🧟‍♀️ Just—EEK!!! Gardner 💀

Oh god. As the parent of a pathological early riser I feel ya. As do our downstairs neighbors.

A photo from the New York Times of the East Wing of the White House (built in 1902) before Trump bulldozed it to dust without permits for a ballroom because he plans on never leaving and democracy is fucked. The caption says: “Critics are outraged over its demolition, but some welcome a change.”

Today’s NYT front page: Above the fold, using an old pre-demo photo with the caption: “Critics are outraged over its demolition, but *some* welcome a change.”

I assume in this instance, “some” means “oligarchs buying access and shitting on democracy,” right @nytimes.com?

She stomps to the river. Coming? she says to her brother, not looking over her shoulder. The mild #terror that usually seizes her when she hops from stone to water-slick stone is absent. Within minutes she is across, her sneakers squelching as she climbs the slick, pine-needled bank. #vss365 25/31

This is juvenile, embarrassing, and…yeah. They also forgot the part about enslaved peoples building it…but hey! Hunter Biden did drugs and has a massive hog or something … 🤷‍♀️

I knew you’d chicken out, he says. Anger flares. What? Don’t you see them? She points to the river. See who? She turns: no one is there. He laughs. Was it a ghost this time, sis? Or another of your little #martians phoning home? She stares at the empty river and bites down a scream. #vss365 24/31

OMG, totally forgot about this gem. Time for a rewatch! 🥩

a painting of three rabbits flying through the air . ALT: a painting of three rabbits flying through the air .

Thanks for uncovering my buried childhood trauma this a.m...R.IP. Fiver and Hazel...😭

The urge to keep moving is so strong she forgets her pail on the bank behind her. She turns back for it, spots a face peering around the trunk of a nearby pine. Her brother! How long has he been hiding there, so close yet #unseen, ignoring her calls? Ignoring the strangers in her path? #vss365 23/31

Exactly!

😱 NOOOOOOOOO! *runs screaming for the hand sanitizer*

Are these for employees preparing food or...*shudder* everyone to use?

Like the man in the river, the woman is statue still; a cloth-covered basket hangs from one of her arms. There is an odd absence of #energy in both their slack, blank-eyed faces. Perhaps this is why she gets up and decides to try and cross the river as though they weren’t even there. #vss365 22/31

On the other side of the river there’s movement, a twig snap. She jumps at the sound; the stranger doesn’t flinch. She strains to see who’s out there: her brother? But no, it is someone else: an old woman. Wearing a torn apron and staring from behind a tree with empty #saucerlike eyes. #vss365 21/31

Every #atom in her body is telling her to get up, to get far away from this stranger and fast. She thinks of her mother’s instructions if someone tries to abduct her: kick them in the balls, she said, and run like hell. But the man still isn’t moving; it is like he can’t even see her. #vss365 20/31

East Wing of the White House for trump’s vanity ballroom

Where was her brother? He must still be lurking behind, #hovering like a buzzy insect. As annoying as he could be, she knew he’d never go back without her. He’d never leave her in the woods. She calls out, hoping he hears her over the rush of the water. The man with pail does not move. #vss365 19/31

Where had he come from? He remained completely still, his pale dusty face expressionless, like an #android or alien imposter whose skin would peel off to reveal his lizard body beneath. The water continued to rush over his feet, and he just stood there, as though waiting for something. #vss365 18/31

Congrats! I quite enjoyed it and it deserves to be out in the world.

But...but...they're new! Virgin soles! Right?

He smiled at her but said nothing. He held a pail like her own, but larger, dented, rusted. Despite standing ankle deep in the river, his torn shirt looked dusty, the skin of his thin pale face cracked and dry as though he had just come in from working #arid, drought-ruined fields. #vss365 17/31

At least a half dozen times a year this pops into my head; usually when I'm thinking about The Lost Boys or in a particularly deep Billy Joel hole.

She looked behind her: no one was there. She turned to the river and started. A man was standing on the large rock marking its middle, his back to her. Water rushed over his booted feet. At her grunt of surprise, he spun to face her, his skin the #unearthly pallor of skimmed milk. #vss365 16/31

Oh wait so this is where the ICE babies are getting their gear

Or this one?

In Spirit Halloween and I think I found my No Kings inflatable…. #nokings

She heard the river's rush before she saw it. The sudden rain had swollen it since their last visit. Landmark stones were now slick with moving water. She sat near the edge, set her bucket down. A black #beetle scurried from the threat of her sneaker. Behind her, someone laughed. #vss365 10/15

thanks for the fun posts, @thedevilstuna.bsky.social. It's been a treat playing with the words you gave us. As for famous musicians from my natal city...well there are a lot but Steely Dan went to my college along with Chevy Chase...

The fallen needles were deep on the ground, muffling her footsteps like a #deluxe rust-brown shag carpet. The kind their grandmother had that swallowed their bare feet to the ankles. She had a sudden urge to lie down among the needles and rest but knew her brother could not be trusted. #vss365 14/31

She kept going; he was surely shadowing her, waiting to jump out and laugh at her cries. So she continued walking deeper into the forest, listening for the river. She heard nothing but the steady patter of rain overhead, with #undertones of thunder’s rumble. Even the birds were quiet. #vss365 13/31

Not only that but my best friend’s phone number, my dad’s phone number, my parents’ mountain cabin number, and the number for the local movie theater.

I’ll see myself to the glue yard now.