Poem: "Friends in Rabbitbrush Ridge"
Dec. 24th, 2023 05:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the August 1, 2023 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred, erulisse, mama_kestrel, and a discussion with cora. It also fills the "Partners" square in my 8-1-23 card for the New Adventures Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One, Dr. Infanta, and Shiv threads of the Polychrome Heroics series. It directly follows "Eager, Hopeful Shoots" and the background is based on "The Greatest and Most Moving Chapter in American History." Reading those first will help this make more sense.
"Friends in Rabbitbrush Ridge"
[Evening of Sunday, August 14, 2016]
Shiv, Luci, and Alicia were all exhausted.
They had spent most of the day out at
Shinrin-Yoku in California, working with
the redwoods, and all of them had
wound up wearing out their powers.
Shiv had thought that he could
get away with just doing artwork,
but then they found the tree crushed
under a pileup of cars that had been
sitting there for months, so he used
his ability to cut the metal into pieces
small enough for others to drag away.
They had eaten in California, before
coming out to North Carolina to crash
with Tolli and Simon, but they were
already starting to get hungry again.
"Why don't you folks rack out on
the couch while we make snacks?"
Tolli suggested. "We can watch
television or a movie if you like."
Shiv flopped into his corner of
the couch and draped an ankle
over Luci's feet where she was
sprawled in an easy chair.
Alicia scrambled into the spot
beside him, tucking her feet up.
Nanette took the other end
of the couch, which left Cheval
sitting on the floor nearby and Lorry
in one of the other chairs, saving
the loveseat for Tolli and Simon.
"Anyone into Easterns?" Simon said.
"We're early supporters, so we've
got an advance copy of the premier
for Season Three of East Is East
due for release next month."
"I love Easterns, but I haven't
seen that one yet," Alicia said.
"What? Don't look at me like that,
I'm watching television shows in
like twelve languages, it adds up."
"I haven't seen it either," Shiv said.
"I'm up for watching if you are, though."
"Really?" said Tolli. "It started out
on STLTV in Missouri, but it's gotten
popular enough in syndication that
they're releasing the new season
there and national simultaneously."
"I think that I've seen fragments
of it here and there, but never
a complete show," Nanette said.
"The title doesn't sound familiar
to me," Lorry said, shaking his head.
"Me neither, and I would remember
something like that," Cheval said.
"We'd better back up and start at
the beginning," Simon said, rolling to
the shelves that held their collection.
"I think we've got some Boston cream
left from making donuts," Tolli said
as he headed toward the kitchen.
Shiv watched lazily as Simon
set up the entertainment system.
Tolli came back with a platter and
two little tubs of Boston cream,
one vanilla and one chocolate.
Around the tubs were mounded
marshmallows, fresh and dried fruits,
pretzels, chocolate and vanilla cookies,
mixed nuts, and two different fudges.
That got Lorry's attention. "What
are the fudge flavors?" he asked.
Shiv looked, and yeah, those
were his. "The brown's chocolate
and the beige is macadamia."
Alicia actually stopped stuffing
marshmallows in her mouth
to grab some of the fudge.
"You make'a bes' fudge,"
she mumbled, taking more.
"Don't talk with your mouth full,
and let other folks have some,"
Shiv scolded, rescuing a few bits
for Cheval and Nanette to try.
"Oh, don't worry, we're used
to subsisting on crumbs,"
Nanette said, laughing.
"This is good, thank you,"
Cheval said. He picked up
some of the pretzels and
swept them through the dip.
"Who made all of this?"
"I did the fudge last time
I was here," said Shiv. "I
think Tolli and Simon made
the Boston cream filling."
"We did, when we made
donuts," Simon confirmed.
"We should make popcorn
for the show," Tolli said, looking
at the rapidly emptying platter.
"Ooo! What flavors?" Alicia said,
bouncing hard enough that Shiv
almost spilled the mixed nuts
he was piling into his hand.
"Thematically relevant favorites
include Boston Bean, Soulful,
Chinese 5-Spice, Arapaho,
or Cowboy," Simon said.
"Which would you like?"
"All of them," Alicia said.
Nanette clucked her tongue.
"Pick two or three, miss,
and don't be greedy."
"Well, I want Soulful,"
Shiv said immediately,
stepping on whatever
Alicia was about to say.
"Chinese 5-Spice," Luci said.
"I don't have enough energy
to get up and make it, though."
"I've got this," Simon assured her.
"Alicia, what would you like?"
"Which one's the sweetest?"
she said, tilting her head.
"Boston Bean, it includes
molasses powder," Simon said.
"Then I want that one, and
thank you for offering to make
popcorn for us," Alicia said.
Simon rolled into the kitchen
as Lorry and Alicia polished off
the rest of the Boston cream dip.
Shiv loved the stuff, but he wasn't
about to indulge around this crowd.
He and Gray had gotten themselves into
an awful muddle with pastry cream once
before, and he wouldn't risk that here.
Instead Shiv cleaned out the last
of the dried apples and pears.
