@stevendbrewer@wandering.shop

The man smiled and casually threw an arm out to gather her in. At the last moment, she set herself on the balls of her feet, stepped inside his reach, and threw an elbow into his throat. He fell to his knees gagging and strangling, his larynx in spasm.(2/4) #wss366

Three large men, wearing loose-fitting athletic clothes came out from around the building. Two of the men squared off against Jimmy.
"Hitch!" barked one. "Get the girl!"
"Run, Coral!" Jimmy shouted. "Run!"
Coral stood, as through frozen, as one of the men charged at her. (1/4) #wss366

Got to go on an adventure with a boxer dog. #DogsOfMastodon

#WritersCoffeeClub What wisdom do you wish you could share with your younger self?

Winning lottery numbers? There's a lot of specific information that might have been very helpful. Wisdom is harder. I did many unwise things as a young person, but I don't think "sharing" wisdom with me would have been helpful.

Wisdom is generally hard won. It's not like I didn't know what I was doing even then. At some point, I realized it wasn't helpful to keep kicking myself when looking back. That helped.

I told myself that since I was going to be doing Watch City today (even tho I didn't go) it was OK that I didn't get any work done.

Watch City load out. Nopity-nope-nope.

There was a brief lessening in the rain around noon and I felt a little guilty, but here's 2pm — half-way through the event. OK. I'm officially glad I'm not there.

Because I like to torture myself, here's the radar at load-in.

After checking the forecast, I sadly decided to cancel my plans to sell books at the Watch City Steampunk Festival this year. https://stevendbrewer.com/watching-the-rain-on-watch-city-from-home/

Thy spathe and spadix, they comfort me… #BloomScrolling

Today, I taught the last class and presided over the last Faculty Senate meeting of my career. I don't formally retire until August, but this was a huge step. And it's my 38th wedding anniversary! My wife & I are celebrating at 30B. Cheers!

As they came around the corner, Jimmy saw a shadow detach from the wall. He ducked as someone swung a bat which whistled above his head and bashed the wall. He sprang back with a curse. (5/5) #wss366

"It was not like this the last time I was here," Jimmy said.
"When was that?"
"Hmm… How old are you?" He chuckled and she rolled her eyes.
They walked around a decrepit and boarded up building that had once had public bathrooms. (4/5) #wss366

There was no-one visible through the chain-link fence. There was an overflowing trash can near the entrance and litter scattered everywhere: empty cans, cups, and fast-food wrappers. Coral even saw some syringes laying on the ground behind a bench. (3/5) #wss366

He fired up the engine, backed out of the driveway, and roared out of the neighborhood.
"Are we going to the same place?" Coral asked.
"No. This time we're meeting in a park."
A half hour later, he pulled into an empty lot next to a run-down municipal park. (2/5) #wss366

"Go?" Coral squeaked. "But I just got out of bed!"
"Change. Fast!" Jimmy said.
Coral ran back to her bedroom, threw on jeans and a clean top, then hustled back.
Jimmy had wolfed his omelet and washed up. As soon as she was ready, he led her back out and they got into the big truck. (1/5) #wss366

Ooh! Ooh! Is it Donald Trump?

He grabbed the handset and listened. Coral could hear a mechanical voice that repeated a string of digits several times. Jimmy replaced the handset in the cradle.
"Let's go," he said, abandoning his breakfast uneaten. (5/5) #wss366

In moments, he joined her with an identical omelet for himself. He cut a bite and was about to eat it when the phone rang.
Coral stood and started to reach for the phone, but Jimmy got there first. (4/5) #wss355

He poured a dollop of cream in her cup, then began to cook another omelet for himself.
She took a sip of coffee and inspected the omelet. It was simple, eggs lightly browned and folded over, with spinach and melted cheese inside. She took a taste and found it delicious. (3/5) #wss366