Welcome to gangletown’s “Monday Edition,” where each week you’ll receive original essays, pieces of fiction, poetry, cultural commentary, or journalism written by David Kimple. If that is good for your vybe and you’d like access to everything gangletown has to offer, check out subscription options here.
Take a mental health day.
Eat dinner out of an over-sized bowl.
Turn off the phone.
Name your favorite states of America.
Name your favorite states of being.
Prepare a feast.
Be aggressive. B E aggressive.
Why are you grateful for Shonda Rhymes?
Beat your person in a playful game.
Rent a limousine for something silly.
What words can’t you spell on the first try?
If you could animorph, what animal would you morph into and why?
Invent drag names based on celebrities.
You’re not broken.
Buy donuts for the people at the office; If the “office” is also home, well…more for you then.
Stuff their stocking with the reasons you love them.
Invent a new kind of communication.
Try to grow a lima bean as if you’re in first grade without looking up how.
Do centipedes have toes?
Get a new pet.
If you lay down for half an hour, some might say that it is a nap; others might say it’s Shavasana and you’re doing yoga.
Go shopping in your own closet and wear something you’ve not worn for a while.
Ask a neighbor for the missing ingredient in that recipe instead of going to the store.
Give someone the same gift every year on purpose and see how long it takes for them to notice.
Say I love you to the customer service person on the phone and double-down when it gets awkward.
Name three lakes you’ve swum in.
Explain what makes something a past participle.
If they unfollowed you, don’t ask them why.
What are the differences between myths, legends, stories, and lies?
Ever seen a chinchilla in real life?
Do your nails.
Love makes people do s̶t̶u̶p̶i̶d̶
gorgeous things.
Create your own SNL character.
Hydrate.
No one is paying attention to the way you walk but you.
Use cloth napkins when possible.
Fire Siri. Unplug Alexa. “Okay, Google. Where can I buy an ‘Encyclopedia’?”
Replace the caulk in the bathtub.
Remember the difference between envy and jealousy.
Magic is real.
Pick out three names for rude birds.
Design a handbag.
Could you not write about him in your journal?
Watch Season 5, Episode 7 of a show you’ve never seen before.
Draw a blueprint.
What was the “fancy” restaurant in your home town?
Laugh at a bad outfit you wore too many times.
Delete his number; I promise you won’t need it.
Don’t tell your husband that you’re worried the life insurance policy you took out is a little like tempting fate.
Guess if someone is a window, middle, or aisle-seat person when flying.
Ask.
The floor is lava.
I SAID THE FLOOR IS LAVA!
Elvis is not dead.
Mama Cass is still dead.
In the shower, take the bottles and make them sing to each other. Soap Opera.
Be honest. Have you been spelling it “marshmellow” or “marshmallow”?
There is only one “r” in sherbet.
Cast yourself in a movie based on a novel.
Look out the window in the morning.
Make a party hat from a piece of paper.
Reduce and reuse are more important than recycle.
Ask yourself to marry you. Say yes.
You don’t need a drink; you want a drink.
Who shot JR?
Name ten constitutional amendments.
Write your character’s monologue from Grey’s Anatomy.
Practice your best Liverpool-an accent.
Tip your barista.
Read your coffee table book.
Text someone that you’ve “been meaning to reach out to.”
Make appetizers for your housemates on a Tuesday.
Dust the fucking picture frames.
Do one thing at a time.
Exercise your own demons.
Be honest. Are you flossing regularly?
Text me a gif.
Did you turn off the oven?
Go check.
It’s okay. Go check.
While you’re at it, check the locks on the doors and make sure the sink isn’t leaking.
Add a repeating reminder in your calendar to help with the accountability of your new year’s resolution.
Do you need new shoes or just new shoelaces?
Elephants are land whales.
Whales are God.
What item have you had in your possession for the longest?
Use the entire journal.
When you think of John Hughes movies, why don’t you include the Home Alone franchise or Maid in Manhattan?
Think of names that are also verbs. Example: Mark.
Doodle on the walls.
If a cool deli named a sandwich after you, what would it be made of?
What reality show would you be cast on?
Make today a “say-something” hat day.
Wash your pillow-cases.
A watched pot never boils. A watched pot with water in it and set upon high-heat will eventually boil. Context is everything.
Solve for x.
Rearrange the furniture.
Open the curtains.
Save the bees!
Save Ferris!
Tell a stranger, “Well, don’t you look…festive.”
Ask the youngest person you know for advice.
Adopt a thing.
Be honest. Would you sleep with Paul Hollywood?
Be honest. You would sleep with Paul Hollywood.
Pick an object in your house and name it Sherman.
Give Sherman a back story.
THIS IS A TEACHING HOSPITAL!
I wasn’t supposed to put beef in the trifle.
You’re doing great.
I’m so proud of you.
Keep going.
Make your own bookmark.
Have a Toni Braxton video marathon.
Stop everything and write someone a love note.
If you love what’s happening here, will you consider sharing this week’s gangletown (or another piece from the archives) directly with one person? Or - dare I say it? - two persons? It is the best way to help as gangletown grows. You can also follow & Tag me on social media @DKimps.
As a proud Gangler, this is one of my faves!! I'm going to name my new bike-Christmas gift from San-Sherman! And, I love Toni Braxton!!