Dad:

Remember Wal-Drug? I’m writing from that general store with the ice cream parlor. That mechanical T-Rex is still here, brandishing its teeth! The kids LOVE it. We sat for a long time, listening. Overcrowded and kitschy, you’d say, but we always left well stocked. Reminds me of our old road trips. Almost no road, mostly dust. Asphalt goes quickly when there’s this much foot traffic. We are now part of that steady stream of migrants leaving the coasts and heading inland.  We’ve been pushed out.  Delaware is a launch site.

What will we do?

Remember to look up. The sky is an exquisite purple-turquoise-ceylon-green. They’ve begun to use a rainbow of colors for the sulfites they spray into the stratosphere.

There’s a succulent smell in the air and daytime is like dusk, even the animals walk with us.

Love from your nomads (Rosie, Ava & Emmett)

#2

Hey G-Pops!

Mom’s making me write these stupid postcards before we rest. She says it’ll help me with my writing skillz. (She’s going to read that and make me correct it— I’m keeping it!) My writing skillz are fine if you’re worried. I’m keeping a journal and documenting those wild buttes (butts?) that surround us. Like a layer cake. Deposition and Erosion. That’s what created this place.

I love the bright yellow mounds. FACT: It’s fossilized soil. FACT: These lands BE BAD and OLD (like you).

The whole world is a shimmering fog, and the air feels like a cotton ball. That’s cool. And, it’s a little cooler! So? Go humanity! Anyway, I miss my video games!

Mom says we’re walking towards you. Will we ever find you? If we do, will we give you these postcards? Is that how this works?

Love, Ava

#3

Grandpa: 

We’ll never find you, which means no one will ever read this, so I’ll say whatever I want. It’s still hot and NOW there’s no sun. Though, I see a faint glimmer of it sometimes. Is that good or bad? They’re calling this SUN DIMMING. They’ve got plans to spray the earth every three months for the next five years.  YOU KNOW this (if you’re alive). It’s wild. But also, beautiful? It feels like we’re on another Earth. One we’ve created and now spray painted? Tagged Earth2.0? People worry about what rainfall will be like and how the plants will grow, but I worry about forgetting.

Who will we be when we can’t remember how bright sunlight feels on our skin or what it’s like to watch white clouds roll through a (real) blue sky?

I hear you in my head. I know what you’re gonna ask. So, here goes nothing:  I’m thankful for the days when they blanket the world in a deep green mist. The sky looks killer then.

Emmett