“That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sounds like rain …”
- Ray Bradbury
Thanks to Nahasa Singh for pointing out The October Country to me. At first the sight of people sitting around a fire isn’t all that astounding. It looks like people camping. But instead, people had gathered to listen to a radio series (audio book?) together. In this case, we were listening to Crisis on Infinite Earths, hence why I put on the Superman costume. While there is nothing that explicitly says so, I suspect the focus is on scary stories and science fiction.
In itself this may be unremarkable, but the people were surprisingly engaged, friendly, and interesting. We enjoyed riffing on the sometimes confusing and overwrought story. I was invited right away to sit down and felt right away like I fit in (which is not easy because, as you’ve figured out by now, I’m weird).
There’s more to October Country than listening to stories. There’s a graveyard to wander around, a Lovecraftian roleplay village and some toys to play with. Hang, Superman, hang! Ha ha ha ha!!!
Just be careful when you cross the bridge. You might have to share it with someone.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/October%20Country/221/222/21/
[...] written before about a great spot called The October Country. Martian Wei has built a real community there, and provides a lovely spot where we can listen to [...]