There isn’t much about 2020 (or the two years that followed) that I truly miss.
I certainly don’t miss the grossly misleading figures politicians kept pushing. I don’t miss getting called vulgar names by strangers who, for some reason, took great interest in my decision not to take the shot. And I definitely don’t miss being locked indoors and unable to enjoy the simple freedoms in life.
But there is ONE thing the powers that be got right during that dreadful time.
Something I, for the life of me, cannot understand why we abandoned once freedom and liberty were “restored.”
I’ve been screaming for a solution like this for years (Lady Laura is my witness).
That thing?
SHOPPING LANES.
Yes, you heard me.
Shopping. Lanes. As in, traffic control but for people.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to a mall, only to leave out of pure frustration because a dozen people cut in front of me, walked directly into me, or refused to budge even an inch to avoid a collision.
For years, I’ve longed for some kind of orderly system where oncoming traffic goes one way, and the opposite traffic sticks to the other.
It reduces stress, keeps people moving, and, if you’re a business owner, probably prevents a ton of lost sales. In fact, think about it for a second. How many people left malls early out of sheer frustration and didn’t buy what they came for?
Now zoom out, multiply that by millions of shoppers across thousands of locations, over 365 days…
You’re not talking millions.
You’re talking billions in lost revenue.
And yet, they scrapped it.
Oh, how I miss those days…
Anyway, that was the one pandemic “rule” I would have taken the jab for. Maybe I’m just more crotchety than most. Or maybe I am more draconian, dystopian, and controlling than I give myself credit for. 🤔
In which case… perhaps I should write sci-fi.
That’s not to say I haven’t dabbled in the genre already. In fact, I’ve written dozens of sci-fi tales. Just not in full-length novels… yet. Instead, they’ve shown up in the form of microfiction; tiny stories that can be consumed in 30 to 60 seconds flat.
Some leave a punch.
Some leave you thinking.
Some leave you with nothing…
Until one day — randomly — they revisit you. And then they hit.
That’s the power of microfiction.
And in Tiny Epics Vol. 1, I’ve got 141 of them spanning the genres I love most: fantasy, sci-fi, and a little horror for good measure. If you like that blend, then odds are you’ll find a tale (or ten) that stays with you.
You can find them right here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Tiny-Epics-Vol-1
DJJW