No artfully arranged bonfire, no full moon, no escaped longhorn sheep drifting through mist, no mist; no bear cub loping across the road, no heron circling the pond, no exceptionally loud bullfrogs or brilliant fireflies, no inadvertent minimalist or maximalist light-and-sound happening; no illicit undertone, no unexpected guests (desired or not), no dogfights, no dogs; no tears; no conflicts, not exactly, though Leslie and Marc disagree about whether Gaslight (1940) or Gaslight (1944) is more secretly contemporary, and in their disagreement reveal that their criteria for contemporaneity are similar but their categorical assignments diverge; no music, not outside; not inside, except where the turntable’s playing; no news, not anymore, though the day was consumed by it; no senate hearings, no general strike; no talking heads; no Talking Heads, except where the record is spinning for no one; no campfire, except the one we gather around; no love except what we profess; no desperation except what we reject; no moisture except the ground; no ground; no question, no answer; no morning but for night; no friendship but for benefits; no love but for friends; no fire but for love. Someone found lamp oil when it was needed; no one made a plea for purity; the moon, three-quarters full, gave way to fog; the goats arrived without their horns; the guests were expected. What are we doing circling the fire, not going home?

“List all the things we agree about,” says Marc, and by the time we have finished our collaborative account, the returning rain has sent us inside and transformed quickly, from guest to invader, from minimalist to maximalist, from mist to deluge.

THREE

THE NEWS REPORTS (STRANDED PEOPLE SPREADSHEET)

6 people there and 2 young children, off ______ Trail, ______ Club. Robert ______ is one of them. 15 cabin community off trail?

Off ______ Trail in ______, you take a right off of ______ road which is off of ______. My dad’s name is Robert. There are 6

people there and 2 young children, off ______ Trail or road, not sure. 2 young children

not sure. On Rt __, approx. half mile south of ______, small white house with garage, Creekside next to ______ residence,

across from ______ residence. no food, electric, water, phone out, on vacation …

the whole crew. my friends and I were able to walk out of ______ today and we met everyone that lives there over the last

few days. Everyone is fine! email me at ______ if you want to find out about specific people. 4 ______ Court. No electric, water. Cat.

Many. ______ Brook Road. Water mess. Limited Electricity. Multiple cats.

37 ______ Rd. They have been seen but they do not have a generator. Obviously no power, etc. They received some dry ice this morning.

At the end of a one-mile-long road. Possible medical, food, water concerns. People are trapped because two bridges are out on Rt __. Elderly, wheelchairbound, limited food and water remaining. 1268 ______ Road. Haven’t heard from her and don’t know if she’s O.K. Mary. My mother