The Thursday Dispatch (Friday Edition)

March 14, 2025

Hi, readers! Sorry I’m late this week. The move and a debilitating immunization for shingles put me behind this week. Please enjoy what I have for you, and feel free to comment. If you haven’t already, please SUBSCRIBE to have my newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.

Moving Essentials: Litter Boxes and Plungers

It has taken me until the age of fifty-five to realize that the rest of the world around me doesn’t talk openly about poop or pooping, and I censor myself more often now. This post probably won’t disgust you.

I always buy two things new whenever I move even though I already own them: a new litter box and a new plunger. Of course, both of those deal with pooping.

The litter box is obvious. I want the cats to have a fresh start. They deserve that. Their whole world has been upset. The house gets filled with stacks of boxes, which is exciting to explore, but then big, gruff strangers show up and make a lot of noise taking those boxes and the furniture away. Then they get stuffed into a cat carrier and whisked away like a terrorist being taken to an extrajudicial detention center run by the CIA.

Unlike a CIA black site, the cats are greeted with fresh litter in a new cat box. Hugs and kisses are given freely, along with soothing words and apologies for the experience. That’s not on the menu at Guantanamo.

I buy a new plunger because I think plungers are gross. Just grabbing the handle of one to use it gives me a shudder. (This may be hard for my family and friends to believe based on my fast and loose poop jokes. I said loose poop.) To pick one up and carry it around with me is disgusting. It’s such an inexpensive item. I feel like I can forego handling that dirty tool and get a new one.

I broke that rule in my last move before this past weekend. For that move, I stayed in the same building, moving from the sixteenth floor to the eighth floor. I decided I could persevere for the eight-floor elevator ride.

I got on the elevator with the plunger and toilet brush. The brush was in its own holder. Alas, on the ride down, the elevator stopped at another floor. As I stepped back to make room, the brush holder fell off, hitting the floor with a small splash of the residual water.

When the doors opened, a waiting couple were faced with a man holding a plunger in one hand, a toiled brush in the other, and a puddle on the floor. The woman and I locked eyes. “I think we’ll wait for the next one,” she said. “Yeah, I think you probably should,” I said.

To be honest, I don’t know if I ever saw them again. I must have run into them again at some point. If I did, I’m glad I didn’t recognize them, and if they recognized me, I’m glad they didn’t ask how the plumbing was in my new apartment.

Page & Screen

The Enfield Poltergeist: A Haunting Documentary Experience

How do you feel about horror films? I was terrified by them as a child—as a young man, even. Now they are one of my favorite genres of film. My favorite theme is demonic possession.

On the night of the presidential address before Congress, I couldn’t bring myself to watch that so I decided to self-soothe with a little horror. I chose a documentary called The Enfield Poltergeist on AppleTV+. Narrative films are always so much better at telling a story of possession, but this film’s production made it worth watching, and I recommend it.

Maurice Grosse, a parapsychologist, visited the family’s home to investigate the peculiar occurrences surrounding a pair of sisters, aged eleven and thirteen. During the investigation, Grosse recorded over 200 hours of audio. The director cast actors to lip synch to the audio recordings as they reenacted original interviews and occurences from the 1970s. They did a fantastic job of it, and it made the documentary as creepy as a narrative film.

Streaming platform: AppleTV+
Number of episodes: 4
Running time: Less than an hour for each episode

Currently Reading

The move really knocked me off my game when it comes to reading. I packed the books in my Reading pile, but forgot which box they were in. I just found them tonight. As a result, I started reading a few things on my Kindle just to pass the time.

☩ The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X, by Les Payne
☩ Discourses: Books III & IV, by Epitetus
☩ The Islam Book, by DK Books
☩ Harbors & High Seas, by Dean King
☩ Celebrating the Third Place: Inspiring Stories About the “Great Good Places” at the Heart of Our Communities, by Ray Oldenburg, PhD