Little Lennie

LITTLE LENNIE ‘LA LEVADURA’ There was a time, not so long ago, that there lived a granule of yeast whose street name was Little Lennie La Levadura ( some said he was Mexican and others that he was Spanish in origen, but it doesn’t really matter). Because Little Lennie was very special, he was the only granule of yeast with a conscience. He actually knew what was going on around him and... he cared! One day, he was born. For a granule of yeast this means that after being dormant for some time he was placed in a sugery and watery environment. Specifically, on a nice March day he was placed in batch #30887654df with a lot of his people, along with a lot of sugar, water, and some fruit. Now Lennie and his people were very happy with this sitation: they had all the water they could drink, all the sugar they could eat, and all the air they could breathe. It was as if some god had said to them ‘Go forth and multiply’ So they did. Every several hours they split in two and multiplied…. 2,4,8,16.32.64.128.…etc. In a couple of days the party was really getting good. But Lennie started to have doubts… The water didn’t taste so good any more, the air was getting a little heavy, and the sugar was starting to disappear. And what was worse, it was getting hot, so many yeast dancing about and multiplying… And all in a small space… well: So Little Lennie La Levadura called all his 1,024,000 brothers and sisters to his little niche (which he calle Kioto or Copenhagen, depending on his mood) and spoke to them thus: “Hey guys; I mean, we’re having fun and all that, but… don’t you think we’re overdoing it just a little? I mean, the air’s not so nice, the water’s getting bad, it’s getting a little warm in here, and I think the sugar is starting to disappear. Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard 1,024,000 yeast granules laughing at the same time, but it’s not a pretty sound, and Little Lennie La Levadura, his face blushing at the experience, had to skulk of the stage. After that nasty experience he tried talking individually with people. First he tried an economist who told him that nothing was ever destroyed or created, only transformed, and therefore the only thing that mattered was making money from transforming things into other things. “But what happens if we transform things that we need to live into things that kill us?”, asked Lennie.

“We economists aren’t responsible for that, we just calculate the maximum benefit to be had from each resource and let the companies decide how to maximize their profits.” Then he tried a scientist who told him that scientific reason is very different from common sense and that since he, the scientist, was either being paid by the government, by lawyers for big corporations, or by special interest groups, he could state the truth in as many ways as Lennie liked. So finally he tried a priestly granule of yeast, who told him that god had created his batch and that this was the best of all possible batches; and to think that god would not provide succor for his creatures was blasphemy. So por Little Lennie La Levadura went back to his corner and waited for the end: perhaps he dreamed of being abducted by aliens to another world where, although captive, there would stil be air and water and sugar. Perhaps he dreamed of floating away to another batch where he could start again: perhaps he dreamed of the stupidity of all yeast when they think that there is no end to the good time. Perhaps, we are yeast.