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LISTEN HERE (The podcasts are more complete and nuanced, imo)

DAY 13 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION. Not a lot to say about this one. A skill I have is building. I was a bricklayer and a stonemason, and I know fire tech. What that means is that I can build fireplaces, masonry heaters, flue systems, and chimneys. I think a lot about how the buildings around us affect us. I hate gargoyles. I love angels. I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help.

Mayor Jackson won the election in surprising fashion. No one expected her to win. She had no real money, she didn't have any high-profile support, and the other two candidates were as shocked as she was that she won. Her campaign was simple. “Our City for Us”.

The dominant Party was on the outs with the people. They usually controlled the big cities, and the people finally stopped falling for them. They had lost favor, and there was no politics, or even violence, that would bring the people back to them. The other Party was more of a rural and suburban party, but the idea that they could get this city was like a conquest. They courted Mrs. Jackson, but they could not win her. They offered her money, and all sorts of corporations made all sorts of promises, but he just wanted her city to be for her people.

Her campaign was so unfamiliar. All of these corporations were making all of these promises to her. Her response was, “We'll see.” She didn't present herself as a candidate with all sorts of business and influence as leverage behind her. Instead, she presented herself as someone with the support of the people as the leverage behind her, so she could get the best deal for the people that she could. Her attitude toward the corporations was, “Look, do you see all these people I have behind me? If you want their business, I'm here to be sure you make a really good deal for my people.”

Once she took office, there were so many questions. The media and her critics were all over her, looking for answers to all the tough policy questions. She knew these were pressing concerns, but she wanted to truly ground herself. She had to establish some things in some kind of permanent way.

Her first press conference after the election was the time that she could establish her intent.

“Ma'am, no one expected you to win this election. What was the first thought you had when you saw the results?” One of the media people asked.

“My first thought was that the establishment didn't expect that they would have to cheat on me, so they didn't try very hard.”

Another reporter shouts out the next question. “Mrs. Jackson, what's the first thing you want to do with your new position?”

“Well, the Library really bothers me,” she says.

People are perplexed, it doesn't make sense. What could be the problem with a library?

“You don't like libraries, ma'am?” One of the reporters asks.

“Of course, I like libraries. Who does not like libraries? What I don't understand is why the library has gargoyles all over the roof-line. I want to replace those demonic gargoyles with angels.”

DAY 13 OF FLASH AUGUST FICTION

There are a lot of raised eyebrows among the press crew, it's not what they were expecting.

“I'm not going to use the city budget to do this,” the new mayor says. “I'm going to ask people to make donations at the library.”

Within a matter of days, the library had enough donations to replace the gargoyles with angels. There was a contest for some different angel designs. Some weird, wealthy people offered money for the old gargoyles, but the mayor crushed them into dust and dumped them into the nearby lake.

People felt better, something was right about this. It set the new administration on a good path, and the mayor was able to cut a lot of good deals that benefited the people of the city. She won several elections and served for three terms until she retired at an age that would allow her to enjoy her grandchildren.

The End.

I hope you might get a paid subscription, or buy me a coffee, or donate some bitcoin. I wish you the best. I’m Commercial Herschel, and I’m here to help.