He should probably get up
and take the empty platter
back into the kitchen, but
he was just so tired ...
"I'm on it," Lorry said,
scooping up the tray
and hurrying away.
That was nice of him.
"Hey, what other Easterns
do people like watching?"
Luci said. "It's hard to find
ones with a good portrayal
of Chinese characters, so
I'm pretty much left with
The Year of the Goat."
"Oh, that's a cool movie,"
Shiv said. "I saw it in
Rutledge with friends who
were showing stuff about
immigrants improving towns."
"Brotherly Love," said Nanette.
"I've always liked soap operas. You?"
"A Distinctly American Art," Shiv said.
"Pavo turned me onto that one, since
it's mostly about artists and entertainers."
"My favorite isn't a film," said Alicia. "It's
an off-off-off Broadway stageplay about
street children in early America called
Urban Urchins. It covers everything
from beggars to factory workers."
"Yikes," Shiv muttered. "Okay,
somebody else pick up this thread."
"The Other Mrs. Jefferson," said Cheval.
"I know, technically it's early, but it uses
the same themes that most Easterns do."
"I like Train Job," Lorry said as he returned.
"I'm interested in travel, how people got
around, and how it shaped societies."
"If you like Train Job, then you should
watch The Smoking Fence series,"
Shiv said. "Same basic story, but told
from a tribal perspective. Come with me
to the Omaha Reservation some time,
they've got all of the student films there."
"I may do that," Lorry said. "It sounds
like an interesting side of the story."
"Simon and I watch Raleigh the Troops,"
said Tolli. "It's a local production about
North Carolina during and after the Civil War,
from the perspective of the soldiers involved,
including a lot about disabled veterans."
Then Simon came back with big bowls
full of popcorn, and smaller bowls for
everyone to fill with a chosen flavor.
Shiv wallowed off the couch just
long enough to get a bowl of Soulful.
Finally, Tolli turned on the show,
and everyone hushed to watch it.
Shiv loved how Easterns and Westerns
tended to set the scene with pictures
that illustrated the time and place.
The first was a sort of wide-view map
of Boston from the public gardens,
followed by a closer picture of
horses in front of a long bridge.
More images flittered past,
and then a newspaper page
from the Freedom's Herald out in
Rabbitbrush Ridge, Colorado Territory
with a headline proclaiming the news,
House Passes Colorado Bill 80-55:
Benefits of Statehood Soon to Come!
The Soulful Popcorn was really good.
Shiv leaned over to offer his bowl to Luci.
"You like that seaweed stuff, you should
try this," he said. "It's got kale chips."
Luci snagged a handful to try. "Oh,
that is good, Shiv-ya!" she said.
"Thank you for sharing some."
She offered her bowl of
Chinese 5-spice Popcorn
in return, and Shiv took a bit.
He'd had it before, so he knew
that he liked it -- although Luci
tended to put sesame sticks
in hers at home, and this was
just popcorn with seasoning.
The opening scene of the show
had a street demonstration by
the labor unionists, mostly women
and poor people, an interesting mix
of white, black, and immigrants.
One of the leaders, Minerva, was
relaxing with a cup of coffee from
a cart that sold hot beverages.
A young black woman came by,
bought a cup, and leaned against
the brick wall beside Minerva.
"Good to see you, Hagar,"
said Minerva. "What news?"
"We're signing up plenty of
new members in my area,"
said Hagar. "Most of them
can't read, so we can't just
hand out tracts. Someone
can read them aloud, though."
"That's good, I thought we
would get some converts from
your neighborhood," said Minerva.
"We're excited by the chance
to get paid for work, but needing
enough money to live on now is
a new challenge for the freedmen,"
said Hagar. "We have to fight for it."
"I thought they were Africans, or
colored people?" said Minerva.
"Depends on who you ask,
but I call myself a freedwoman,"
said Hagar. "Someday, I'd like
to be a doctor instead of just
a midwife, but that's not likely."
Minerva laughed. "I'd like to be
a lawyer instead of just an activist,
so who knows?" she said. "Say,
doesn't your brother Booker Lee
live out in Rabbitbrush Ridge?
My brother Thomas has just
hired on there as sheriff, and
he calls himself Tinstar now."
"I heard from Booker Lee that
the folks on the posse patrol
decided to hire some new help,"
said Hagar. "The town's getting
too big and busy for them to keep up
with lawkeeping and shopkeeping both."
"We ought to make ourselves one of
those city societies," said Minerva.
"If the town's hiring, maybe more folks
from Boston are settling there now."
The two of them began making
plans to spread the word and search
for more people in Boston who knew
someone out in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
A snore startled Shiv into looking
around the room. He had really
gotten lost in watching the show.
Cheval had fallen asleep on the floor,
propped against the couch under
where Alicia was currently seated.
Lorry remained alert, but probably
just because he was shoveling chili
into his mouth as quick as he could.
Someone must've heated up a bowl
for him if he was still hungry after snacks.
Shiv's popcorn was almost gone, and
some other folks were farther along.
He leaned back and watched as
Hagar and Minerva decided to hold
a meeting in the dusty back room
that the labor unionists used.
