From the day
Perspective: The Anxious Local · Sound
The bally newsboys are screeching themselves hoarse about Mount Pelée erupting again, their cries cutting through the rhythmic clatter of horse-drawn carriages and the hiss of steam. Even the jaunty whistle of a passerby humming "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" can’t drown out my dread that the very ground might swallow us whole. I clutched my coin tightly, heart hammering as the baker demanded a full $0.05 for a single loaf of bread; at these prices, a man will be penniless long before the ash reaches the coast. Tech is moving too fast and the earth is too restless, leaving me trembling in my wool coat while the world feels like it's spinning out of control.