{"id":3221,"date":"2020-02-02T20:51:12","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T04:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/?p=3221"},"modified":"2020-02-02T20:51:26","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T04:51:26","slug":"found-fiction-intro-and-the-silent-muppet-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/?p=3221","title":{"rendered":"Found Fiction Intro and The Silent Muppet Show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>I recently discovered a TREASURE TROVE of my old writing files.<\/strong> Old backups that were on Chloe&#8217;s computer that I thought I&#8217;d never *have to* look at again. I had a vague idea that these files were probably still around somewhere, but I honestly thought all this old stuff was garbage that I was better off without. I would cringe every time I remembered these old stories and novels I wrote back in the day. (&#8220;Back in the day&#8221; in this case meaning about 10 &#8211; 20 years ago.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then my laptop died (along with my hard drive that had my visual novel on it, that I hadn&#8217;t backed up in almost a year, because it was fun and easy to write and &#8220;didn&#8217;t matter&#8221; -__-; but hopefully I can have it repaired someday), and I needed to look at some backup files, and, well, long story short, I now have a folder on my computer with ALL my old stuff in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And it&#8217;s, like, actually <em>good<\/em>.<\/strong> I mean, not all of it. Especially the old novels. Some of those are pretty bad. But not nearly as bad as I thought. But a lot of the short stories are pretty good, and none of them deserved the harsh judgments I made and have been carrying around with me for decades. Geez. And many &#8220;truths&#8221; that I&#8217;ve thought about myself, like that I was terrible at writing 3rd person past tense and didn&#8217;t find my voice or get good at writing until I switched to 1st person present tense, are complete nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a side note: I don&#8217;t consider myself a short-story writer. I &#8220;hardly ever&#8221; wrote any of them, according to my memory, which I&#8217;m starting to not trust at all, yet I have probably about 40k of short stories lying around. Back in the day, it was considered &#8220;the thing to do&#8221; to get short stories published first, to build up writing credits, so you could then somehow transfer this success into getting a novel published, even though novels and short stories are extremely different and being able to write one doesn&#8217;t at all guarantee you could write the other, and I&#8217;m not sure that advice ever made sense. <strong>For the record, writing short stories didn&#8217;t get me anywhere, but looking back on them now is kind of fun, and there are some real gems in my new treasure trove.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I thought I&#8217;d share some of these with you guys, starting with a short (and incomplete) mashup of <em>The Muppet Show <\/em>and <em>Silent Hill <\/em>that I started one year as something silly to do for Nano. This is 2,601 words, written during the first hour of Nano in&#8230; maybe 2010? 2009? There was, like, some kind of writing race where whoever writes the most words in that first hour gets a prize, and I like prizes, so I wrote super fast and won. (No idea what the prize was now. Maybe a pen that changed colors based on mood or something?) I&#8217;m usually a 500 &#8211; 1000 words an hour person, and while you would think writing faster than that might make the quality go down, if anything, writing as fast as I can tends to make it go up. (And yet, even knowing this, getting myself to do that instead of worrying constantly about every little choice I&#8217;m making is super hard.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For instance, one of the things I found in that old treasure trove was my prewriting for Renegade X.<\/strong> It was about 35k, written super fast over a week, and it&#8217;s mostly just him talking about his life and explaining it to the audience, a.k.a. <em>me<\/em>, and I don&#8217;t think I ever read over a word of it after writing it. I thought for sure it was garbage. But&#8230; it reads just fine. <strong>It could have <em>been<\/em> the book<\/strong>, except for the fact that it would be weird to tell the whole story that way, with him just telling us about his life. I might post a little bit of this later. We&#8217;ll see. But I remember it as having no voice and not sounding like Damien at all and being just complete garbage up until the moment I decided I was now writing &#8220;for real&#8221; and that it was the start of the book. But, like, it totally has voice and is funny and <em>is Damien<\/em>, and I&#8217;ve apparently had no idea what I was talking about for the past 12.5 years. O__o<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I think there&#8217;s a lesson to be learned here about perfectionism and judging things too harshly and writing like the wind and not worrying about things being good enough<\/strong>. Which is all easier said than done. I have a tendency to think whatever I&#8217;m working on in the moment is terrible, and then look back on it a few days or weeks or <em>years <\/em>later and realize it&#8217;s actually really good and that all my self-doubt was just me being crazy. (But having faith in yourself when your brain is telling you it&#8217;s bad <em>for realsies this time<\/em> is hard.