The horror

Before the night's first customer sits down, a cook has to have his mise en place ready. Michael Ruhlman, author of The Elements of Cooking, defines "meez" as:

"Literally, 'put in place,' mise en place is the kitchen term for your setup, the gathering and preparation of all the tools and food you need to complete the task at hand."

Strewn around my apartment are my literary mise en place. Books on African folklore and wisdom literature, African fiction and poetry and, of course, relevant '80s movies (there are two in particular).

That being said, I'm improving my knowledge of African literature. And yet, are Africans m primary audience? Probably not. Westerners will be, I reckon. And what works tell of Africa and Africans from the Westerner's point of view? Well, two come to mind: Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

While I'd like to be as clever as Joyce - dropping references left and right in multiple languages - I know that at the end of the day I'll be talking to myself. Therefore, rather than nibble around the plate with an assortment of obscure references (no knuckle-curves here), I've decided to stick with a few rather well-known works to work off of. Heart of Darkness will be one of those works.

Heart of Darkness would allow me to conceivably turn this one-sided story on its head at the expense of its former protagonists. And by having the African characters quote it back to the Westerners they come across, it sends a message to the American characters: You do not act in a vacuum. We have read your books, we follow your economy and politics, we know your geography. And this knowledge of your world is our power. Do you know ours?

Heart of Darkness and Coming to America, a recipe for literary laughs.

Hold Up, Wait A Minute

While looking at Mississippi's economic performance the last ten years or so, I learned something rather important: Compared to Michigan, Mississippi ain't doing too bad. It's easy to pick on a rural southern state because of certain stereotypes, but to call out a state that's home to what was once the Big Three could make for an even better story. I'm going to take a closer look at the numbers and think about how location will impact plot lines.

In the meantime, I finished the intro chapter's third draft and am going to start it's fourth. I'm content with the dialogue, but the secondary action could be smoother and richer. The characters are also coming into focus, but could be more refined. I'd also like to adopt certain writing styles when discussing the African characters as opposed to American ones. The two groups have distinctly different styles and those can be reflected in how they are described as well as when they speak.

MIssissippi's turn

A cursory glance at Mississippi's vital economic statistics do not paint a dreary picture.

"In 2006 Mississippi had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $26,908. This PCPI ranked 50th in the United States and was 73 percent of the national average, $36,629. The 2006 PCPI reflected an increase of 5.7 percent from 2005. The 2005-2006 national change was 5.6 percent. In 1996 the PCPI of Mississippi was $17,702 and ranked 50th in the United States." Source

"Earnings of persons employed in Mississippi increased from $51,161,429 in 2005 to $53,731,381 in 2006, an increase of 5.0 percent. The 2005-2006 national change was 5.7 percent. The average annual growth rate from the 1996 estimate of $34,555,092 to the 2006 estimate was 4.5 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.5 percent." (Same source)

"In 2006 Mississippi had a total personal income (TPI) of $78,317,451. This TPI ranked 34th in the United States. In 1996 the TPI of Mississippi was $48,646,260 and ranked 33rd in the United States. The 2006 TPI reflected an increase of 5.8 percent from 2005. The 2005-2006 national change was 6.6 percent. The 1996-2006 average annual growth rate of TPI was 4.9 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.3 percent." (Ditto)

That being said...

- At $34,278, the median household income in Mississippi was only 64% of the national average ($44,334) - which ranks it last in that category.
- 19.3% of population in 2004 was under the poverty line as compared to the national average of 12.7%. (Source)

The state's unemployment rate and total number of people in the labor pool has also been respectable. As of November 2007, the state's unemployment rate was 6.3% (the national rate is 4.7%).

Mississippi does not have a minimum wage law.

All in all, while Mississippi has lagged behind national averages in growth, simply put, it has grown. Michigan, on the other hand, was the only state in the union to register a negative change in real GDP in 2006 (-0.5% to MS' 2.5%). Michigan also spilled red ink in 2004 with a -0.8 change in real GDP. So while Michigan brought up the rear in percent change, Mississippi was 35th and in the black.

Michigan does fare far better in per capita real GDP than Mississippi (89% to 64%), but what this probably means is that there is no middle class; executives make a lot while blue collar workers and the unemployed squeak by. Not that the Michigan execs aren't safe; per capita real GDP there was 96% just the other day, in 2003. More tellingly, Michigan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has risen from 4.7% in January 1997 to 7.4% in November 2007.

Michigan has also slipped in its total current-dollar GDP to the nation's pot from 3.3% in 2003 to 2.9% in 2006. Mississippi has remained relatively steady at 0.6% during that time. Hell, the state treasurer's report for October 2007 was down-right glum including the subtitle, "October 2007 Unemployment Rates Rose in All Major Michigan Labor Market Areas" with Monroe taking the week-old cake at 8.2%.

