Dead Fish

It's 20 -a changed yet still complacent America-and Lorraine Mulderon is mad. She's mad that dying fish litter the shores of her small Connecticut coastal town. She's mad other birds seem to be dying, possibly indirectly related to fish deaths. She's still mad about a wave of crow deaths over a decade ago. Oh, and Lorraine is also mad about small local irritants-four-way stop signs, rude "flocks" of bikers clogging up roadways, water wasted on lawns, too much alcohol consumption. But, mostly, Lorraine is mad at the lack of madness.

Lorraine writes letters, contacts agencies that no longer employ people, only manage voicemails. She types discursive comments on blogs and websites. She makes speeches. She phones lazy, and now corrupt, legislators. She is ignored. What has happened to passion? What has happened to our country? And, now, what has happened to Lorraine?

Lorraine disappears after a large New York protest march. Her daughter, Haley, is desperate to find her, and ultimately writes a letter to Lorraine for publication, hoping her mother will read it and return. Perhaps Lorraine's favorite birds-blue jays-can fill in these blanks.

Actually, a bird's eye view reveals certain truths too difficult for all of us immersed, anchored, and egocentric humans to understand. The blue jays know Lorraine's is a story about our country's greatest sin-the normalization of tragedy.