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not sure who else needs to hear this besides me, but I think the takeaway here is that the sky&#8217;s the limit, you are awesome, and you&#8217;re capable of more than you think. <em>Yes, really, even now.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Anyway, onto The Silent Muppet Show!<\/strong> The premise is that the muppets lose their studio and are going to have to move to Silent Hill. I only ever worked on it for that first hour, probably because I had no real idea what I was going to do with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is completely unedited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Silent Muppet Show<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">by Chelsea M. Campbell<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the crew of the Muppet Show lost their Hollywood studio, there were a lot of frogs and pigs and dogs and crazy animals with nowhere to go.  Kermit promised them everything would be okay, they just had to stick together, but things were getting bleak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;This\ncame for you, boss,&#8221; Rizzo the rat said, handing Kermit a very\nofficial looking piece of paper.  It had a seal at the bottom and\neverything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\ntook the roll of paper from the rat.  &#8220;Gee, what could this be?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;I\ndon&#8217;t know, but it&#8217;s from the studio execs.  It looks real\nimportant&#8230;&#8221;  Rizzo stopped talking, distracted by a snack cart\nsomeone was rolling through the studio.  &#8220;Uh&#8230; I&#8217;ll be right\nback!&#8221; he shouted, forgetting about Kermit and the letter and\nrunning after the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nscratched his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Oh,\nKermy,&#8221; Miss Piggy said, running up to him, &#8220;what is it?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;I\ndon&#8217;t know, Piggy.  Looks like something official from the studio\nexecutives.  Maybe it&#8217;s that bonus I&#8217;ve been asking them for.  You\nknow, so we can all get real beds instead of sleeping in the studio\nlocker room.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tMiss\nPiggy clasped her hands together.  She was wearing white gloves and a\nsparkling purple evening dress.  &#8220;I hope so.  And then maybe\njust the two of us can take a teeny tiny trip to France, just you and\n<em>moi<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nswallowed hard, making a &#8220;gulp&#8221; noise, and ignored her.  He\nheld up the rolled parchment paper.  &#8220;Well, here goes.&#8221; \nSlowly, he broke the seal and pealed it off.  He carefully unrolled\nthe paper, with Miss Piggy holding her breath next to him.  This\ncould be their big chance to  get some extra funding, to finally get\nthe break he knew everyone deserved.  He&#8217;d been promising them big\nthings for a while now, and while the show was doing well, Kermit\nfelt they could go so much farther if they just put their hearts into\nit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tHe\nfinished unrolling the paper and held it out so Piggy could see it at\nthe same time.  He read it out loud: &#8220;&#8216;Dear Muppet Show cast,\nwe, the senior executives, hereby being much bigger, better, and\nricher than you, have decided to close the studio.  You have five\nminutes to get out.  Sincerely, the people who own your studio.'&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nstared at the paper.  Was it real?  Was this a joke?  Did they\nrealize how many animals they&#8217;d be putting out on the street?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Oh,\nKermy!&#8221; Miss Piggy whined.  &#8220;They can&#8217;t <em>do\n<\/em>this\nto <em>moi<\/em>!\n I mean, us!  Think of the children.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;What\nchildren, Miss Piggy?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;The\nones we were going to have someday.  Two little girls with darling\nblond curls who look just like <em>me<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Piggy,\nI think we have bigger things to worry about than our, um, possible\nfuture together.  We have to tell the gang we&#8217;ve only got&#8211;&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe\nlights in the studio died, sending everything into pitch blackness. \nA voice over a loud speaker shouted, &#8220;Muppet Studios closing\nforever in one minute!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThere\nwas a crash sound and Gonzo&#8217;s rough voice screaming, &#8220;Whoops!&#8221;\n Kermit heard him skidding on the floor and landing in a pile of film\ncans with a loud clang.  &#8220;Oh, oh, Kermit!&#8221; he shouted,\ngetting up.  &#8220;Is that you?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;No,&#8221;\nMiss Piggy growled.  &#8220;If you know what&#8217;s good for you,&#8221; she\nsaid through clenched teeth, &#8220;you&#8217;ll Get. Your. Hand. OFF of\nme!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tGonzo\nchuckled to himself and backed away.  &#8220;Sorry, Piggy.&#8221;  He\nturned to Kermit, feeling for him in the dark.  &#8220;Is that you,\nKermit?