Bluff City: America's Playground Pt. 02
Friends at the Table7 Heinä 2022

Bluff City: America's Playground Pt. 02

I Can't Find My Way Off Atlantic

During the winter of 1895, the main thoroughfare of Atlantic Avenue was set upon by work crews from City Hall, who - in preparation for the approaching 20th Century - sought to improve the quality of the road surfaces and allow for increased traffic. The works were scheduled to last no longer than two months - but, thanks to mismanagement, bad luck, and direct appropriation of funds - the project stretched languorously into the summer of 1896: the year of the heatwave.

"What a disaster," wrote Elliott Callahan. "The wheels of carts, of automobiles, sinking into the asphalt as it melted on the streets. Confused horses. Shouting patrons. Great columns of immobilised travellers, the length of the avenue."

From the relative safety of the boardwalk, far from the sounds of the work crews, the organ grinders were known to sing:

Oh once, long ago, I knew peace in my heart,

I would rise with the sun and the birds!

But now I am stuck in the back of a cart,

And my anger surpasses my words.

Last springtime I met a remarkable gem,

In the summer, my thoughts turned romantic.

I would love to revisit my sweetheart again,

But I can't find my way off Atlantic.

Perhaps I have been here for thirty five years.

Suspended 'twixt horror and prayer.

Perhaps when the horrible traffic jam clears,

I will find and imprison the mayor!

I will find and imprison the mayor of Bluff,

Just as soon as I'm out of the fray!

I can see City Hall just ahead, sure enough,

But there's forty nine cars in the way.

Help! Help! Help! Help! I can't find my way off Atlantic!

Help! Help! Help me! Help! I can't find my way off Atlantic! (x2)

Featuring: Austin Walker, Art Martinez-Tebbel, Jack de Quidt, Janine Hawkins and Keith J Carberry

Music & Description by Jack de Quidt

Mall Kids is available at https://mr-matthew.itch.io/mall-kids

Jaksot(541)

COUNTER/Weight 35: A Knock at the Door

COUNTER/Weight 35: A Knock at the Door

Though the rain seems to clear over the September Institute, The Chime move with well-learned caution. Mako Trig walks familiar steps, only to find something very askew. AuDy and Maryland spar, first ...

15 Huhti 201658min

COUNTER/Weight 34: Reaching Out

COUNTER/Weight 34: Reaching Out

Maryland September has been located and The Chime are safe but only for the moment. The storm rages outside and with it, threat hangs heavy in the air. In a space that is both familiar and unfamiliar,...

8 Huhti 201657min

COUNTER/Weight 33: A Fractal Garden and an Intercepted Message

COUNTER/Weight 33: A Fractal Garden and an Intercepted Message

After a near death encounter with a mysterious shooter, The Chime finally makes its way onto the seaside campus of the September Institute. Mako Trig leads the team's investigation, guiding them down ...

1 Huhti 20161h 25min

COUNTER/Weight 32: Through The Crosshairs

COUNTER/Weight 32: Through The Crosshairs

Now that they've secured their entrance into The September Institute, The Chime has one last thing to do before investigating the campus: making sure their two newest bells are safe. The storm stays s...

24 Maalis 20161h 7min

COUNTER/Weight 31: Expertize with a Z

COUNTER/Weight 31: Expertize with a Z

As The Chime makes their way towards The September Institute, they find that they'll need more than style and wit to get past the campus gates. In the years that have passed since Mako's time as a stu...

17 Maalis 20161h

COUNTER/Weight 30: Another Facility Among Trees

COUNTER/Weight 30: Another Facility Among Trees

With the larger threat of Rigor rapidly approaching, The Chime have agreed to a truce with Ibex and his Righteous Vanguard. In exchange for this peace, they've taken on the most dangerous job they've ...

10 Maalis 201657min

COUNTER/Weight 29: Three Conversations

COUNTER/Weight 29: Three Conversations

A Lion and a Man chanced to travel in company through the forest. They soon began to quarrel, for each of them boasted that he and his kind were far superior to the other both in strength and mind. ...

4 Maalis 20161h 37min

COUNTER/Weight 28: A Special Kind of Warmth

COUNTER/Weight 28: A Special Kind of Warmth

While Kingdom Come creeps through the dark, the Golden Branch explodes into violence and betrayal. In the peripheries of the sector, the Golden Branch Demarchy, the Hands of Grace, and the Rapid Eveni...

25 Helmi 20161h 32min