I love stories. I love hearing people’s true stories about their lives. I love news stories. I love art that tells a story (or many stories in the case of my favorite artist Pieter Bruegel). I love music best when it is in service to a story. And I love books, most of which are filled with stories. Stories pull me into their world and they stick a bit as I withdraw from them.

One interesting aspect of this time of isolation is that it is filled with stories. There are tragedies, comedies, thrillers, and all the rest happening to people I know and people I know only from Twitter or Facebook. The news is an endless fount of stories about strangers.

Now, though, I need to concentrate on my own stories and stories I need to read before the Short Story Intensive starts on Friday morning. So for the rest of this week, until Sunday night, I am withdrawing from all the fascinating stories around me. I’ll be hitching my metaphorical horses to my wagon and moving on. Away from news. Away from social media. Away from friends and family.

That’s where I’ll be for a bit. Looking forward to catching up on everyone’s stories when I return from my own form of social isolation. Hope your stories are interesting and have a happy ending. Until Sunday, be well, friends! And stay well.