Day 13. Our struggle defines us.

Today I watched a mockingbird pull an earthworm from the ground and devour it. I was distressingly sad, that this small act of nature v. nature did not make me feel wonder, or revulsion, but envy. And then I was disturbed again to find I did not know which creature I was envious of.

Tuesday night I left open house and the road to my home was closed. I was directed by the Broward Sherriff's department to turn left rather than right, and so I drove off past Manatee Bay, (which has no manatees in attendance, all of them having been killed in the construction of the school) and straight towards the Everglades. My first instinct was to turn around and find another route, but my second instinct was to ignore my first and continue into the sawgrass, where my path would be lit by foxfire lanterns and crushed flat by reptilian bellies.

My third instinct was to ignore my second instinct and reconsider my first one as it led past a Denny's and I was hungry. Also, the Everglades has seen a decline as a secluded place to be forgotten ever since Weston was built and I fear the reputation of the place may never recover. I'm not sure which was the right decision, but I will note that the Denny's did not serve me jelly with my toast, and although I could have asked, I feel that would have taxed my social anxiety. Jams and jellies are a natural right, as soon as you are served toast, and no ones should be made to ask. Had I been eating turtles in the Everglades as had seemed likely earlier that evening I would have expected all of the proper turtle condiments.

Alas I fear I am once more in the grip of existential angst. I copied this story into an AI picture generator and this is what it created. Artificial intelligence has come a long way. Now I only wait for artificial emotion to follow.