Yeah, Shiv had seen plenty
of back rooms pressed into
service as meeting spaces.
The third time Shiv bumped into
Alicia's hand in his bowl, he said,
"Quit snitchin' all my popcorn!"
"But I ate all mine," she whined,
reaching for his bowl again.
"That doesn't give you a right
to eat all mine," he shot back.
"But I'm still hungry," Alicia said,
making puppy-dog eyes at him.
"Yeah well, so'm I," Shiv said.
He used his longer arms to lift
the popcorn bowl out of her reach.
Alicia promptly tried to climb him
like a tree, stepping on his belly
and making him oof a complaint.
"Children," Nanette warned.
"She's stealin' my popcorn!"
Shiv said at the same time
Alicia said, "He won't share!"
"I'm sure that we can settle this
in a civilized manner," Tolli said.
"See, this is why I told you to make
all of the flavors," Alicia complained.
"And if I'd done that when you asked,
then half of them would be cold by now,"
Simon said calmly. "Hold your horses,
and I'll go make some more popcorn."
Shiv plopped Alicia back into
her own seat and noisily
munched his popcorn.
He heard a tiny sniffle.
"Ffffiiiiiine," he said, and
dumped a handful in her bowl.
Shiv watched the show unfold
as Simon made more popcorn.
Labor unionists scurried around
trying to make a back room look
less scruffy and more social.
The candle stubs had been
moved to tin can holders with
rabbits punched in the sides.
"Do you really think anyone
will come?" Hagar asked.
"We're about to find out,"
Minerva said as she
watched the door.
"I remember learning
to make candle holders
from tin cans," said Alicia.
"Such a wonderful invention!
After you ate the food inside,
you could use the container
for so many other things."
"Yeah, Tolli showed me it,"
Shiv said. "Never got to do
that growing up, but now I
can do it with my powers."
Simon came back into
the living room with
more popcorn to share.
He'd made another batch
of Boston Bean along with
Arapaho and Cowboy flavors.
Alicia had gotten Boston Bean
again, but she kept watching
Shiv's bowl of Arapaho too.
It was good stuff, with
real buffalo jerky bits.
Shiv rolled his eyes and
held out the bowl for Alicia
to grab a handful of it too.
Like she couldn't just get
some from the big bowl.
Lorry had knocked off
his chili and picked up
a bowl of the Cowboy.
Alicia raided that too.
You had to be ballsy
to snitch food from
a teleporter, they
were always hungry.
"Ooo, someone's coming!"
Luci said, pointing at the screen.
"Settle down, you lot, we don't
want to miss this," Nanette said,
making Alicia and Shiv scrunch
back into their own seats.
The first new character
to come in was a nun,
Mary Margaret O'Boyle,
whose niece Scarlett just
moved to Rabbitbrush Ridge
to serve as a deputy there.
Evidently nobody else
had wanted to take the job.
The next person to arrive was
ladies' man Leander Hanson,
a friend of Madam Pearl who
owned the Red Dragon, which
was both a saloon and a brothel.
"Fancy meeting you here,"
he drawled. "It's not often
I see a nun in a place like this."
"I'm accustomed to dealing
with libertines, though from
your fancy clothes, this isn't
your usual scene," said the nun.
Well, that was awkward, but
Hagar and Minerva managed
to keep the two of them from
getting into an actual argument.
Then Thaddeus Kirk came in
He was a police officer whose
brother Padre John served as
the chaplain in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
That made both Hagar and Minerva
skittish, since police and activists didn't
always get along well together, but
Mary Margaret quickly stepped in
to keep the peace between them.
Shiv knew what that was like.
He'd met a few cops at some
of the Finn parties who weren't
prone to pick on him, but he still
wasn't exactly relaxed about it.
He had to admit, though, it was
a lot more bearable when you
had someone to run interference.
"See, this is the kind of thing
that makes city societies work,"
said Tolli. "Folks came together
based on people and places they
had in common, so they buffered
the challenges for each other."
"That grew into the sister cities
we have today, and those helped
a lot after the Big One," Simon said.
"If I remember right," said Alicia,
"the earliest city societies started up
in the late 1700s when the colonies
expanded inland from the East Coast.
By the time of the Louisiana Purchase,
the custom of it was solid and ready
to support the westward expansion."
"Sounds about right," said Simon.
"Then the sister cities came along
by 1900 or so, once there were
well developed towns spread from
coast to coast so one disaster didn't
hit everyone at the same time."
Then another character entered,
distracting them from the discussion.
Minikesu was a Narragansett woman
who taught in a small school for Indians.
She was friends with Trader Jay, whose
family had helped found Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Hagar latched onto her, and soon they were
talking about challenges for women of color.
Meanwhile Minerva was talking with Leander
about the possibility of unionizing prostitutes.
Thaddeus and Mary Margaret were comparing
the challenging of peacekeeping and religion,
which both amounted to containing some
of humanity's wilder inclinations.
Two women arrived together,
talking about fashionable clothes.
