Bend, Oregon, 21 December 2012 —

It was dusk and I was walking past the graveyard listening to MP3's on shuffle when on came Zevon's "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead," which I'd never heard before. Then I passed a shortcut that I'd never taken.

I decided to go that way, and maybe see the zombie apocalypse for myself. A thin layer of snow reflected the dimming hint of the sun's light, diffused by fog and augmented by the glow of the nearby downtown area, so I had no trouble keeping to the narrow set of meandering service roads.

I didn't see any zombies. Not in the cemetery anyhow. They were all in their cars, going home from work -- and, as always, in the grocery store, pushing their shopping carts down the middle of the aisles oblivious to the world around them.