What I Can’t Wait For

Stranger Things 3: While other people got buzzed for Black Mirror or West World, I secretly pined for the next season of ST. This is a wantable series for me because it artfully blends nostalgia and humor and the otherworld, plus that vibe that the kids are the real heroes. Which is awesome since we all feel like kids inside, and we all quietly know that we are the real heroes. Also, I like how each series is set against the backdrop of a holiday (first season, it was Christmas, season 2, Halloween and now, the 4th of July). This only serves to heighten our nostalgia to a feverish pitch. 

Going Back To Bend: I will tell you a secret. Late at night, when I can’t sleep because my brain is washing on high-spin-cycle, I used to count carefully backward from 100 imagining each number in a different dazzling color. Lately though I’ve been calming my neurons with a meticulous fantasy about finishing the fence on our land near Bend. Let the sun wash over me. Use the post hole digger to pull out the sandy clods. Smell the sap and dirt. Pull a post from the pile and place it in the hole. Level it while Mark pours in the concrete. Feel satisfied. Dozens of those on down the line. Then it’s back to the beginning for the brackets and cross beams, and then the cedar panels, one by one by one by …