Astrid Ellingboe owned a boutique,
and knew a mountain man called Cliff
who had supplied her with furs; he
had just moved into Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Eleanor Lane, a society lady, was
the mother of the gambler Ace,
another newcomer in town.
The two of them knew each other
casually from Astrid's store, and
now that they had something
more in common, they wanted
to get better acquainted.
Minerva took one look
at their finery and started
dithering over the conditions
of the makeshift meeting room.
"I know this isn't as illustrious
as some of you might be used to --"
"If I want illustrious, I can host it
myself," Eleanor. "What I want is
an opportunity for contacts. You
have given me that, so don't worry."
"It leaves room for improvement,
and that is always good," said Astrid.
Hagar was less fussed. She
fetched refreshments from
the snack baskets and then
showed the ladies to a table.
That helped Minerva calm down
enough to listen to Eleanor's stories
about her son Ace and his antics
trying to avoid entanglements with
what passed for law out West.
Soon Minerva found herself
captivated, and couldn't resist
comparing what she knew of
the legal situation in Boston --
which she was working so hard
to improve -- and little there
was out in Colorado Territory.
"Life sounds pretty rough
out there," Minerva said.
"It's rough here too,"
Hagar observed. "We
have to fight just to keep
our one freeman lawyer --
Macon Bolling Allen wants
to move to South Carolina."
"And we don't have any who
are women yet," said Minerva.
"The towns out West don't even
have a sheriff half the time, though.
If anything goes wrong, the citizens
have to handle everything themselves."
"That's why Rabbitbrush Ridge hired
a sheriff, a deputy, and some others
for support," said Thaddeus. "I wouldn't
want to live there, but my brother's stubborn."
"My people, we are just beginning to look at
things the way the whites do," said Minikesu.
"That is why I am teaching at the school."
Another man showed up, sidling quietly
into the conversation. Spencer Picotte
was a politician and his daughter Patch
served as the doctor in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Hagar was fascinated. "She really works
as a doctor? Not a nurse or a midwife?"
"Yes, really," said Spencer. "That's
why Patch moved out West, so she
could work somewhere that people
desperately need a doctor and thus
aren't as fussy as people in a city."
"Some people have a vocation
to serve wherever they may be
needed," Mary Margaret said, and
Thaddeus nodded in agreement.
"I'm not sure if I could do that,"
said Hagar. "Booker Lee
makes it sound very hard."
"You might not need to,"
said Minerva. "You're
a freedwoman, and they
don't have many doctors
who will help them. You're
already busy as a midwife."
"That's true," said Spencer.
"Besides, you could always
study more on your own, then
see about making it official later."
"That's a better plan," said Hagar.
"I've always enjoyed learning."
"It seems we already have
a lot of common interests,
beyond just having friends
or family in another town,"
said Minerva. "Forming
a city society will benefit all
of us partners various ways."
"Then let's look at what
we can do together,"
said Astrid. "We could
share hosting events ..."
They went on to talk about
ideas for future activities.
When the credits rolled,
Shiv startled out of a reverie.
He'd been completely caught up.
Lorry had fallen asleep, though,
and Luci was shaking herself
like she'd been close to it.
Alicia was bouncing on
the couch, jostling Shiv.
"That was such a cool show,"
she said. "They did a great job
with the period. I remember how
hard it used to be for women
to get an education then."
"It still is hard, in some parts
of the world," Nanette said.
"It's getting better, though,"
Luci said with a yawn.
"Because people made it
better," Simon said. "They
put a lot of hard work into
rebuilding this country
after the Civil War."
"We should call it a night
for now," Tolli said. "I think
some people need to sleep."
"I'm not tired," Alicia said.
"That's because you ate
enough sugar to bake
a cake," Shiv drawled.
"Go home, go to bed,
before you faceplant."
He yawned. "That's
what I'm going to do."
Nanette stood and
scooped up Alicia.
"Everyone, thank you
for a lovely evening."
Shiv reached out with
his superpower, grasped
the grommets on Lorry's shoes,
and gently shook him awake.
Lorry looked around, then
nudged Cheval to wake him.
"Get up, it's time to go home."
"Are you good to jump home,
or should we call you a ride?"
Simon asked, looking at Lorry.
"I'm good for it," Lorry said,
gathering his team to head out.
After they left, Shiv got up
to help clean the living room.
"That really was a fun show,"
he said. "I'd like to see more."
"Of course, but another night,"
Simon said. "You look beat.
Head on up to bed now."
"Give me those bowls,"
Tolli said, boosting them
right out of Shiv's hands.
Shiv was too tired to argue.
He did play with the light switch
on the way to bed, though, glad
that they didn't have to use candles.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
fuzzyred, erulisse, mama_kestrel, and a discussion with cora. It also fills the "Partners" square in my 8-1-23 card for the New Adventures Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Big One, Dr. Infanta, and Shiv threads of the Polychrome Heroics series. It directly follows "Eager, Hopeful Shoots" and the background is based on "The Greatest and Most Moving Chapter in American History." Reading those first will help this make more sense."Friends in Rabbitbrush Ridge"
[Evening of Sunday, August 14, 2016]
Shiv, Luci, and Alicia were all exhausted.
