Out sometimes

A certain depressive confinement came in with the storm yesterday. Heavy, wet snow. The wind had blown itself out by evening. I put the last remaining birdseed out in the morning and attracted 20 or 30 birds who stayed around all day. By dark, I felt trapped and shrinking. I drove to a McDonald's run by teenagers. Their fries were cold. There was something careless and decidedly unappetizing about the Big Mac they assembled. Not a good start to an evening out. Stop at an ATM in a Cumberland Farms for just enough cash to power a four hour outing. Park on a side street and walk down to the bar. A few of the same faces from last week but mostly new ones. Technical problems with the karaoke system. A particularly loud and shrill voice. A scowling old man under a red trump 2024 cap - his badge of idiocy worn proudly. A few elements conspired to drive me out and back home early. It took a willingness to stick it out, having no place else to be, and a direct intervention in order to locate and merge with the strange magic but I finally did. Someone told me they thought they'd recognized me as a fellow weirdo.