I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK:

[READ: December 15, 2023] “My Friend Goo”

This year my wife ordered me The Short Story Advent Calendar.  This is my sixth time reading the Calendar–it’s a holiday tradition!  Here’s what H&O says about the calendar this year.

The 2023 Short Story Advent Calendar is a deluxe box set of individual short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.  Now in its ninth year, the SSAC is back to once again bring readers a deluxe, peppermint-fresh collection of 25 short stories from some of the best writers in North America and beyond.

The author of this story was Deb Olin Unferth.  Each day has an online component with the author with a brief interview.

It’s December 15. Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8, looks through her hair like she doesn’t care.

This is a pandemic story.  In the story the narrator and her husband are having relationship trouble.  Primarily, her husband is exploring religious options which the narrator is not supportive of.

And so they start taking longer and longer walks to be alone.  There is some background about how the pandemic got them each (and me too) to take long walks outside.  At first they walked together, but all that closeness, and then the religion caused too much friction, so they went separately.

The narrator found a landing–a lovely spot with water and beach front.  It was like an oasis to get to it.  One day she arrived there and saw people fleeing from a very large goose who seemed quite angry.  The next day the goose was there again.  It came up to her but didn’t attack her.  In fact, the narrator felt that maybe the goose was just looking for companionship.

And so, they began walking together, with the goose occasionally jumping in the water to swim around.  She called the goose “Goo” after the Sonic Youth song.

And then Texas (which is where this is set) was hit with a shocking cold spell (and remember, Ted Cruz fled to Cancun and yet is still in office).  She returned to the landing after ten days away and wondered if Goo would still be there.

The narrator also parallels this time in her life with the time when she was younger that her brother died.  The parallels are quite interesting and this story feels very real.