They had spent most of the day out at
Shinrin-Yoku in California, working with
the redwoods, and all of them had
wound up wearing out their powers.
Shiv had thought that he could
get away with just doing artwork,
but then they found the tree crushed
under a pileup of cars that had been
sitting there for months, so he used
his ability to cut the metal into pieces
small enough for others to drag away.
They had eaten in California, before
coming out to North Carolina to crash
with Tolli and Simon, but they were
already starting to get hungry again.
"Why don't you folks rack out on
the couch while we make snacks?"
Tolli suggested. "We can watch
television or a movie if you like."
Shiv flopped into his corner of
the couch and draped an ankle
over Luci's feet where she was
sprawled in an easy chair.
Alicia scrambled into the spot
beside him, tucking her feet up.
Nanette took the other end
of the couch, which left Cheval
sitting on the floor nearby and Lorry
in one of the other chairs, saving
the loveseat for Tolli and Simon.
"Anyone into Easterns?" Simon said.
"We're early supporters, so we've
got an advance copy of the premier
for Season Three of East Is East
due for release next month."
"I love Easterns, but I haven't
seen that one yet," Alicia said.
"What? Don't look at me like that,
I'm watching television shows in
like twelve languages, it adds up."
"I haven't seen it either," Shiv said.
"I'm up for watching if you are, though."
"Really?" said Tolli. "It started out
on STLTV in Missouri, but it's gotten
popular enough in syndication that
they're releasing the new season
there and national simultaneously."
"I think that I've seen fragments
of it here and there, but never
a complete show," Nanette said.
"The title doesn't sound familiar
to me," Lorry said, shaking his head.
"Me neither, and I would remember
something like that," Cheval said.
"We'd better back up and start at
the beginning," Simon said, rolling to
the shelves that held their collection.
"I think we've got some Boston cream
left from making donuts," Tolli said
as he headed toward the kitchen.
Shiv watched lazily as Simon
set up the entertainment system.
Tolli came back with a platter and
two little tubs of Boston cream,
one vanilla and one chocolate.
Around the tubs were mounded
marshmallows, fresh and dried fruits,
pretzels, chocolate and vanilla cookies,
mixed nuts, and two different fudges.
That got Lorry's attention. "What
are the fudge flavors?" he asked.
Shiv looked, and yeah, those
were his. "The brown's chocolate
and the beige is macadamia."
Alicia actually stopped stuffing
marshmallows in her mouth
to grab some of the fudge.
"You make'a bes' fudge,"
she mumbled, taking more.
"Don't talk with your mouth full,
and let other folks have some,"
Shiv scolded, rescuing a few bits
for Cheval and Nanette to try.
"Oh, don't worry, we're used
to subsisting on crumbs,"
Nanette said, laughing.
"This is good, thank you,"
Cheval said. He picked up
some of the pretzels and
swept them through the dip.
"Who made all of this?"
"I did the fudge last time
I was here," said Shiv. "I
think Tolli and Simon made
the Boston cream filling."
"We did, when we made
donuts," Simon confirmed.
"We should make popcorn
for the show," Tolli said, looking
at the rapidly emptying platter.
"Ooo! What flavors?" Alicia said,
bouncing hard enough that Shiv
almost spilled the mixed nuts
he was piling into his hand.
"Thematically relevant favorites
include Boston Bean, Soulful,
Chinese 5-Spice, Arapaho,
or Cowboy," Simon said.
"Which would you like?"
"All of them," Alicia said.
Nanette clucked her tongue.
"Pick two or three, miss,
and don't be greedy."
"Well, I want Soulful,"
Shiv said immediately,
stepping on whatever
Alicia was about to say.
"Chinese 5-Spice," Luci said.
"I don't have enough energy
to get up and make it, though."
"I've got this," Simon assured her.
"Alicia, what would you like?"
"Which one's the sweetest?"
she said, tilting her head.
"Boston Bean, it includes
molasses powder," Simon said.
"Then I want that one, and
thank you for offering to make
popcorn for us," Alicia said.
Simon rolled into the kitchen
as Lorry and Alicia polished off
the rest of the Boston cream dip.
Shiv loved the stuff, but he wasn't
about to indulge around this crowd.
He and Gray had gotten themselves into
an awful muddle with pastry cream once
before, and he wouldn't risk that here.
Instead Shiv cleaned out the last
of the dried apples and pears.
He should probably get up
and take the empty platter
back into the kitchen, but
he was just so tired ...
"I'm on it," Lorry said,
scooping up the tray
and hurrying away.
That was nice of him.
"Hey, what other Easterns
do people like watching?"
Luci said. "It's hard to find
ones with a good portrayal
of Chinese characters, so
I'm pretty much left with
The Year of the Goat."
"Oh, that's a cool movie,"
Shiv said. "I saw it in
Rutledge with friends who
were showing stuff about
immigrants improving towns."
