lol, My nightmare book report was Silas Marner. I remember those days of summer that were stolen from us.

Oh, thank God! For a moment I thought this would be some dry learned lecture, then the first verse got me chuckling. When Ishmael asked the others to call him, I just howled and my wife came back here and asked me what was wrong. I told her, “I’ll just have to read this to you.” So I did, and we both roared with laughter all the way through. Thank you so much for this one, Jake. We really needed that. You have any more like this? I can go put on the popcorn!

Cleverly penned, Jacob. Amazing write my friend. Appreciate you.

Damian

I sat on my back deck with my brew and just read this.Some of the best and worst words come together there….right?

I enjoyed this piece.👍

This is chilling and deeply resonant. The way you transition from the ordinary calm of a morning brew to a dark, haunting spiral is so effective, leading right up to the sharp edge of “living in the USA.”

​The shift from “perfect memories” down the “woodchuck hole” into Shadowland is a brilliant and clever way to illustrate how easily we drift into isolation and self-absorption. It’s a dark and honest piece, just how I like my morning coffee. Great write!

This is brilliant, dear redzone, a masterpiece! Your imagery and the comparisons are very well crafted and breathtaking. There is nothing more threatening than to let the core of your being die while you are alive, and go on living unaware, merciless and without interest in the people around you.

I love, love ‘downhome” type writings. it’s my own start back in the day, so I have a fondness for what others can describe.
You succeeded wonderfully. The core value of what you were after stays true throughout the write. So the reader can sense that too, effortlessly.
Great stuff.