In the Country
where people talk about their chores instead of their careers
Salutations, ye who swat mosquitoes without fear:
Sometimes, you can’t allow reality to dictate what you will and will not do.
I’m in the country with friends. I’m actually mostly here for the friendship; the country is just background. I would be just as happy seeing these people in a bunker.
Here, I saw two wild rabbits, a tiny red bug called a clover mite (that I thought was a chigger, but wasn’t), several dead flies and wasps, two lovely cats, a dog, some horses, lots of bats, bugs, mosquitoes, a moth, an ant, and several good humans. I also spent a good many minutes staring at a huge moon the color of the walls in my first real apartment. It is the color you see when sunset hits the oldest buildings in Manhattan in the month of October. It’s the color of a cinnamon soaked peach.
The moon wore that color like a borrowed dress that made her feel like the sun.
At the local farmer’s market (there is always a local farmer’s market) they had a cool system whereby the basket booth lady would swipe your credit card to sell you paper tokens you could use for cash in $5 increments at any of the other booths.
Minting money takes on a whole new meaning in a farmer’s market…
Oh - look what we found while driving back:
Question: if you only have memories left, and you are the only person with that memory, how can you be sure of the reality of what you think you experienced?
In other words: if you completely control the narrative, does that make it true?
Writing News:
The full recording (about an hour) of my book launch party will be ready this week. Here again is the very short recap (one minute).
I have been too busy with Pen Parentis admin work and experiencing the crumbling of my heart into a pile of wreckage to do anything but work on mundane admin tasks. You can still buy my story collection or this new anthology that includes one of my short stories.
(A friend just noticed a small but obvious error in that short story that ought to have been caught by an editor. LMK if you caught it too! Eagle eyes!)
Also I want to thank those of you who posted your reviews on Amazon for A Flash of Darkness - you are all spectacular humans. So many, many thanks.
Other things that happened this week: I had some lovely coffees with unexpected people and after many rescheduled calls (entirely my fault) a really nice and very generous Pen Parentis donor just raised her support of the programs by 40% (this did a lot to raise my mood!) I saw a Broadway show, Primary Trust, at the Roundabout Theater (closes tonight) in which the main character’s childhood trauma’s coping mechanisms were personified/portrayed as a very loyal and beloved best friend who prevented him from making connections to real people. Eventually the best friend gets in the way and the main character is left with the heartbreaking choice of discarding his beloved best friend (the trauma) or remaining emotionally crippled. It was so well done that the whole play never says the word “trauma” onstage.
Random Last Thought:
Was at the fire pit tonight eating roasted marshmallows and staring up at the moon and stars and watching the fireflies light up the impenetrable woods, when early fireworks colored the sky.
I like fireworks because they are pretty, but it turns out the first fireworks were meant to be scary. Or at least startling.
“It is believed that the first "firecrackers" were bamboo stalks that when thrown in a fire, would explode with a bang because of the overheating of the hollow air pockets in the bamboo” — American Pyrotechnic Association
Here’s hoping your 4th of July is full of sparkly sky magic.
The goodness of people in the world when it is shared is so great that it withstands the awfulness that is just everywhere. I picture compassion as this big bubble shield that others can hide beneath temporarily. Creating that shield for a moment in time takes energy, and I thank all of you who have reached out in kindness over the past awful many weeks.
Stay safe, hug your loved ones, and never take any relationship for granted.
love the moon wearing a borrowed dress!