The Lion the Witch and the Closet
Doesn't have the same ring. Choices matter.
Salutations, ye who never know what to wear and yet somehow manage to leave the house dressed,
I remember thinking that I would one day have a closet that looked like this:
But I never was able to get rid of all the colorful things that have sentimental value - truly there are memories in the threads. I have been unable to give away some things because of where or how I got them, unable to give up others because of how good they looked on me decades ago, unable to give up a few because they were so expensive and surely—surely—I will one day have an occasion to wear that steampunk vermilion ball gown. Surely! But of course most of the things I can’t give up are things that remind me of a time that is, well, lost to time. Given how unwilling I am to part with these memories, it’s crazy that most of the time I do not plan my outfits more than a few minutes in advance.
In any event, I was thinking about my insanely overstuffed closet and bureau and wondering how it is that you can walk hours and hours in NYC and never see the same outfit twice.
How is that even possible considering that most of us shop in national chain stores buying clothes off a rack? People literally buy whole outfits from a mannequin.
How is it that we so rarely see anyone wearing the exact same thing as we are wearing? We see loads of people in similar trends, complimentary styles, lots of couples that seem matchy-matchy (I posted a few of these on Twitter the other day) But since we are all, however vaguely, also paying attention to something called fashion, which tells us what is appropriate to wear—why are we so rarely in a room with someone who is dressed in the exact same thing we are? It’s baffling.
You can walk hours in NYC and never see the same outfit twice.
I feel like this is saying something far deeper - on an individual level as well as a biological level.
It’s not that we don’t actually want to be cookie-cutter copies of each other, it’s that nature has made it very HARD to be cookie-cutter copies of each other.
Speaking of cookie cutters, I’ve been trying to figure out which stories to send to this editor who wants to do a collection. I could send stories that have nothing to do with each other, stories that are all the same tone/mood, or stories that are all similar subject matter. This is a very hard choice.
This week, an author sent me flowers. You’re not going to believe this but this is the first time this has happened to me. Don’t get me wrong: I love the bottles of wine and the book acknowledgements, the coffees, teas and the thank-you notes (and have gotten some memorably great ones, looking at you, famous author who sent me a gorgeous vintage Nancy Drew card) but this is the first time that a writer has ever thanked me with flowers. And not just any flowers - flowers that I have never seen before! Check out this rose:
Anyway - it made me happy in a tough week that otherwise was a LOT of data-entry and admin work. And hard choices. Too many hard choices!
Writing News:
My favorite story (well, currently favorite) just came out in the coolest magazine called After Dinner Conversation. This is a magazine of short fiction that intends…you guessed it…to incentivize long conversations about philosophy and ethics. How? By publishing thought-provoking stories with questions to use as prompts for meaningful late-night discussions.
My story, “The Heaven - The Earth,” is set in NYC and quite surreal and I hope you feel like dropping $1 to read it.
They are offering 3 issues of the digital magazine for a dollar—or you can buy a single issue on Kindle for $2.99 on Amazon. They also have an option to get a free issue, but I do not know if the free issue will be the current issue or some random back issue. (Someone please test this and let us know in the comments.) Anyway - this is the link - and this, my friends is the cover:
ALSO! There’s a new podcast interview that’s live now - click here to access the show notes and here to access the recording. Thanks to Kaitlin Solimine and team for a really professional experience. Her podcast centers on productivity after you have a child. Check it out.
Final random thought:
Who named this planet Earth, anyway? And what would it take to change the name? I’d like to vote for “Water.”
Can you ask the editor about which short stories?