{"id":88192,"date":"2024-08-21T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=88192"},"modified":"2024-08-21T15:46:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T20:46:23","slug":"america-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=88192","title":{"rendered":"America, 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCENE:  On Broadway at Central, in Northeast Minneapolis.  It’s late fall; winter is clearly on the way.  Stray papers blow down the street, nearly deserted in, visibly chilly.  Outside the boarded up remains of what had been a breakfast place catering to “laptop-class” white progressive “new urbanites”, one of many boarded up stores on that once-lively stretch of street, a small group of people stand around a fire in a trash pail. 
<\/em><\/p>\n

The group includes Tyrese and TayShawnda GROVES, a 40-something black couple; Steven SPALSKI, a 31 year old white male with his girlfriend, 30 year old Summer BLEAKER; 58-year-old Cindy HARLESS; Juan and Marcella VEGA, both 50, with their 11 year old son Arturo; and 45 year old Thai NGUYEN..<\/em><\/p>\n

A police car creeps down the rutted road, dodging potholes, the officer avoiding the gaze of the people around the fire.  <\/em><\/p>\n

TYRESE GROVES:  (to Spalski<\/em>):  So what did you used to do?<\/p>\n

SPALSKI:  You mean…before the joy<\/em>?<\/p>\n

(The group laughs, mirthlessly<\/em>)<\/p>\n

SPALSKI:  I was a graphic designer for a startup that had just done its IPO. <\/p>\n

BLEAKER:  He was in line for a ton <\/em>of stock options. <\/p>\n

MARCELLA VEGA:  What happened?<\/p>\n

SPALSKI:  (sighing with a weight greater than his<\/em> years):  All our customers went bankrupt. <\/p>\n

TAYSHAWNDA GROVES:  Same here.  We ran a little grocery store over North.  We were getting by…<\/p>\n

TYRESE GROVES: …til the “anti-gouging price controls” hit.  <\/p>\n

NGUYEN:  F***ing “anti-gouging act”<\/p>\n

 (Several of the people spit onto the dirty sidewalk<\/em>). <\/p>\n

GROVES (To Juan and Thai<\/em>)  You?<\/p>\n

JUAN VEGA:  I ran a little repair shop.   Couldn’t get parts anymore. <\/p>\n

NGUYEN:  Thai restaurant.  All our wholesalers went bust. <\/p>\n

TAYSHAWNDA GROVES:  Well, they took care of the “gouging”. <\/p>\n

(Bitter laughs<\/em> ensue)<\/p>\n

MARCELLA VEGA:  At least we had all that “joy”.<\/p>\n

(General murmurs of disgust was the group warms their hands<\/em>).<\/p>\n

A Subaru, belching oil smoke, pulls up.  Two women – 27  year old Emily FRONTENAC and 48 year old Emily MONTPETIT-EMILY, roll down a window.  FRONTENAC’s hair shows little flecks of long-neglected blue dye at the end of long dirty-blond roots.  MONTPETIT-EMILY, a blocky-looking woman, stares ahead grimly. <\/em><\/p>\n

FRONTENAC:  Hey – do you know the guy who’s selling the gluten-free eggs?<\/p>\n

THAI:  I might.<\/p>\n

JUAN VEGA:  Hey, just a minute ( points at the shirt MONTPETIT-EMILY is wearing,  which looks a little like this…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oh no pic.twitter.com\/eAEiNpSPLD<\/a><\/p>— Rothmus \ud83c\udff4 (@Rothmus) August 19, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>