the world needs is love, but
when you have been around as long as I have, hope is at best sufficient, but
never in abundance. Even the Apostle Paul got it right, 'now these three remain,
faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.' The greatest is
love, but hope is always in the middle. You don't go from faith to experience
love, without hope. Lots of people have faith, but few truly get all the way to
love, because they just run out of hope. Jerry, notice in Richard, H, or hope
is in the middle too.
"So let me see if I've got this right, you want to offer little, or small,
big, or large, Richard, as an acrostic, bonds or financial instruments, is that
right?
"You've got it Jer, this is sooo cooool! People who have a little bit of
money, or a lot of money it doesn't matter to me, but are thinking that they
are about to run out of hope in their lives, invest a little of those funds in
projects, 'Richard' projects around the world. Those funds are utilized or
converted into tangible infrastructure projects in those areas that really need
a 'little' or 'big' boost to make it into the modern world. Over time the
financial investment returns through annuity payments along with a generous
helping gift of hope. Each project should only take a few years to complete,
depending upon the country, but the results and the hope would last for
generations.
"Richard, it sounds interesting, but you lost me somewhere along the
line," I respond.
"That's why I chose you Jerry, some of your thinking kind of leaves people
feeling that way too. But sometimes you have a gift to make some complicated
things seem quite simple. Well, too be honest, sometimes you don't do that well
either, but most people find it at least amusing, in a way it brings hope,
sometimes when they really need it. 'If, Jerry can give it a shot so can I!'
"What I mean by little, or big" continues Richard, "are usually
projects smaller than what most free trade, global businesses think they can
make a profit at, I call those 'world class projects.' This is really the
frustrating thing about this modern world. You know after you send those over
priced experts halfway around the world, put them up in an American style
hotel, waste water like they do in America, have a series of meetings which no
one seems to understand what is going on, or cares why it is needed, then put
them back on a plane and send them back to the States or Europe. If they can
make their project hurdle rate, pay the president's, or the partner's bonuses,
and a whole host of financial criteria. If that can still take place, then that
is a world class project. I want to work in little projects smaller than world
class operations. Stuff above the relief level financially, but less than world
class projects. No one, or at least not the big business folks, wants to learn
how to do that. If I had to pick a number, lets use, say a million dollars, a
little more, a little less, for 'Little Richard Bonds.' Say ten million for
'Big Richard Bonds.' It is in these smaller projects that the profitability of
hope is really manifest. All these projects as I recall now have available
EX-IM, or export-import financing. I think the current limit for that is ten
million dollars, but the potential to produce hope runs into the billions.
"For a project lets say we put up a relatively large wind turbine, in an
area that now relies entirely on fossil fuel power, or no electric power at
all. At the present level of development of the technology about a 600 kw
turbine is about as big as is cost effective to install. As the wind blows, the
electricity is used within the village to provide power for homes, new local
shops, and industry. If the wind blows harder, the excess power is used to pump
water to a reservoir. When the wind is not blowing that water, powers a low
head hydro project to produce power, drinking and irrigation water. Kind of
like a mini Columbia Basin project. That whole thing could be done any where in
the world on the scale of Little, or Big Richard Bonds. Each one of course
would be different, there in lies the challenge, and the opportunity. Some
could be simpler, some could be very high tech. After it is done we would build
a library and a small local radio station to help the community develop
further.
"To paraphrase an over used statement. 'Build it and they will come,
arriving they will have hope, and the hope will lead to love, and the love will
lead to community.' As you know until there is a certain level of energy
available to any community, the infrastructure cannot be developed to make the
community self sustaining. It will always be on the dole, one way or another.
By producing that energy, locally from God given resources such as wind and
water power, that self sustaining community can be permanently established and
a new level of prosperity can begin for people who previously had no hope for a
better life. That is why I ask that you call me Richard.
"Now, let me talk about that annuity part. That Bill Gates fellow, is
trying to give away a lot of the money I helped him attain. That is a
commendable idea, but can you imagine the hassle of trying to pick winners and
losers, for that billion dollars you hope to give away every year. Sure doesn't
sound like a lot of fun to me, how about you Jerry? Just nod your head yes, I'm
on a roll. Perhaps, I made a mistake making him that rich, even though its just
paper, or more precisely, electronic stock money, the world looks at it just
the same. Just not the real golden money, I started out with, I've been
thinking recently about spreading my wealth much more broadly. For my Little,
or Big Richard Bonds, bonds, I was thinking about one thousand dollars a pop.
If people needed to participate in hope on a monthly basis they could put in a
minimum of ten dollars a month for ten years. That interest could help you find
good projects to help me invest in. I would give the investors part of that
money but part of it they would have to earn themselves. It would all depend
upon how much hope I wanted to develop in them.
'The whole idea is to give everybody a chance to participate from many places
on God's green earth, to be part of the ownership, and part of the solution. It
may not seem like much to rich Americans, but it might provide a tidy nest egg
for someone in a third world country. After the project was completed, the
bonds would be repaid from selling the electricity, providing drinking and
irrigation water for a period of twenty years, or the life of the project. The revenue
stream would be put in place on a sliding scale, so that the repayment burden
would not be too heavy in the early years, but it would not be just a charity
project. All participants at both ends of the money and project stream would be
members of that particular community, and hopefully get to know one another.
"Now Jerry, I'm asking you to head up this because, I believe this kind of
work is really part of your God given calling, and you are probably better at
it than all that writing stuff. But I want you to continue to write, because I
think you get a charge out of it too, and it will help you maintain your
perspective. You sure aren't Bill Gates, but neither is he you. Everyone of
God's men and women are different and I would like to get as many as possible
involved in these projects. I also know Jerry, you have a couple of projects in
the rural part of these here United States you would like to see funded. I know
you will probably figure it out on your own, but you could combine all those
projects and properties you have looked at in Washington into one big project
and seek funding through the Washington State tax free bonding program.
Together they would be a Big Richard Bonds deal, but to me, I can't seem to
understand why?" He laughed, "That should provide your organization
with the source of capital you have been looking for and keep you out of
trouble while you see if you can find overseas, missionaries, medical workers,
or others who would be interested in getting involved in Richard Bonds projects.
"The job is yours if you choose to take it. Just remember others have to
make that choice also, don't beat them up verbally too much. For example, I
know you might say something like:'There is a little of Richard Bonds in every
person, but everyone needs to get themselves, and their self interest out of
the way, to manifest that presence. You can give hope to other people, or rest
in your own hopeless state, it is a choice on who you will serve, yourself or
Richard.' Jerry, I don't want you to do that, that is part of my job along with
giving them some of the money and other blessings. It has been a pleasure
sharing my vision with you. I'll be in touch if you need me. Just remember that
I want to be viewed as sort of a combination of Father Christmas and Aslan, and
this world is Narina where now it is 'always winter but never Christmas.'
"Thanks for the opportunity and the vision of a new world order based on
the paradigm of 'Time is God's.' Richard Bonds, what should I do now?" I
ask as he abruptly stopped and headed rapidly in a different direction.
The wind picked up and I was not too sure of his final words, but it seemed to
me that Richard never answered that question, I think he said, "As long as
there is gold in the hills, a fair wind blows, and water runs down hill, there
will always be opportunities for all the Richard Bonds, that God can create.