as shells explode overhead and we hunker down in this godforsaken trench, i find my thoughts drifting to simpler things, like sewing machines. they seem like an unlikely solace, but there's an under-the-table deal in the works, one where sewing machines will kickstart again our efforts back home, stitching the fabric of the community tighter. it's the kind of input that can negate the despair here. a precursory plan to rebuild, to mend, something purely positive in the midst of all this chaos.