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;It&#8217;s\nme, Gonzo.  We&#8217;ve got terrible news.  The studio executives are\nclosing down our building.  This is&#8230;&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;This\nis TERRIBLE!&#8221; Gonzo wailed.  He flailed his hands around,\naccidentally smacking Kermit in the face and knocking him over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Calm\ndown!&#8221; Kermit said, picking himself back up while trying to\navoid getting hit by Gonzo again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tMore\nmuppets joined them, crowding together in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Kermit,&#8221;\nFozzie&#8217;s voice said out of the crowd, &#8220;is it true?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Yeah,&#8221;\nRowlf said, &#8220;is this really the end of the show?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tDozens\nof voices burst into argument and complaint, bewailing the loss of\nthe Muppet Show already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;If\neveryone could just calm down,&#8221; Kermit said, &#8220;then we could\nfigure something&#8211;&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;We&#8217;re\nall going to be homeless!&#8221; a voice shouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;And\nI&#8217;ve got nine hundred brothers and sisters!&#8221; Rizzo cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Could\neveryone just BE QUIIIEET!&#8221; Kermit screamed at the top of his\nlungs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tEveryone\nshut up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tWhen\nKermit finished panting after his outburst, he said in a calm voice,\n&#8220;Listen, gang, we&#8217;ve fallen on hard times before.  The important\nthing is to stick together and not let this divide us.  We&#8217;re&#8230;\nwe&#8217;re going to be okay, and so is the Muppet Show.  We&#8217;re not going\nto let a little thing like the studio shutting us down get in our\nway!  We&#8217;re not going to let a little snag like getting turned out on\nthe streets stop us from being happy!  We had a dream, and that dream\ncame true, but now that it&#8217;s threatened, we&#8217;re not going to let it\ndie!  Isn&#8217;t that right, guys?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tSilence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Guys?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThere\nwas grumbling, and then the sound of everyone walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tMiss\nPiggy put her hand on Kermit&#8217;s shoulder.  &#8220;It&#8217;s okay, Kermy.  I\nwon&#8217;t leave you.  Even if you are a homeless frog with no income or\nfuture and&#8230;  I&#8217;m just going to step over here and use my cell phone\nfor a teensy tiny minute.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tMiss\nPiggy took out her cell phone, its blue screen the only light in the\nbuilding, and stepped into the corner to make a call.  &#8220;Hello,\nFrank?&#8221; she muttered into the phone, &#8220;this is pig.  Got any\nnew gigs for me?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nsighed.  They&#8217;d been closed down for less than ten minutes, and\nalready even Miss Piggy was giving up on him.  &#8220;Well, I&#8217;m not\ngiving up!&#8221; he shouted into the darkness, pounding his fist into\nhis open palm.  &#8220;I had a dream, and I&#8217;m not satisfied with\nletting it go just like that!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;We&#8217;re\nwith you, Kermit,&#8221; Fozzie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nheard muffled agreement from a handful of his friends still standing\nby him.  In the corner, Miss Piggy grumbled into her phone, &#8220;What?\n No one wants to hire a pig?  Don&#8217;t you dare bring up my thighs&#8211;&#8221;\n She snapped her phone shut, then came over to join the others,\ntripping over Gonzo on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Ha\nha ha,&#8221; she said, forcing a laugh.  She cleared her throat. \n&#8220;That was&#8230;  My mother.  So, Kermit, do you have a plan?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nknew Miss Piggy was here because her agent hadn&#8217;t had any other jobs\nfor her, but he appreciated her presence anyway, even if he\nquestioned whether her heart was really in this. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Yeah,\nKermit,&#8221; Rowlf said.  &#8220;Tell us the plan.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;I,\nwell&#8230;&#8221;  Even in the pitch blackness, Kermit could feel their\neyes all on him, looking for answers.  Sometimes Kermit didn&#8217;t have\nthe answers, but when you were the leader of the Muppet Show, you had\nact like one, and sometimes that meant giving people hope, even when\nthere was none.  &#8220;Of course I have a plan!  We&#8217;re&#8230;  We&#8217;ll just\nhave to find another studio!&#8221;  It was so simple, it had to work.\n Why couldn&#8217;t they find one?  There had to be tons of other places\nout there, and the Muppet Show was doing really well.  They&#8217;d find\nanother studio interested in their work, and everything would be\ngreat again.  Maybe this was an opportunity in disguise.  They could\nfind an even better studio with a bigger locker room and more snacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Another\nstudio?