"Brotherly Love," said Nanette.
"I've always liked soap operas. You?"
"A Distinctly American Art," Shiv said.
"Pavo turned me onto that one, since
it's mostly about artists and entertainers."
"My favorite isn't a film," said Alicia. "It's
an off-off-off Broadway stageplay about
street children in early America called
Urban Urchins. It covers everything
from beggars to factory workers."
"Yikes," Shiv muttered. "Okay,
somebody else pick up this thread."
"The Other Mrs. Jefferson," said Cheval.
"I know, technically it's early, but it uses
the same themes that most Easterns do."
"I like Train Job," Lorry said as he returned.
"I'm interested in travel, how people got
around, and how it shaped societies."
"If you like Train Job, then you should
watch The Smoking Fence series,"
Shiv said. "Same basic story, but told
from a tribal perspective. Come with me
to the Omaha Reservation some time,
they've got all of the student films there."
"I may do that," Lorry said. "It sounds
like an interesting side of the story."
"Simon and I watch Raleigh the Troops,"
said Tolli. "It's a local production about
North Carolina during and after the Civil War,
from the perspective of the soldiers involved,
including a lot about disabled veterans."
Then Simon came back with big bowls
full of popcorn, and smaller bowls for
everyone to fill with a chosen flavor.
Shiv wallowed off the couch just
long enough to get a bowl of Soulful.
Finally, Tolli turned on the show,
and everyone hushed to watch it.
Shiv loved how Easterns and Westerns
tended to set the scene with pictures
that illustrated the time and place.
The first was a sort of wide-view map
of Boston from the public gardens,
followed by a closer picture of
horses in front of a long bridge.
More images flittered past,
and then a newspaper page
from the Freedom's Herald out in
Rabbitbrush Ridge, Colorado Territory
with a headline proclaiming the news,
House Passes Colorado Bill 80-55:
Benefits of Statehood Soon to Come!
The Soulful Popcorn was really good.
Shiv leaned over to offer his bowl to Luci.
"You like that seaweed stuff, you should
try this," he said. "It's got kale chips."
Luci snagged a handful to try. "Oh,
that is good, Shiv-ya!" she said.
"Thank you for sharing some."
She offered her bowl of
Chinese 5-spice Popcorn
in return, and Shiv took a bit.
He'd had it before, so he knew
that he liked it -- although Luci
tended to put sesame sticks
in hers at home, and this was
just popcorn with seasoning.
The opening scene of the show
had a street demonstration by
the labor unionists, mostly women
and poor people, an interesting mix
of white, black, and immigrants.
One of the leaders, Minerva, was
relaxing with a cup of coffee from
a cart that sold hot beverages.
A young black woman came by,
bought a cup, and leaned against
the brick wall beside Minerva.
"Good to see you, Hagar,"
said Minerva. "What news?"
"We're signing up plenty of
new members in my area,"
said Hagar. "Most of them
can't read, so we can't just
hand out tracts. Someone
can read them aloud, though."
"That's good, I thought we
would get some converts from
your neighborhood," said Minerva.
"We're excited by the chance
to get paid for work, but needing
enough money to live on now is
a new challenge for the freedmen,"
said Hagar. "We have to fight for it."
"I thought they were Africans, or
colored people?" said Minerva.
"Depends on who you ask,
but I call myself a freedwoman,"
said Hagar. "Someday, I'd like
to be a doctor instead of just
a midwife, but that's not likely."
Minerva laughed. "I'd like to be
a lawyer instead of just an activist,
so who knows?" she said. "Say,
doesn't your brother Booker Lee
live out in Rabbitbrush Ridge?
My brother Thomas has just
hired on there as sheriff, and
he calls himself Tinstar now."
"I heard from Booker Lee that
the folks on the posse patrol
decided to hire some new help,"
said Hagar. "The town's getting
too big and busy for them to keep up
with lawkeeping and shopkeeping both."
"We ought to make ourselves one of
those city societies," said Minerva.
"If the town's hiring, maybe more folks
from Boston are settling there now."
The two of them began making
plans to spread the word and search
for more people in Boston who knew
someone out in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
A snore startled Shiv into looking
around the room. He had really
gotten lost in watching the show.
Cheval had fallen asleep on the floor,
propped against the couch under
where Alicia was currently seated.
Lorry remained alert, but probably
just because he was shoveling chili
into his mouth as quick as he could.
Someone must've heated up a bowl
for him if he was still hungry after snacks.
Shiv's popcorn was almost gone, and
some other folks were farther along.
He leaned back and watched as
Hagar and Minerva decided to hold
a meeting in the dusty back room
that the labor unionists used.
Yeah, Shiv had seen plenty
of back rooms pressed into
service as meeting spaces.
The third time Shiv bumped into
Alicia's hand in his bowl, he said,
"Quit snitchin' all my popcorn!"
"But I ate all mine," she whined,
reaching for his bowl again.
"That doesn't give you a right
to eat all mine," he shot back.
"But I'm still hungry," Alicia said,
making puppy-dog eyes at him.
