DVD Extras

So, when you were in 8th grade, and your science teacher said, "Don't touch the hotplate," you were the kid who touched it, just to see what would happen.

Oh, no, sorry. That was me. (FYI: Your flesh dies instantly, so you can watch your finger callus over, and it doesn't really hurt.)

Evolution

This story went under a lot of metamorphoses as S4 jossed every single one of my ideas (take a look at "A Little" to see how drastically different this story started out). But the core idea was always the same: Our Heroes, back to nature, hashing out their problems in a way they couldn't in their real lives.

Originally, the story was mostly Rory and Luke wandering around the woods, having Deep Conversations. There was a very moving moment when Rory asks Luke why he sent Jess away (post-S3), and Luke sees Jess through Rory's eyes, and vice versa. In retrospect, it wasn't particularly in character, so I'm glad S4 gave Rory something else to be moody about. It's really fun to write Moody!Rory as opposed to Angel!Rory.

References

Rick Bass writes short, sparse stories about people living in the extreme north of Canada, where it's cold and dark nine months out of the year, the population density is about .2 per square mile, and most people live on a ranch or in the woods. I dunno why I thought Luke would like that author. ;) Read "The Hermit's Story," about these people who wait out a complete white-out under a frozen lake at low tide. Raise your hand if you had the Babysitters' Club game. It's like chess meets Mean Girls.

Inspiration

I started this story in June 03, and finished it in August 04. Through fall, spring, and two summers, I brought a pen and notepad with me every time I went hiking in my home-away-from-home park. As I walked, Luke, Lorelai, Emily, and Rory walked beside me and let me eavesdrop on their conversations. Since I go to the woods the way some people go to church (or the gym, if you're "Just Jack!"), this story came out of my favorite times of the day.

Best thing about the park: in late summer through autumn, these tall, undulating grasses on a hilly meadow turn colors like the leaves. From far away, the field looks auburn, but as you get closer, the colors shift and separate, becoming shades of red and pink, until you see that each stalk has bits of gold, pink, and orange in it. I once saw a buck leap out of the grasses and thunder down the incredibly steep hill like a billy goat.

Thoreau wasn't that isolated

The title comes from a story I heard about Thoreau, that he wasn't all the isolated on Walden Pond; he went to his parents' house every week and had their servants do his laundry. Shout-out to my pal Rob, who pointed out the similarities between Thoreau and Rory, who ran home every weekend of freshman year with laundry.

Geography is stupid

There isn't an Ely Lake in Connecticut, but the nearest large body of water near Hartford (according to Mapquest) where Luke could go fishing is Ely Pond. I've never been to Martha's Vineyard, but a lot of murders take place there, according to my mom's Mary Higgins Clark-esque paperbacks. Mom says it isn't all beach, that it's "a pretty wet place," so I picked a random inland lake to put Emily's house on.

Still pictures

Well, all that's left of this DVD extra is the still pictures with that fat guy talking. I know no one's going to actually look at these, but if you're really curious, click here.