alternatehistory.com

OK, sometimes we have a scenario in mind that we want to flesh out somewhat to present to the board, but we aren't necessarily going to make the full commitment of spending a long period of time working it into a full timeline. Or some of us are just plain incapable of putting in the effort (I'm looking at you Dead Sea Squirrels... er, I mean Seinfeld. WHATEVER).:D

But seriously, Seinfeld did have a great idea: he recognized that fact about himself, so he made a thread for himself called "Fragments of Alternate History" where he could occasionally put scenarios he'd thought of, then be done. Rather clever if you ask me (and if he wants to post a link to it, he can be my guest).

So, that's what this thread is for. If we ever have an idea for a condensed timeline, a short scenario... basically, nothing longer than 3 or 4 posts, if even that, they can go in this thread, where our fellow board members can find them with one another and comment on them. They can be in the form of a short story, an essay, whatever you want. They can be political, cultural, comedic, dramatic, WWI, WWII, the Cold War, War on Terror, left field, whatever.

I guess since I posted this, I'm obligated to add the first scenario. Well here it is...

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A WAAAAY EARLY PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

by vultan

Late 1937, in rural northwest Illinois

Ronald Reagan was angry. Very, very angry. For one thing, he’d been out of a job- a long bout with the cold last year had ruined his radio career in Iowa, causing him to return meekly to his home town of Dixon, where he’d been reduced to working odd jobs. And when the jobs weren’t forthcoming there, he headed south for Macomb, thinking that maybe the farmers would be a’hiring. But that wasn’t the only reason his blood was boiling, oooooh no.

And to think he’d once been an admirer of Franklin Delano Roosevelt! Well, no longer. One of the jobs he’d fallen into was with one Anton J. Johnson, a dairy farmer. Mr. Johnson had taken a liking to “Dutch” (as Ronald still went by), and when the young man was out milking cows, Johnson would come out to talk. But inevitably, the conversation (if you could call it that- Ron was too busy with the work to get in more than a word or two at a time) would drift to politics, where Mr. Johnson would rant on and on about how President Roosevelt was trying to turn the country into a communist state, how his “court-packing” plan was merely an excuse to turn the United States into a dictatorship. But the more Ron listened…

Early 1938

He’d been attending McDonough County Republican Party meetings regularly now, and to his own surprise he found himself volunteering. Then one day Mr. Johnson prodded him into going up to speak (“Tell ‘em ‘bout why you decided to join the G-O-P, Dutch”). While he started off a bit nervous, Ron dove right in, and they couldn’t have asked for a better speaker. I guess all that radio work paid off, Ron thought to himself as he articulated another point. As the audience sat there, enraptured, the young man eventually transcended politics in his speech, ending it on a simple enough note. “See, I suppose what I’m saying is I’ve come to see that the Republicans are the very best party to represent the common men in American. And as for myself, personally, I’ve come to see that it’s the party that agrees with my basic beliefs, which is that I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life. Thank you for letting me speak”.

The Chairman asked if he wanted to get paid to speak like that. They both chuckled…

Mid 1938

Horrible news: Mr. Anton J. Johnson had been killed when the roof of his barn collapsed in on him. He was sixty years old. But more importantly, he had been the presumptive nominee of the Republicans to challenge Chester C. Thompson for control of Illinois’ 14th Congressional District. The local party officials had been convened in the City Building in downtown Macomb, and Ron had showed up to help organize. At nearly 12 o’clock at night, Ron was abruptly awoken from his slumber in a chair in the lobby in the building by the McDonough County Republican Party Chairman. He must have been asleep for hours as the party heads were discussing what to do. “Hey kid-KID- you twenty-five?” A still-tired Ron wondered what was going on. “Yessir, I turned twenty-five years old a couple-“

“Great”, interrupted Mr. Chairman. “Now what I need you to do is go in that room and talk. Just talk like you did at that one meeting we had a couple months ago. Give a good speech.” The young Reagan agreed, still confused as to what was happening…

Late 1938

Illinois House of Representatives election, District 14:
Chester C. Thompson (D)(inc)- 49.6%
Ronald Reagan (R)- 50.4%


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To be continued!
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