Skip to main content

Emotion 365: The Land of Good, the Capitol Happy

Main street of the little town of Good runs along a wide tree-lined river. In autumn, the leaves drop orange, red, and gold into the river. Temperatures are comfortable. Grapes purple on vines. Every yard has raised garden beds. People and deer walk the clean paths through parks. They enter little shops with peaked roofs. Dogs run alongside them and play together. Brilliant sunrises and sunsets charm visitors. Apples crispen pink, yellow, green on well-watered trees. They taste sweet and tart. People swim in the cool and slow river Good. Walkways winds through the valley.

Miss Emeline Traveler nods and smiles, “This is a favorite places. Lots of land. Lots of space.”

She takes an apple from a nearby tree and bites in.

The capitol Happy holds many festivals. There are always farmer’s markets on Happy Street beside Good river. The Happy shops sell coconut ice cream and apple pies and tarts and figurines of dogs and deer. The shop cats like to play with the figurines and each other. The shops also sell very old and well-cared for things.

In this Happy pedestrian place, beautiful trees with red bark, gnarled roots, and tangled limbs grow and drop their golden leaves into the Good river to slowly float away. The Happy air smells of mums and maple. On some festival days candles light the river pathway which everyone walks. Deer frolic in the streets. One takes an apple from a little girl’s raised hand.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target   by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy Story Review: "Gestella" by Susan Palwick

Why it springs to mind: A hauntingly beautiful horror story about what happens when a woman relinquishes her power. A unique werewolf story with commentary on aging. Where read: First in Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology  ( 2015, PM Press edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer) and then in Palwick's collection The Fate of Mice ( 2007, Tachyon Publications ) — both outstanding! These presses won't steer you wrong. Summary: A young woman werewolf allows herself to be dominated by a lover who takes control of her fate. Memorable: The powerful ending! The word: sportfuck. A new take on lycanthropy. Written in second person — you. Quote:  "You know that your growing wisdom is the benefit of aging, the compensation for your wrinkles and your fading—although fading slowly as yet—beauty. You also know that Jonathan didn't marry you for wisdom."  Personal connection: Some of my favorite stories seem to be the ones that address t...