Report: Last Weekend of June 2022

Saturday

I caught the bus and walked from Elm to Wheeling. 

I saw a black fox squirrel. Not rare, not uncommon, but I have been seeing a lot of them on Muncie's northside.

Sign of what is coming to Minnetrista.

A sign of the times.

I washed dishes until 3 P. M. Then to Payless for groceries. I took the Mall bus and then a short walk home. Here are $30 worth of groceries.

I did my laundry. I did my email. I listened to a little of Commie Francis on WPRB. I talked to my sister for a short while. Then I got tangled up in Ancestry.com.  Tangled up enough I was about cross-eyed. 

I finally gave up my efforts. I did not sleep well. The cpap mask kept voming loose. I have some super glue. My Uncle John comes to mind, suggesting this solution. I overslept by an hour.

A complaint I no longer have but what a great version:

A Desolate Sunday Morning Going Down

We had rain last night. I took off with my umbrella and phone.

Things looked quiet on Broadway as I walked south. There is the McClure station.

Another sign of the times:

Not even any trains running:

More quiet on the northside of the mall:

And the mall should not surprise:

But McGalliard at Granville might:

A new restaurant makes its appearance:

I think this was a Noble Roman's 40 years ago.

I found a mailbox. I have no idea how many times I walked past this:

The view down Granville, the way I am going:

Is this place open?

I do not think they build like this any more:

Streeter intersection east and west:

Different signs of the times:

The point where once was a bar called The Island, now gone with trees planted unlikely to ever to be anything built here again.

Down to Granville and Centennial and a couple of interesting buildings and a continuing dearth of traffic and/or life:

I made Centennial and Walnut here. To the north once was a Wise's grocery store. Marsh might have taken that over. Both companies are gone and this is what their disappearance looks like.

Not any traffic going to Minnetrista:

A little more life at the Wheeling intersection:

I got a fountain Coke at the convenience store. I went to work. The last hour gave me a headache, a little nausea. I think it was from not eating.

And for the walk back:

A little more life, still I feel there is a depletion. Am I getting too old? Is what I sense the result of de-industrialization or COVID or all of the past 40 years or all of the above?

But this seems so Muncie, the back end of the Delaware County fairgrounds and a home improvement contractor's building:

And so does this artwork:

Another rejection for "Colonel Tom" and this one hits on a worry I have had - that the time jumps confuse people.

Dear Samuel,

Thank you for sending "Colonel Tom" to The Lakeshore Review.  We appreciate the opportunity to review your submission. We have decided against including your work within this issue, although we welcome your interest for upcoming issues. Visit us at https://www.lakeshoreliterary.com/review for additional information about our reading windows and publication cadence.

I'm happy you're back to writing after your felony conviction. As someone who used to volunteer as a chaplain in Michigan prisons, I'm happy to help ex-offenders where I can. In that spirit, let me share that I think you'll find some real value in workshopping this story. There's something interesting here, but the prevalence of dialogue over action and the sometimes hard-to-follow time jumping yield an inconsistent read. But keep at it; there's something beautiful here, you're just not done fine-tuning it yet.

We know first-hand that rejections suck, but it's better to send your work and be rejected than to never submit at all. So my co-editor and I tip our hats to you for enduring the slog, and we wish you the best of success on your continuing literary journey.

Sincerely,

Jason Gillikin

Co-Editor

The Lakeshore Review

I did this after being a dozy sod, after dinner, after a hot shower, and put paid to my night. Have a good one. 

sch