"Hey there, Toby, my O.J. feline friend!"
"What's up, mi amiga JM?"
"I went to the library to pick up a book I wanted. There, I saw written on a whiteboard that a poetry-writing group was about to start. So I sat in with a whole bunch of people who write poems. Some of them have been in that group for 37 years. It was fun and kept me awake even though it lasted through my usual nap time."
"Did you write any poetry?"
"Yes, we all did during the workshop part. The leader read a prompt that was supposed to get us going. We wrote for 10 minutes and then took turns reading our work out loud."
"Did you write anything?"
"Yep. I grubbed around in my purse until I found a tiny notebook and a pen. So yes, I wrote on that."
"Read it to me!"
"Here, I'll show it to you..."
"Ah ha! there's your dancing friend again, JM."
"Yes! She reminds me of good stuff."
"You must need that with all the worrisome stuff humans have gotten themselves into."
"You're right, Toby! Let's start a Worry Group!"
"Yes, we could call it Awfulizers Anonymous! But I don't worry much. Still, I'll support you and join. I think you'll soon have lots of company."
"Yeah, before it was just The Bomb we all worried about. Then, the USSR collapsed so that worry went away. Now it's one calamity after another; wars, pestilence, political upheavals, refugees, homeless people, guns, people with gobs of money, lots more people with hardly any money, AI, climate crisis. Oh, and we're back to The Bomb all over again."
"Well, at least now if there's an atomic bomb blast you know hiding under your desk won't help."
"Hmmm. That's pretty worrisome."
"See, JM, you need a worry group!"
"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better."
"Well, then, let's go dance with Daisy and forget about Awfulizers Anonymous."
***
