"Business is Good" - Brain Teaser

Business is Good

Yeah, they keep me locked up, but I guess I'm thankful, in short.
I hand out the beatings, while my neighbors import and export.
We make a good team, especially me as the muscle,
But with two dozen guards, I'm glad we never tussle.
But really, I got a lotta my own connections,
Imports, exports, with thousands collectin'.
But between us, there's really no competition,
I call it harmonizin' cause we're on the same mission.
No one is unnecessary, or, you know, too small,
The guy upstairs is the boss of it all.
He's also incarcerated, but for his good I bet it is,
Business is good, so long as we get the messages.

Question:

Who's doing the talking, and who are the other players in this riddle? (there are a total of 28, minus the narrator's connections)

(Scoll Down for Solution)

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Answer


The parentheses are used to number the parts mentioned.

The HEART (1) is the one doing the talking. He is thankful to be "locked up" or guarded by the "two dozen guards," the (24) ribs that normal humans have in 2 pairs. The ribs protect, and guard both the heart and the LUNGS. The LUNGS are the 'neighbors' (2) that have the job of "Importing" and "Exporting" Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide. The heart is- literally speaking- the muscle, and 'hands out the beatings' (heart beats). Of course, the heart itself has many "connections" or veins, arteries, and capillaries that "import" and "export" that valuable fluid we call blood. None of these members' job is unnecessary, or small, and they never compete with each other because they have the one mission of keeping a person alive. And, last but not least, the "guy upstairs" who is "the boss of it all" is 'incarcerated' by-yes-the skull. He is none other than the BRAIN (1), which sends electrical messages to all the other members via nerves, which tell them what to do. Business is good so long as these messages are sent. If they aren't, nothing is moving, and....well, then you're DEAD. (28)