Current Post On Trae’s Blog:
My grandmother died last night. This wasn't a shock or a surprise. Her health has been on the decline, and she's been in hospice for the last month. She lived a long life, and in her final days she was surrounded by her three adult children.
My grandma was a kind woman. She wasn't perfect, but I always felt loved in her presence. She was a retired kindergarten teacher, and was still working when I was a kid. I have so many happy memories sitting at her kitchen table, and I'm going to carry those with me for the rest of my life. She was also proof that anyone who claims that you get more conservative as you get older is full of shit, because she certainly didn't.
I think it's interesting how the body processes grief sometimes. I don't know that I'll cry, but over the past month, knowing this was coming, I've felt a tension in my gut. Now that she's passed, instead of relief that tension is replaced by a sense of emptiness. That something is missing that should still be there. Something has been taken away, and I feel it.
Of course, as I wrote that, I immediately started crying... so I guess my body processes grief in pretty ordinary ways too.
I wanted to come up with something profound linking this to Beltane, which we sit in the middle of right now, but it just seemed hackneyed. Like I was trying to dig out some greater significance when the truth is death comes whenever it wants. The only predictable thing about it is that it's the end of all of our journeys. I hope that when I pass I'm so lucky to have lived such a long life with people that I love around me in my final days.
For the record, I will be fine. I just needed to get these words out while they were still in my head. I don't have some rousing conclusion or deep insight to tack on here at the end, just that gut feeling that something is missing.
Because it is.
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Jesus christ, what kind of rats were breeding in this grocery store?
On the one hand, super cheap.
On the other, you’ve gotta deal with vicious rats who do not fear human presence.
… How much extra money do they have to work with exactly?
Urban rats in numbers take crap from no one. They’re well aware they’re not required to. Some “abandoned” buildings end up not hosting squatter populations for that very reason. The buildings are already occupied, and the rats appreciate food delivery as much as anyone.
*little bastards never tip though “/
Ruth suddenly becomes aware of her super powers to control rats and slowly becomes Willard.
Cheap or not, I’m willing to bet con-goers would freak out at seeing rats during the convention. And since rats are curious little buggers, I could see vendors having a problem with it (in the event they would still have bigger vendors in an open area like that). It might be a good move financially, but there’s going to be people who see it as prioritizing profit over con-goer safety, even if that’s far from the truth.
That kind of bad press can spread fast among the convention scene, especially if the one complaining has a platform or a following.
No no no! Do NOT run! It attracts attention and shows weakness, the two things you do NOT want to be doing. Walk briskly. Either maintain eye contact, or turn your back like they’re not worth your time, they’ll know it’s a bluff, but might respect the moxie.