Vicki Winslow

No words.

I am so tired.

For many Americans, buying and owning a car has become harder than it’s been in decades. Buyers are taking on larger loans than ever before, with the average financing for new vehicles rising to $42,647 in the third quarter, up from $40,713 at the same time last year. Coupled with eye-watering numbers of delinquencies and repossessions, the car financing market is raising economic warning signs.

The share of subprime borrowers — those with credit scores below 670 — who are at least 60 days late on their car loans reached its highest point since the 1990s earlier this year, according to Fitch Ratings. Those borrowers make up a growing percentage of all car loans, at 14.2 percent in September, according to Cox Automotive. That number has grown, in part, due to the millions of Americans whose credit scores were downgraded because of student loans last year, industry experts have said.

This year is also expected to see more borrowers in default lose their cars than at any point since 2009, according to industry publication CU Repossession. More cars have already been repossessed this year compared with all of 2023.

It's worth remembering that we were already in the midst of a massive spike of auto loan delinquencies *before* this spike in gas prices (and everything else). The myriad costs of car dependency are just destroying people.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/04/b...

I love North Carolina.

😆

(Alt text: white image with black font reading, "I was told there would be a handbasket.")

Being mad somebody brought up politics at Jesse Jackson’s homegoing service is like being mad somebody put butter in the poundcake.

And the hubris is astonishing.

Your last one was great.

Live post?

Every time I see a mention of the fraud in Minneapolis (for which people have been convicted), I think of Scott.

Sharpton: "We're still here! We've come this far by faith. It was against the law to read and write! It was against the law to marry, but we've come this far by faith. I don't care what they do in Washington, I care what we do in the community. We've beat people bigger than Trump!"

📢North Carolina is investing $24 million in projects across the state that will improve flood mitigation, protect critical infrastructure, and reduce community risks from future disasters.

The University of Iowa presents Homecoming, a reading, 90 years of writing at Iowa. Featuring Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Harding, Alexander Chee, Sarah Minor, Lauren Haldeman, Rodney Dailey II. Friday March 6, 7-10PM, Checkerspot Brewing, 1421 Ridgely St. AWP 2026 Baltimore Maryland

The Beautiful Room Is Emptier Now,a tribute to Edmund White. Alysia Abbott, Brian Alessandro, Alexander Chee, Alden Jones, Rakesh Satyal. Associated Writing Programs Conference Saturday March 7, 3:20-4:35pm, room 301, Level 300, Baltimore Convention Center.

If you’re at AWP2026, I am reading tonight at this Iowa Writers’ Workshop event with Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Harding, Sarah Minor, Lauren Haldeman and Rodney Dailey II. Tomorrow I’ll be honoring Edmund White alongside @rakeshsatyal.bsky.social, Alysia Abbott, Brian Alessandro and Alden Jones.

And now I have tears in mine. Her last text in this series is everything.

My parents owned a T&C for years. I drove them to family gatherings out of state and it was the most comfortable drive ever.

Beautiful!

Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction More than seventy short-story collections have appeared in the Flannery O’Connor Award series, which was established to encourage gifted emerging writers by bringing their work to a national readershi...

I know I'm not sticking to what you asked for, but the deadline for the Flannery O'Connor Award is the end of May. There's a fee to enter ($30), but previously published stories are eligible. www.ugapress.org/series/flann...

Berger challenger Sam Page asks state elections overseer to recuse himself as ballot count goes on • NC Newsline Prepare for a drawn-out fight in the Republican primary race between NC state Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham Co. Sheriff Sam Page.

SHADOW GOVERNOR DAVE BOLIEK ncnewsline.com/2026/03/04/b...

Farmer, and lock keeper on the Dismal Swamp Canal.

What To Do When Your Popular Sheriff Loses His Insurance Counties get insurance policies to cover their costs in case someone sues the sheriff or his or her deputies. But what happens when the people who pay the bills can't tell the sheriff what to do?

Here's something I learned in researching this story: Since the death of George Floyd, 2/3rds of the private companies that provided liability insurance to law enforcement agencies pulled out, and those that remained have increased their rates and lowered caps.
www.ncrabbithole.com/p/what-to-do...

North Carolina, we're officially on the road to November 3rd.

There’s no doubt — we’ve got our work cut out for us. But North Carolinians have always given me hope and that’s what’s going to get us across the finish line.

I collect quotes on my cell notepad. Here's a keeper from @joshtpm.bsky.social: "The essence of dystopic fiction is the idea that things can go wrong and have no clear path to getting better. It is a one-way street. But life, real life, is about persisting and finding a way back." (dated 5/17/20)

Exactly. If I hit 98F I am siiiiickkk.

I have this same issue, so I believe in your fever.

Takes a lot of spackle to cover up leprosy.

My red, white, and blue "I Voted" sticker.

Oh, I just threw my 2026 bingo card away on January 3rd.

Bobby Flay does a great interview (I watched until he started cooking the burger).

“When we sing together, our hearts start to beat together.”

- Thomas Stark
#flowerfeed🌱

Thank you for the recipe! I'm definitely trying this one.