This is absolutely not another Facebook Marketplace essay

But I must mention a McNugget pillow

My Facebook Marketplace algorithm has been serving me such great ads since last week’s newsletter that it’s difficult to not write a second essay titled 10 MORE Weird Things on Facebook Marketplace.

I mean, look at this.

What the hell is this? If this is a locker to store your personal stuff like in condo buildings, why is there a man in there and why does the seller call this a “local,” which means ROOM? The seller says this “security room” has been in his garage for a year. Why would someone need a cage in a garage?

My guess is that man is a werewolf. He locks himself up every full moon to protect his community. Seth Green? Is that you?

I really didn’t want to write about Marketplace again, but here we are.

Why not, though? I can write what I want in this space. I don’t need permission to write about strange second-hand werewolf prisons or any other possessed treasure I come across, like this:

I don’t understand what this is.

I like strange things. Facebook Marketplace is a modern-day curiosities shop, except nothing is curated and you have to dig to uncover the weird. You don’t have to dig too far though, because all it takes is two or three clicks and the algorithm will show you a pillow in the shape of a McNugget.

I have so many questions about the McNugget pillow. First, why? Second, was it really a gift from a friend or was it a gift from an ex? Context is everything. I want to believe it was the latter, because turning your heartbreak into profit ($230 to be exact) is a better story. All great artists do that. To be precise, they turn heartbreak into art, which often makes great art that sells incredibly well. Aren’t breakup songs the best?

I feel a lot of resistance about writing on the topic of Marketplace again, because capitalism would have me believe that I need to offer something new and exciting every week. I have nothing new. There is nothing exciting about spending too much time on your phone and scanning Meta’s classified ads. What am I supposed to do? Nothing else inspires me this week.

The only thing I can say about inspiration and the writing life is that you must pay attention. Open your eyes. Notice. Write things down. Even if you don’t think it’s interesting or meaningful or even worth being remembered. Sure, I should have spent more time outside looking at trees. But a McNugget pillow is what I’ve got and I’m going with it. It’s what I’ve noticed. Is it worthy of being remembered? It doesn’t matter. Sometimes the subject isn’t as important as the act of writing and maintaining a practice.

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Speaking of noticing things, I wrote a poem about a bird that flew into a window while I was at the coffee shop and it got published in Montreal’s chouette literary magazine along with two collage pieces I made over the summer. This is the first time I’ve been published in a lit mag, so I’m pretty excited about it! You can view the Fall issue of chouette here. And here’s my poem:

My poem “Sparrow” as seen in chouette magazine.

Wishing you a lovely rest of your day. Thank you for being here.