Friday arrives, stumbling and confused. Everyone waits for it with anticipation but, with plague and overwork and no work and missing friends, no one remembers what to with the weekend anymore. The week hasn’t ended. The chaos rolls on and on.

Hell.

That’s no way to greet you.

Howdy! Sorry about that. I clearly haven’t cleaned up around here lately. There’s some black mold growing in my attitude. Time to toss around some bleach and do some mental scrubbing.

These Days .. 

Stuff happened. There was a holiday on Monday and I had a day off on Tuesday. With Sunday off as well I had three days in which I didn’t deliver mail. Yay! I really needed the break.

I was reminded why I needed the break when I went back to work on Wednesday and found that my T6 (the person who delivers my route on my day off) had had to deliver one of his other assigned routes and broken up my route for other carriers to deliver instead. And one of those carriers hadn’t been able to do that. I had trays of mail that needed to be sorted into the current days deliveries. I had Red Plum coupon tabloids to deliver. And I was asked … mandated … to deliver a third of another route. Another twelve hour day.

I’m tired. I know my fellow carriers are tired. A lot of the routes needing to be covered because carriers are on vacation but, even when we’ve got a fuller complement we’re still shorthanded. We need more carriers. I’m happy to work some overtime. I’m not crazy about twelve hour days. I’m not crazy about multiple twelve hour days.

Complain. Complain.

Transmission 05

Wilhelmina Grace felt the noise upon arrival. This place throbbed. It pulsed. It came from all directions and from all the machines. She could feel the power and pressure through her suit. She felt the hairs on her skin rise. She felt the vibration in her bones.

She checked her suit’s sensors. She expected that this place would be hot. It looked sweltering. It looked torrid. The sensors read the environment as cold, near zero in temperature. The machines, linked and connected, went up and down as far as she could see. 

Power Dynamics – The Face

Welcome to another edition of What The What, the podcast in which I interview some of the more unique personalities in our society. I’m Blane Walker. For the next few weeks I’m going to be speaking with superheroes, those folks with powers beyond the normal. This week we’re chatting with the Face. As usual, I’m speaking to you from my home studio here in Portland, Oregon. The Face is calling us from an undisclosed location. .

Blane – Hello, the Face! Can I just call you Face?”

The Face – If you want.

Blane – I have to ask – who are you really?

The Face – I’m a citizen who wants to make a difference.

Blane – Why put on a mask? Couldn’t you make a difference without it?

The Face – This is just one way of acting. I don’t spend my life in disguise.

Blane – Why this particular mask? Why green?

The Face – It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Blane – When was this? I mean, when did you put on the mask the first time? There are reports of you, your … “Face” … going back at least five years.

The Face – I can’t speak to the specific incident without putting people at risk. But who doesn’t love a mask? Who doesn’t want to punch a bad guy? You could say I’ve been preparing for this since I was a kid.

Blane – There is a lot of debate about that “bad guy” label. Some of the “bad guys” you’ve been punching have been cops. The video of you attacking a line of police officers during the BLM riots goes viral every time someone uploads it.

The Face – “Attacking.”  “Riots.” You’re letting your capitalist, statist, copaganda indoctrination show Blane.It was a peaceful protest. The cops showed up in riot gear. They used tear gas and weapons on unarmed citizens. The violence was initiated by the police.

Blane – There had been property damage …

The Face – There had been murders committed by cops hiding behind their badges. There was and continues to be violence against marginalized people committed by cops. Cops who are well paid and who remain on the job.

Blane – But is violence the way to stop violence?

The Face – Did you think that question through?

Blane – Are you a member of Antifa?

The Face –

Blane – Was that a bad question?

The Face – That was a dumb question, Blane. Antifa is as real as bigfoot. Actually, that’s a bad example. I’ve met sasquatches. They’re real. They just aren’t the things urban legend thinks they are.

Blane – Bigfoot is real?

The Face – Bigfoot is as real as I am. Bigfoot is as much a member of Antifa as I am.

Blane – Bigfoot is Antifa?

The Face – You’re easily distracted, aren’t you Blane?

The Calendar for 2022

The Skookworks calendar for 2022 is now available through my Zazzle shop. Twelve months of the Mighty Nizz! Fourteen illustrations! 365 dates!

That’s it for this week. Thank you for visiting!

Stay safe. Stay sane. Drink your milk.