12 Comments
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Deb Burns's avatar

Yay I could listen after all πŸ‘and a story about chickens and a garden. Two of my fav things πŸ‘

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Neil Shooter's avatar

Great! I'm happy you could listen! I just don't know how you did it :)

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Deb Burns's avatar

There is a triangle at the top of the post in the app. For some people it’s faded and it doesn’t work, but for yours it did. I don’t think it worked outside of the app because I couldn’t read it the first time I tried.

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Neil Shooter's avatar

Great! I don’t use the app so I don’t see the triangle anywhere :)

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drea.m.76's avatar

Will and I shared an aha moment! πŸ˜‚πŸ£ How bittersweet to read about and remember that time and to look back on their relationship. (Towards the end, you mentioned looking at the John Hopkins map, but I think you meant Johns Hopkins.) I love this story so much; thank you for generously sharing it! I hope you're doing well. β™₯️

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Neil Shooter's avatar

I did! Thank you for catching that! It's been a few years, and I never thought to fact check that part, I thought I remembered it so well :P

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Rusty's avatar

Hard to believe it’s been five years!! This was a vivid reminder of that time, how we survived it, and the thought that many would not.

Also learned a lot about raising chicksπŸ˜„.

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Neil Shooter's avatar

Yeah, five years! Such a long time, in some ways, and in others just like the blink of an eye!

You know, I spent all day editing this 6000 word monster. I had wanted to cut some bits out, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I even ended up adding a few hundred words. Typical!

I love these characters, even if this is a slow chapter, full of little details.

Will is learning about the chicks for the first time, while Juss is a dab hand already, if a little out of practice. Was it "too educational" do you think?

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Rusty's avatar

No, I don’t think so. I was reminded of a high school biology class, my partner and I got to raise chicks, but we didn’t get to see them hatch, so that part was interesting.

I love the way you portray the depth and dynamics of Will and Juss’ relationship. One can really feel their love. πŸ’•

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Kay Flanagan's avatar

Took me right back to those early lockdown days.

You have me planning my future garden.

I like the relationship between Will and Juss.

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Neil Shooter's avatar

I love their relationship too. It just warms me through whenever I'm feeling jaded or cynical :)

They were crazy days, those lockdown days, and in some ways I miss them, because so much CRAZY that we've all experienced in our own ways was still a looming mirage on the horizon.

I think every year is a good year for planning your garden :) Maybe ESPECIALLY this year?

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Kay Flanagan's avatar

I didn’t experience them too much because I was bedridden quite early on but I loved the month when I was well.

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