IV: Impassioned

Waterdog was in the street screaming obscenities at cars like it was his job. Angst, like sunlight, can be measured in reflectivity: tonight, despite the darkness, the albedo is close to a perfect one.

“I was thinking about stopping taking my antidepressants. Just flushing them all- I’m so sick of it.”

Dusk, or close to it. A shirtless kid in a full sweat has flipped his bike onto the seat and handlebars so he can change a tire. There are more feet on the ground now, packs of humans creating hums of boisterous hubbub in spacetime. A conversation floats back to you from the rooftop of a bar: the future of pedestrian traffic. We are moving away from walking to tech like Segways, hoverboards, electric skateboards. None of that would work on water, but at least it would give a few engineers some bridges to build, and maybe grappling would be legal (unlike other pastimes such as loitering and rock-stacking. The government seems to believe that idle hands are indeed the Devils plaything.)

“I lose my voice once a year.”

It forces you to listen. Territorial dogs and humans growling at one another passing on the sidewalk. At night all the places to buy spices and loose-leaf teas are closed and the parks are self-enforcing their curfew and more people seem to be smoking cigarettes and toting guitars. Olympia is one of those sacred places where people introduce all of their friends to one another in the hopes that they’ll mesh and drunkenly eat food they find on the street and talk evolutionary psychology with strangers.

What a time to be alive. Every street has mission and purpose, every wall inscribed with heart (except those that explicitly forbid such expression.) Every stoop will be muddy when the water rises. You wonder if the revelry will rise with it, taking up new homes on tables and yes, on rooftops, or if people are just going to keep looking for new places to rest their feet and backs.

Hella crude, but maybe you just aren’t thinking meta enough. Maybe they’re saying that if you’re passionate and excited enough about something, you should remember that feeling is sacred, and don’t let it become crushed or fade into obscurity. An ill-formed mantra about the importance of tenacity, the value of perseverance: to use your energy and power dutifully, rather than giving in to the sultry allure of indifference and slacker culture. If you’ve got the vision, mobilize, take action, get furious.

“Caring” about climate change means never wasting a boner. Everyone has something they care about– how can you link yours to your environment?