&#8221; everyone said at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Another\nstudio,&#8221; Kermit confirmed.  &#8220;It&#8217;s our only choice.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\n***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThey\nspent the night in the street.  It was cold, and they had to huddle\ntogether for warmth.  Unfortunately, or maybe thankfully, Rizzo&#8217;s\ngiant family abandoned them for a restaurant with poor health\nstandards, leaving them with nine hundred less warm bodies to huddle\nwith.  But that also meant nine hundred less to feed, and no offense\nto Rizzo, but rats were kind of filthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;It&#8217;s\ngoing to be okay,&#8221; Kermit kept telling everyone.  He looked out\nat their miserable faces, sleeping on the streets of Hollywood in the\nmiddle of winter, packed close for warmth, and wished he could offer\nthem more than a little hope.  He was their leader, and he was\nleading, and sometimes that made a real difference.  People needed\nsomeone to look to in times of trouble, and if Kermit had to be that\nperson, then he had to be that person, no questions asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Kermy,&#8221;\nMiss Piggy whined, &#8220;I&#8217;m cold.&#8221;  She snuggled closer to\nhim&#8211;a little <em>too<\/em>\nclose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tOut\nof a studio full of animals, there was only Kermit, Piggy, Gonzo,\nRizzo, Rowlf, Scooter, Fozzie, and Gonzo&#8217;s chicken friend, Camilla. \nThat was nine muppets to take care of on the mean streets of\nHollywood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Don&#8217;t\nworry, guys,&#8221; Kermit assured them.  &#8220;We&#8217;ll find a new\nstudio in the morning.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tEveryone\nslept terribly, and it was cold and it rained partway through the\nnight, so they had to try to find shelter.  They ended up sleeping\nunder the overhang of the roof at the Chinese theater, with all the\nfootprints of famous stars in the cement.  Kermit&#8217;s own footprints\nwere there.  He liked to compare his feet with them, to see if they\nwere still the same, but tonight it didn&#8217;t seem appropriate, just\nsad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tIn\nthe morning, nine disgruntled muppets woke on the busy streets at the\ncrack of dawn.  Their breath puffed out in front of them in the\nfreezing air.  Kermit, true to his word, lead the gang all through\nHollywood, looking for a new studio.  By lunchtime, they hadn&#8217;t had\nany luck, and they were all starving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Okay,&#8221;\nKermit said, addressing the gang, &#8220;let&#8217;s split up.  The rest of\nyou go with Gonzo to find some food and hopefully some lodgings, in\ncase this&#8230; in case our new studio doesn&#8217;t have accommodations.  And\nI&#8217;ll keep up the search.&#8221;  He smiled at everyone, doing his best\nto reassure them in a terrible situation.  Nobody looked all that\nassured, though.  In fact, they looked plain miserable.  But they\nhadn&#8217;t given up on him yet, and that was what counted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nspent the rest of the day cold and hungry and looking for a new\nstudio.  He pitched the show to a dozen studio execs, but they all\nshook their heads before he&#8217;d even gotten through with his spiel.  It\nseemed like nobody wanted a variety show about dancing pigs and\nchickens and a dog that played piano.  Kermit thought they had a good\ntrack record, but maybe no one was watching anymore and that was why\nno one wanted to see it and why their studio had been closed down in\nthe first place.  He hoped the others were having more luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tWhen\nhe met up with them in the park later, he was starving.  His stomach\ngrowled and his head hurt from not eating.  He was dizzy and worn out\nand, worst of all, every studio in town had told him no.  They&#8217;d all\nturned him down.  This had never happened before.  Even in their\ndarkest hour, the muppets had always found <em>someone<\/em>\nwilling to take them on.  Had their ideas gone stale?  Did no one\ncare about a zany show full of animals dancing and singing?  Well, no\none ever said life was easy, or that living your dream meant things\nhad to stay that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tBut\nwhen he met with the others in the park, Gonzo was bursting to tell\nhim some good news.  &#8220;Kermit!&#8221; he shouted.  &#8220;Guess\nwhat!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tCamilla\nmade excited clucking noises at him, tilting her head back and forth\nand flapping her wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Camilla!&#8221;\nGonzo whined.  &#8220;I was going to tell him!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Tell\nme what?!&#8221; Kermit shouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Oh,\nKermy,&#8221; Miss Piggy said, stepping up, &#8220;we&#8217;ve found another\nstudio!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;You\ndid?&#8221;  He couldn&#8217;t believe it.  His heart pounded, threatening\nto burst out of his chest.  &#8220;Where?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;It&#8217;s\nin a resort town,&#8221; Gonzo said quickly, beating Piggy to it,\n&#8220;called Silent Hill.