Community Spotlight: Slice of life stories create the comfort of pre-pandemic normality

Three of the personal experience stories this week are food-centric: a paean to the author’s favorite cider; a chef’s musings about food foraging and cooking techniques; and a restaurant dinner outside during a snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains. Another describes the author’s involvement in a street protest over a labor dispute. The fifth guides readers to a soothing Audible book. Other Community stories analyzed how public transit measures fared in the recent election, the intersection of life-expectancy measures and public health, and an important political silence. We also rescued  a “best of 2020” book list, and a Christmas poem. Six of these stories are the first rescues for long-standing Community members and all 10 meet our Rescue criteria of “well written stories that deserve more attention.”  Here’s another chance to enjoy them.

rescued stories from 4pm est friday dec. 18 to 4pm est friday dec. 25, 2020

Biographical information for each of these Community members comes from what they have shared in stories and on their profile pages. Thus, there is robust information for some people, less for others. Differences in their bios do not reflect the value these writers bring to their stories, just the amount of self-reveal. If you add your preferred pronouns to your profile, I’ll use them; otherwise I use the gender neutral “they/them/their.”

The day we clogged the Freeway—2013 by PadreMellyrn is a first-hand account of a labor dispute that led the union to organize public protests. The protesters were looking for concessions that would have helped patients, as well as the nurses and janitorial staff who were out in the street, literally as protesters and figuratively as laid-off employees. “(T)he group of 20 people, including our President of the Union, walked to the middle of the Intersection and sat down … First the police advised us to ‘leave or be arrested’ for blocking the roadway, and this is where I have to remind people, THIS IS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, YES THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THAT! … (but) Corporate Media figured out that if they didn’t give us air time, nobody else would know about this, and the last thing they wanted was more upset people.” PadreMellyrn’s profile page bio reads “Used to work for the man, but got tired of the BS more than once, so I am retired for now, working on the house to keep it a home.” They joined in 2015 and have written 36 stories (with three rescued). 

The Gift of Silence by dratler highlights an important political silence taking place right now: the almost complete lack of blather flowing from the president. Dratler muses about how this silence has potentially unfrozen legislative gridlock and relates a surprising historical analogy for the last five years—Kremlinology. “Reality is not overrated. It’s the chief concern of the sane. For four years (five, including the candidacy) our news media, our public thinkers, our pols and even our bureaucracy have been focused on the outpourings of a single self-obsessed mind. Now they can focus on reality.” Dratler joined in 2016 and has written 76 stories (with one rescued).

Contemporary Fiction Views: A few favorites by bookgirl presents her “best of 2020” list of 10 books that “even in a year of finding it difficult to focus on reading, overcame the obstacles to warm my heart and spark my imagination.” Bookgirl gives a brief synopsis of each book and links a previous story that reviews the book in greater detail. “The world remains an unstable place and there is plenty of crazy and evil out there. But being able to return to reading to help balance it all out and find reserves to do one’s best in the world has been a positive step for me.” Bookgirl joined in 2008 and has written 241 stories (with 93 rescued). They are a “proud public school librarian and teacher who believes in reading widely and deeply.”

Saving our local restaurants can mean a sacrifice by ColoTim offers a vignette of pandemic life.
“We went to one of our favorite local restaurants … to have an early dinner tonight. Estes Park will only allow outdoor dining or taking food to go, so we found that we should dress in layers and bring blankets for an outdoor meal … We stuck it out to be the last ones on the patio as we sipped my snowed down beer and my wife’s watered martini.” ColoTim, who joined in 2006 and has written 304 stories (with two rescued recently), lives in Estes Park, Colo.

Life Expectancy and Public Health by ArkDem14 discusses how these two complex topics intertwine and uses detailed data to analyze how they unite in public health policies. “(T)he Blue Zones Project is a famous and well-funded project identifying ‘longevity zones’ across the world, isolating key factors of the diet and lifestyle, and promulgating them in media. Blue Zones … are an influential label, and the project has numerous partnerships with civic organizations, non-profits, and even corporations … The group does a lot of good work, highlighting the role of urban planning, natural movement, sustainable and healthy diets, and the need for systemic changes to lifestyle and civic infrastructure for the sake of public health. However, my worry is that the BZP … (policies) are too shaped and warped by an antiquated value system that romanticizes pastoral or agrarian rural lifestyles….” ArkDem14 joined in 2006 and has written 181 stories (with 16 rescued).  “I’m a writer, and moderately liberal. It is my conviction that we can’t give up in the South. I believe socially conservative, economically populist can still win elections there.” 

A very small cider-based Solstice miracle by malapert provides just what the headline offers—an ode to the author’s favorite cider. Usually the supply lasts until Thanksgiving. However, it was especially long-lasting this year, a small miracle that malapert considers a sign. “(F)or a magical period beginning in September and ending in late November to early December … I get to savor my vodka with Burrville cider. They make, hands-down, the best cider I have ever tasted. Northern kids are raised with a taste for cider, and an appreciation for the good stuff. I’ve been drinking cider for sixty or more years.” Malapert joined in 2013 and has written 93 stories (with one rescued). The author of two science fiction novels and over 50 short stories, malapert lives on an island and is a wildlife rehabber.

For Friends Twice Bereaved At Christmastime by Gaelsdottir examines the effect tragedy has on holidays, when happy memories and the expectation of joy sharpen melancholy and grief. She counsels that “tears are the proper sacrament” on a holyday, and that “It is too soon to think of comfort now. / Never be ashamed to weep.” Gaelsdottir joined in 2018 and has written nine stories, six of which are poems (with one rescued).