"Yeah well, so'm I," Shiv said.
He used his longer arms to lift
the popcorn bowl out of her reach.
Alicia promptly tried to climb him
like a tree, stepping on his belly
and making him oof a complaint.
"Children," Nanette warned.
"She's stealin' my popcorn!"
Shiv said at the same time
Alicia said, "He won't share!"
"I'm sure that we can settle this
in a civilized manner," Tolli said.
"See, this is why I told you to make
all of the flavors," Alicia complained.
"And if I'd done that when you asked,
then half of them would be cold by now,"
Simon said calmly. "Hold your horses,
and I'll go make some more popcorn."
Shiv plopped Alicia back into
her own seat and noisily
munched his popcorn.
He heard a tiny sniffle.
"Ffffiiiiiine," he said, and
dumped a handful in her bowl.
Shiv watched the show unfold
as Simon made more popcorn.
Labor unionists scurried around
trying to make a back room look
less scruffy and more social.
The candle stubs had been
moved to tin can holders with
rabbits punched in the sides.
"Do you really think anyone
will come?" Hagar asked.
"We're about to find out,"
Minerva said as she
watched the door.
"I remember learning
to make candle holders
from tin cans," said Alicia.
"Such a wonderful invention!
After you ate the food inside,
you could use the container
for so many other things."
"Yeah, Tolli showed me it,"
Shiv said. "Never got to do
that growing up, but now I
can do it with my powers."
Simon came back into
the living room with
more popcorn to share.
He'd made another batch
of Boston Bean along with
Arapaho and Cowboy flavors.
Alicia had gotten Boston Bean
again, but she kept watching
Shiv's bowl of Arapaho too.
It was good stuff, with
real buffalo jerky bits.
Shiv rolled his eyes and
held out the bowl for Alicia
to grab a handful of it too.
Like she couldn't just get
some from the big bowl.
Lorry had knocked off
his chili and picked up
a bowl of the Cowboy.
Alicia raided that too.
You had to be ballsy
to snitch food from
a teleporter, they
were always hungry.
"Ooo, someone's coming!"
Luci said, pointing at the screen.
"Settle down, you lot, we don't
want to miss this," Nanette said,
making Alicia and Shiv scrunch
back into their own seats.
The first new character
to come in was a nun,
Mary Margaret O'Boyle,
whose niece Scarlett just
moved to Rabbitbrush Ridge
to serve as a deputy there.
Evidently nobody else
had wanted to take the job.
The next person to arrive was
ladies' man Leander Hanson,
a friend of Madam Pearl who
owned the Red Dragon, which
was both a saloon and a brothel.
"Fancy meeting you here,"
he drawled. "It's not often
I see a nun in a place like this."
"I'm accustomed to dealing
with libertines, though from
your fancy clothes, this isn't
your usual scene," said the nun.
Well, that was awkward, but
Hagar and Minerva managed
to keep the two of them from
getting into an actual argument.
Then Thaddeus Kirk came in
He was a police officer whose
brother Padre John served as
the chaplain in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
That made both Hagar and Minerva
skittish, since police and activists didn't
always get along well together, but
Mary Margaret quickly stepped in
to keep the peace between them.
Shiv knew what that was like.
He'd met a few cops at some
of the Finn parties who weren't
prone to pick on him, but he still
wasn't exactly relaxed about it.
He had to admit, though, it was
a lot more bearable when you
had someone to run interference.
"See, this is the kind of thing
that makes city societies work,"
said Tolli. "Folks came together
based on people and places they
had in common, so they buffered
the challenges for each other."
"That grew into the sister cities
we have today, and those helped
a lot after the Big One," Simon said.
"If I remember right," said Alicia,
"the earliest city societies started up
in the late 1700s when the colonies
expanded inland from the East Coast.
By the time of the Louisiana Purchase,
the custom of it was solid and ready
to support the westward expansion."
"Sounds about right," said Simon.
"Then the sister cities came along
by 1900 or so, once there were
well developed towns spread from
coast to coast so one disaster didn't
hit everyone at the same time."
Then another character entered,
distracting them from the discussion.
Minikesu was a Narragansett woman
who taught in a small school for Indians.
She was friends with Trader Jay, whose
family had helped found Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Hagar latched onto her, and soon they were
talking about challenges for women of color.
Meanwhile Minerva was talking with Leander
about the possibility of unionizing prostitutes.
Thaddeus and Mary Margaret were comparing
the challenging of peacekeeping and religion,
which both amounted to containing some
of humanity's wilder inclinations.
Two women arrived together,
talking about fashionable clothes.
Astrid Ellingboe owned a boutique,
and knew a mountain man called Cliff
who had supplied her with furs; he
had just moved into Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Eleanor Lane, a society lady, was
the mother of the gambler Ace,
another newcomer in town.
The two of them knew each other
casually from Astrid's store, and
now that they had something
more in common, they wanted
to get better acquainted.
Minerva took one look
at their finery and started
dithering over the conditions
of the makeshift meeting room.