How do these figures impact the story? Well, a couple Africans trying to jump-start a consistently third-tier economy which few expect much from isn't as ballsy as them trying to give CPR to a former workhorse and point of national pride that's reeling.

Information, please

The story's two main characters are from Botswana. I chose Botswana because of it's economic record in recent years. Here are some tidbits from the Economist's Pocket World in Figures (2007):

1. #25 in economic growth from 1994-2004 (The U.S. is not in the top 50; Singapore was #34, South Korea #38) with an average annual percent increase in real GDP of 5.8%
2. #4 in economic growth from 1984-1994 (again ahead of Singapore (#7) and Hong Kong (#16); U.S. was not in the top 20) with an average annual percent increase in real GDP of 8.1%
3. #30 in their economic freedom index (U.S. was tied for #9; ahead of #33 Spain and #37 Taiwan)
4. A $483 million current account surplus (#48) to the U.S.' $9 trillion current account deficit (#1 in the world)
5. #26 largest surplus as percent of GDP at 5.4% (U.S. is neither in the top 50 largest surpluses as percent of GDP or top 40 largest deficits as percent of GDP; but Australia is at #38 in deficits)
6. And Botswana isn't a bunch of farmers stuffing money under their mattresses; its economy is ranked 22nd in being least dependent on agriculture (U.S. is #9)
7. #41 highest growth in number of listed companies from 2000-2005 at 12.5% (#5 Spain was up 223.8%; #7 Canada 162.4%; U.S. was out of the top 48)

Botswana also avoids mention among:

1. Largest refugee nationalities
2. Origin of asylum applications to industrialized countries
3. Lowest quality of life
4. Lowest GDP per head
5. Lowest purchasing power
6. Lowest human development index
7. Lowest services growth 1994-2004 (Brazil was #15)
8. Consumer price inflation
9. Lowest growth in industrial output
10. Lowest primary education enrollment (particularly impressive considering their small percentage of education funding)
11. Least literate (ditto)
12. Highest infant morality
13. Lowest health spending (which raises other questions)
14. Obesity (The U.S. is 5th and 8th for men and women respectively (from 1999-2003, most recent data) at 27.7% and 34%. Ouch.)
15. Crime (though they must have a high conviction rate - see below)
    

Not to say everything's peachy there:

1. #10 in lowest percent of population in labor force at 35% (U.S. has 50.9% highest percentage)
2. #8 in unemployment at 19.6% (4.7% in the U.S.; I am trusting the U.S. gubment on this one...)
3. Despite their success, Botswana only spends 2.2% of its GDP on education, 10th lowest. That being said, they seem to be getting a lot of bang for their buck.
4. Most disturbingly, Botswana's life expectancy is 33.9 years (2nd lowest globally). This figure kinda fucks me up. Who cares if your country is successful if you're dead by 34? Tuberculosis is a big killer (7th worst in the world) as is HIV/AIDS (4th most estimated deaths worldwide with 24.1% of the 15-49 year old population as carriers (2nd worst)).
   
5. #1 in most road accident deaths with 30 people dying per 100,000 (then again only 36 out of every 1,000 Botswanans own a car so perhaps it's because of lack of practice? Hmmm.)
6. 22nd highest percent of population in the slammer, but still a bunch of goody-two-shoes compared to the good ol' U.S. of A which ranks second behind Rwanda; yeah, that hurts.
   
7. Botswana also spends more on defense (4% of GDP) than the U.S. (3.8%). Then again, if they were neighbors with Canada and Mexico instead of Angola and Zimbabwe I'd like to think this number would be lower.
8. Lastly, Botswana's seen an annual average change of 118,000 hectares of forested land from 2000-2005 (26th most; Brazil's #1 with over 3 million).

While it's easy to explain Botswana's economic gains as the product of starting off so poor, their successes are still nothing to sneeze at. That being said, their challenges (HIV/AIDS, TB and their predilection for playing chicken) prove that they are still human, fallible and without all the answers. No one wants to read about a bunch of preachy know-it-alls, even if they're funny. If I can address their faults as well as their strengths, it'll give the characters and the story additional depth. It'll also introduce elements of doubt into the story which should keep readers on edge: "Susie, no! Don't get in the car with him!" Ah, the possibilities.

That's a look at Botswana. Up next: The state famous for its sing-songy spelling, delta blues and school yard rush counts: One Mississippi.

What's the story?

"The Little Engine" is my way of kicking myself in the ass. It will follow my progress in writing a novel about a couple Africans who set up their own Peace Corps operation...in Mississippi.

At present I'm on the third draft of the introductory chapter which I plan to submit as a short story.

As I go I'll discuss the research I'm doing for the novel, how my approach to different aspects of the book develops and I may even post bits for public criticism.