all of the buildings that used to be bookstores.

“…hey. pal. how do i get to town from here?”“…well, just take a right where they're going to build that new shopping mall, go straight past where they're going to put in the freeway,take a left at what's going to be the new sports center,and keep going until you hit the place wherethey're thinking of building that drive-in bank.You can't miss it.”* Laurie Anderson [Big Science]If I was, and I’m not going tobut if I was to attempt to summarize 12 monthstie it in a bowwith a pithy phraseor twee comment: if IWAS going to attempt to do thatI would not choose this past year.It was too much.It held, within it, far too muchof whatever years are made of.The same number of daysbut each somehow longer.The same amount of timeat a far greater density.And so much changenot just at solstices and equinoxesbut, like, all the timeand BIG ones, tooone right after the otherpersonal, local, national, worldwidehistoricalit’s like change was on saleat COSTCOin those giant packagesthat only fit in garagesand we had to eat some everydayor it would spoil and we’d waste it.and I normally love changeI don’t even have to melt cheese on top of itbut last yearI did lose my taste for it, somewhatAnd more than twicethe game board that I was playing onswitched beneath me from chessto checkersto backgammonto chutes and laddersall without warningbut I kept rolling diceand moving (what I hoped was probably) forwardso here I am. here, we all arewe get no choice as we never can be anywhere else”I’m right here / over here/ up here/ down here”still here.If I WAS to tryto summarizethe last 12 months(which I am not going to do)I would choose to mention the bookstore.The one that closedtwo blocks from workto be replaced by nothingthat could soothe the soulor inspire the mindor tickle the funnyboneor capture the imaginationits replacement rumored to be a new pickleball courtI am disappointed that the bookstore is not here anymoreand would frame the bookstore’s close somewhat symbolically, as a prime example of a trend of ill conceived ideasand curious priorities“…there are problems with the infrastructure concerns about the narrativean issue with the overall direction – “but I’m not gonna do thatbecause I am thankful that we’re all hereit’s all happening right hereright where we areeven though so many daysI would much ratherit was all happeningover theresomewhereas lately I find reality somewhat exhaustingand more difficult to navigatebecause I realized that I’m mapping the worldthrough well-worn used-to-be(s)calling the bridges the names we used to call themrather than the new ones on their giant metal plaquesmy faith in spectral signposts and directions written in pencilon tattered notecardsbecause I remember where that used to beand what used to be on that cornerand how we used to get there,but don’t know exactly where THIS is.If I was to attemptto express the year to comeI would smile because if our feet become wearyand the paths are destroyedand all of our road maps are set on firethen I guess we’ll all just have to fly[Thank you so much for another year. Enjoy your day.] - Jd Michaels Get full access to :lowerblackpain at lowerblackpain.substack.com/subscribe