when: far enough in the future that walmart had enabled lightning payments on OnePay. what: the tornado had stripped off the roof of the Walmart Supercenter. there in the middle was a hole in the roof where the bright sun poured in. they built an atrium, surrounded by cafes, parks, plants. walmart school was a thing. they took the kayaks out of the sports department, loaded them on a trailer, and spent afternoons on the river. over in the electronic section, some recent high school graduates taught kids how to play pianos, guitars. AI had decimated jobs so none of these kids were going to go to college, however, they were learning human skills. there was art in the art department, fashion sewing in the Fabrics section. cars and boats and bikes and planes were being built in the mechanic shop around back. it was the town square, university, innovation hub, activity center, artisan factory all under a for-profit company.

Joe was a survivor of late stage colon cancer. a combo alcohol habit and high pain tolerance meant he didn't drag himself to the hospital until he needed to be admitted 24/7. the minister showed up at his bedside weekly. Joe survived miraculously. he never attended the minister's church, but he mowed the steep bank of the churchyard weekly. the minister contemplated the risk of the steep bank and the peril to Joe on his riding mower: "Lord, if anything happens to him on this property...I know it's by grace we are saved, but the church bank needs a lot of work, and he's not boasting".

amtrak cracking me up this morning with their tagline "we are just getting started". that's what i used to feel when the manager came around by the cubicle to see how it's coming along! hah!