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;They&#8217;ve\ngot everything a muppet could want,&#8221; Rowlf continued.  &#8220;A\npiano, and a&#8230; piano.  Well, that&#8217;s all I need.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nlooked from one face to another, scanning his friends&#8217; expressions. \n&#8220;A resort town?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Yeah,&#8221;\nRizzo said.  &#8220;My cousin Murphy hooked us up.  The town&#8217;s a\nlittle down on its luck right now, and they could use our, uh,\ncolorful brand of entertainment.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nwas a bit hesitant to trust anything that had come from one of\nRizzo&#8217;s relatives, but how could they turn it down?  It was perfect. \n&#8220;That&#8217;s just what we need!  A town that needs us.  We&#8217;ll not\nonly bring back the Muppet Show, but we&#8217;ll cheer those folks right up\nand they&#8217;ll see, before they know it, their town will be thriving and\nfull of people again!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Good,&#8221;\nGonzo said with a nod.  &#8220;Then we&#8217;ll leave tomorrow.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\n***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tGetting\non the bus was difficult.  They didn&#8217;t have the fare needed for even\none of them to go, let alone nine of them.  Getting across the\ncountry was going to be hard.  Especially when Miss Piggy refused to\nsell her jewelry.  In fact, she pretended like she didn&#8217;t have at\nall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Why,\nplain old <em>moi<\/em>?&#8221;\nshe said, batting her eyelashes and laughing.  &#8220;You know I\nprefer to show off the plain beauty of a country sow.  Ha ha ha.  Why\nwould <em>moi<\/em>\never need a flashy thing like jewelry?  It would only take away from\nmy natural sophistication.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Please,\nPiggy, this is important,&#8221; Kermit pleaded, but Piggy wouldn&#8217;t\nbudge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThat\nmeant if they were going to get to Silent Hill and get their new show\nup and running, they were going to have to walk.  But even Kermit\ncouldn&#8217;t help noticing what a long trip that meant it was going to\nbe.  It would take them days, maybe even weeks, for nine muppets to\nwalk that far.  their only hope was to appeal to the kindness of the\nbus drivers, which wasn&#8217;t going so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nswallowed when the doors of the bus opened, all eight of his friends\nstanding hopefully behind him.  &#8220;Excuse me, sir,&#8221; he said,\npleading with the driver, &#8220;but we&#8217;re in a little trouble, and we\nwere wondering if you could take us to Silent Hill.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe\nbus driver didn&#8217;t look up from the steering wheel.  &#8220;Yeah, this\nbus goes to Silent Hill.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\ncleared his throat.  &#8220;You see, kind sir, we&#8217;re a group of\nmuppets down on our luck, and we&#8217;re a bit short on funding right\nnow&#8211;&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;We&#8217;re\ndirt poor,&#8221; Miss Piggy said, shoving Kermit out of the way.  She\nbatted her eyelashes at the driver and smiled.  &#8220;Please, Mr. bus\ndriver, if you could just let us on, just this once, we&#8217;d be\nextremely grateful.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe\nbus driver raised his eyebrows in confusion.  &#8220;Are you coming\nonto me, lady?  Because I&#8217;m not into pi&#8211;&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Watch\nit with the pig jokes,&#8221; Piggy said, glaring hard at the bus\ndriver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\t&#8220;Fine,&#8221;\nhe said, holding his hands up, &#8220;but nobody gets on for free. \nI&#8217;d lose my job.  Now, if you&#8217;re not payin&#8217;, I&#8217;m not drivin&#8217; ya.&#8221;\n He waited a second for the muppets to make up their mind.  Kermit\nemptied his pockets and found only half a ball of lint.  Sadly, he\nlooked up at the driver and shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tThe\nbus door closed, almost snapping shut on Kermit, and the bus zoomed\noff into the distance, leaving a huge cloud of dust behind it.  If\nthey were going to get to Silent Hill, this obviously wasn&#8217;t the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\tKermit\nwalked with the gang down the road. \n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I recently discovered a TREASURE TROVE of my old writing files. Old backups that were on Chloe&#8217;s computer that I thought I&#8217;d never *have to* look at again. I had a vague idea that these files were probably still around somewhere, but I honestly thought all this old stuff was garbage that I was better [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[58,56,57,43],"class_list":["post-3221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-excerpt","tag-found-fiction","tag-short-story","tag-writing"],"views":340,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3221"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3228,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3221\/revisions\/3228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chelseamcampbell.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}