Audrey packs her kids into the Humvee and heads toward the smoke. There’s been a pileup on the freeway. She takes a video game in case the kids get bored by the spectacle of burned flesh. When the excitement is over, she comes home and turns on the TV to learn the latest body count in our perpetual wars. The evening news puts her on the frontlines. Later when the kids are in bed, she watches a Tarantino film on Netflix. And afterwards, a murder mystery helps her fall asleep. It looks to be another quiet evening in the neighborhood.
Sivan Pillai
15/1/2021 12:45:39 pm
We get used to all the horrors of life. Nice narration, Jim.
Jim Woessner
16/1/2021 12:24:53 am
Thanks, Sivan. It's amazing how numb so many of us are, particularly in the age of Trump.
Mary Wallace
15/1/2021 04:17:59 pm
It is interesting what now passes for entertainment. Good story Jim.
Jim Woessner
16/1/2021 12:25:13 am
Thanks, Mary.
Sue Clayton
16/1/2021 02:41:04 am
So much domestic and overseas mayhem shown on the news these day that we are becoming immune to so many horrific situations, as your story so well describes, Jim. One day we might surface from death, disease, wars, starvation, and smell the roses again.
Jim Woessner
16/1/2021 11:32:27 pm
You sound hopeful, Sue. I'm not so sure. I think our only salvation is to learn to smell the roses in and amongst the horrors that we suffer and perpetuate. I recently read a novel about WWII in which the protagonist was smelling the proverbial roses as bombs were dropping all around and neighbors were turning in their neighbors. That may be the only hope we have for the long term.
Jennifer Duncan
16/1/2021 02:31:26 pm
Do we gravitate toward shocking stories because we are bored or because we are trying to make sense of the scary things in our own life? I don't have the answer but your story gives us something to think about. Well written.
Jim Woessner
16/1/2021 11:37:19 pm
I've thought about it a lot, Jennifer. It bothers me how much we focus on things that push the envelop. Not only do we long for unique loves and pleasures, but so often we seem enamored of greater tragedies. Not consciously but in subtle ways that we readily deny. I notice, for example, that I'm awed in some unhealthy way when I read that more people died from covid today than yesterday. We're captivated by negative as well as positive record setting. And I don't know what that's about. Thanks for the comment.
Candace Arthuria Williams
17/1/2021 05:56:55 pm
OMG. The Inauguration is coming! The Inauguration is coming! Comments are closed.
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