Jenn Kirkland
Bio
I'm a kinda-suburban, chubby, white, brunette, widowed mom of a teen and a twenty-something, special services school bus driver, word nerd, grammar geek, gamer girl, liberal snowflake social justice bard, and proud of it.
Stories (56)
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Cold as Ice
Although Jery'la had thought that Kura'hy was in the Depths with the cetaceans, they were wrong. Kura'hy was interacting with a species in a much shallower Depth, because they had discovered that the cetaceans were not the other sentient species - aside from humans - on this planet. The sentient species were humans... and one that most of the humans thought was a myth.
By Jenn Kirkland4 years ago in Fiction
Green for Go
Jery'la watched the... "lights" the humans called them. At least they did in the language of the region in which they found themself. When one of the lights changed to green - and the light itself was not green as Jery'la understood it, but a piece of colored silicate over a white light - they were to go, to pilot the machine forward. Or to perambulate at first, as Jery'la was doing; they did not have access to a machine for piloting, and would need to learn how in any case.
By Jenn Kirkland4 years ago in Fiction
Bread, Meet Circuses
Honestly, what IS the matter with people? Mind you, I'm not watching the Olympics this year. There are many reasons for this, ranging from wanting to watch LeVar Burton guest-host Jeopardy all the way to absolute disgust at the International Olympic Committee.
By Jenn Kirkland4 years ago in The Swamp
Illogic
I wrote this piece for my personal blog two years ago today (July 9th). Some of the details are no longer relevant (like the current US administration), and others I have learned more about in the meantime (like accelerating climate change), and some stuff has gone down since I wrote it (like Covid-19 and Jan 6). But the overall feeling is still accurate.
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in The Swamp
Random Thoughts
I fully recognize that my random thoughts may or may not be interesting to Vocal readers. And also that a number of them have been covered in my previous articles (as well as other people's) in more depth. I'm afraid that although I do not intend for this article to be political per se, it's likely that much of it will end up that way anyway... because these days basic human rights are considered to be controversial and political.
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in Psyche
The Heat Wave
Yeah, yeah, we're wimps about the heat. So say the good folks from Arizona. Or Florida. Or Wherever. Sort of like we're wimps about snow, according to the good folks from Massachusetts or Colorado. But we are the least air-conditioned metro area in the United States. Our usual temperature range in late June goes to about the mid-80s (Fahrenheit) at the highest, not 108. Portland OR is even worse right now.
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in Earth
It's Still With Us
That picture is not me, but it sure describes how I feel today. Here's the thing - we have been told for over a year that if we are going to be so foolish as to meet with people outside our households, we need to be outside, at least six feet apart, and wearing masks. We've been told - at least in my state - in the past month that now most of us are vaccinated, we can skip some of these steps. But only IF fully vaccinated, plus two weeks waiting time, and not on public transit, medical facilities, or educational facilities. Which we should be able to do right now, and would. were it not for the heat.
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in Humans
Mental Health or Neurotype?
Well, that sounds very heavy, doesn't it? But here lately I've seen a number of people attempting to excuse famous (rich, white, and (usually) male) people for their racism or transphobia or general assholery on the grounds that they are (probably) autistic or traumatized and essentially saying "they can't help it, the poor dears; it's a mental health issue."
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in Humans
You Can't Always Get What You Want
Some of my peers are hugely dissatisfied. With everything, really. And if they aren't currently dissatisfied with something, you can be sure they will find something to be dissatisfied with. Like private businesses enforcing mask-wearing on their premises even though the governor has been bullied into saying it's okay now. Or the fact that healthcare and schools and public transit still require them. Or that we don't have in-building learning for as many hours a week as our neighboring districts. As though butts in seats in a school building is the only useful criterion for learning.
By Jenn Kirkland5 years ago in The Swamp