"I know this isn't as illustrious
as some of you might be used to --"
"If I want illustrious, I can host it
myself," Eleanor. "What I want is
an opportunity for contacts. You
have given me that, so don't worry."
"It leaves room for improvement,
and that is always good," said Astrid.
Hagar was less fussed. She
fetched refreshments from
the snack baskets and then
showed the ladies to a table.
That helped Minerva calm down
enough to listen to Eleanor's stories
about her son Ace and his antics
trying to avoid entanglements with
what passed for law out West.
Soon Minerva found herself
captivated, and couldn't resist
comparing what she knew of
the legal situation in Boston --
which she was working so hard
to improve -- and little there
was out in Colorado Territory.
"Life sounds pretty rough
out there," Minerva said.
"It's rough here too,"
Hagar observed. "We
have to fight just to keep
our one freeman lawyer --
Macon Bolling Allen wants
to move to South Carolina."
"And we don't have any who
are women yet," said Minerva.
"The towns out West don't even
have a sheriff half the time, though.
If anything goes wrong, the citizens
have to handle everything themselves."
"That's why Rabbitbrush Ridge hired
a sheriff, a deputy, and some others
for support," said Thaddeus. "I wouldn't
want to live there, but my brother's stubborn."
"My people, we are just beginning to look at
things the way the whites do," said Minikesu.
"That is why I am teaching at the school."
Another man showed up, sidling quietly
into the conversation. Spencer Picotte
was a politician and his daughter Patch
served as the doctor in Rabbitbrush Ridge.
Hagar was fascinated. "She really works
as a doctor? Not a nurse or a midwife?"
"Yes, really," said Spencer. "That's
why Patch moved out West, so she
could work somewhere that people
desperately need a doctor and thus
aren't as fussy as people in a city."
"Some people have a vocation
to serve wherever they may be
needed," Mary Margaret said, and
Thaddeus nodded in agreement.
"I'm not sure if I could do that,"
said Hagar. "Booker Lee
makes it sound very hard."
"You might not need to,"
said Minerva. "You're
a freedwoman, and they
don't have many doctors
who will help them. You're
already busy as a midwife."
"That's true," said Spencer.
"Besides, you could always
study more on your own, then
see about making it official later."
"That's a better plan," said Hagar.
"I've always enjoyed learning."
"It seems we already have
a lot of common interests,
beyond just having friends
or family in another town,"
said Minerva. "Forming
a city society will benefit all
of us partners various ways."
"Then let's look at what
we can do together,"
said Astrid. "We could
share hosting events ..."
They went on to talk about
ideas for future activities.
When the credits rolled,
Shiv startled out of a reverie.
He'd been completely caught up.
Lorry had fallen asleep, though,
and Luci was shaking herself
like she'd been close to it.
Alicia was bouncing on
the couch, jostling Shiv.
"That was such a cool show,"
she said. "They did a great job
with the period. I remember how
hard it used to be for women
to get an education then."
"It still is hard, in some parts
of the world," Nanette said.
"It's getting better, though,"
Luci said with a yawn.
"Because people made it
better," Simon said. "They
put a lot of hard work into
rebuilding this country
after the Civil War."
"We should call it a night
for now," Tolli said. "I think
some people need to sleep."
"I'm not tired," Alicia said.
"That's because you ate
enough sugar to bake
a cake," Shiv drawled.
"Go home, go to bed,
before you faceplant."
He yawned. "That's
what I'm going to do."
Nanette stood and
scooped up Alicia.
"Everyone, thank you
for a lovely evening."
Shiv reached out with
his superpower, grasped
the grommets on Lorry's shoes,
and gently shook him awake.
Lorry looked around, then
nudged Cheval to wake him.
"Get up, it's time to go home."
"Are you good to jump home,
or should we call you a ride?"
Simon asked, looking at Lorry.
"I'm good for it," Lorry said,
gathering his team to head out.
After they left, Shiv got up
to help clean the living room.
"That really was a fun show,"
he said. "I'd like to see more."
"Of course, but another night,"
Simon said. "You look beat.
Head on up to bed now."
"Give me those bowls,"
Tolli said, boosting them
right out of Shiv's hands.
Shiv was too tired to argue.
He did play with the light switch
on the way to bed, though, glad
that they didn't have to use candles.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 02:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-12-25 02:36 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2023-12-25 08:28 pm (UTC)It's such a fun and interesting show, I'd love to do more with it, writing about the characters and how they handle challenges.
There is one more in this triptych, where Dr. Infanta and friends visit an East/West faire, although that one hasn't been sponsored yet.
Stubborn Coloradans
Date: 2023-12-26 02:06 am (UTC)Re: Stubborn Coloradans
Date: 2023-12-26 02:12 am (UTC)Thanks for the vote of confidence.
>> Its really lovely to be in this community, though, living alongside people who's families have been here for centuries, and those who can trace back to the Eastern era, and those who have, like me, just moved here.<<
Sooth. That was the impression I got from visiting there. It has some truly stupendous scenery ... that will try to kill you.
Feel free to ask for more of this setting in any relevant prompt call.