Thrive Newsletter - Issue #28 - "The Last Of Us" Edition

If The Dandy can let J-Lo and Zombies into our hearts and minds, what about you?

Feb 04, 2023

“The Last of Us” fan art - created with Canva Pro

Hello Friends,

They say that the spice of life is variety. I agree, except for zombies in the lineup of things to be scared of... or so I thought.

I used to say, give me evil interdimensional Borg queens, Vampires, Clowns, Werewolves, Ghosts, Thanos, Sauron, Dragons, Trolls, Bernie Madoff, etc. Please give me all the monsters except zombies.

With pride, I would say from time to time that I haven’t seen a single episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians or The Walking Dead (which I hear is almost the same show). I am even a character in the zombie thriller series Lost Valley by my friend Walt Browning, and I can’t force myself to read all the incredibly well-written books. That will change if we make it through the series. Hopefully, I will be desensitized by then, lol.

Zombies creep/scare the f*ck out of me in a primal, visceral way.

However, when all of the gay Internet and beyond were raving about The Last of Us Episode 3, I was dragged by a ghost and plopped down in front of the hellivision to give the series a shot. Dan was out of town for work, so I watched the first two episodes and nearly peed my pants several times.

When everything went to sh*t in the first episode, it was SO intense that by the time the unrelenting show gave us a pause, I looked down and thought, “Why the hell am I standing?” Seriously, my fight-or-flight response had kicked in, and I was ready to bolt right out of the house. DON’T EVEN get me started on the mound of mushroom people and the “clickers.”

The furkids were amused, staring at me as I let out brief screams and a series of “Oh My … Oh my g*d… OH MY … NOnononono NO! aagh!” Gigi let me hide behind her a couple of times.

I told Dan I started watching it, and he said he wanted to watch it too! Another first in our household. Dan doesn’t like *any* monsters, so when he gets home, I will hold his hand while he gets caught up, and then we will watch episode three together.

So if you hear of a gay couple setting fire to their lawn because they see a mushroom, don’t worry. We will be fine.

While I am not sure everyone needs zombies to add variety to their life, switching things up a bit is good.

Before marrying Dan, I was only a rom-com (romance comedy) fan when I was forced to watch it in the company of others. However, Dan loves rom-coms almost as much as I love vampires. So I watched them with him and finally got the appeal. So now, if JLo is in yet another weird let’s get married movie, we will be one of the first to watch her in yet another masterpiece devoted to true love.

Yes, go ahead, roll your eyes… I understand. But man, J-Lo will change your life!

So if The Dandy can let J-Lo and Zombies into our hearts and minds, what about you? Would you switch up your preferred entertainment to experience something different? I hope so. It’s a safe way to explore various emotions as long as we are mindful of what the content draws from us.

I'm switching gears a bit. :) In case you missed it, I posted two articles last week.

I wrote a book review that came directly from my heart. Anne was a new friend before she passed. This book perfectly captures her light and love for others. It’s a beautiful and candid love letter to us all.