Happy June, folks.
A reader, who is familiar with Grand Rapids (the nonfictional one), noticed the Mayor of Grand Rapids in my TRANSPORT World appears to have a last name that sounds strikingly like the real current Mayor of GR,
George Heartwell.
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Not a Feral Zombie in the TRANSPORT World, but Mayor George Heartwell of IRL Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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Dennis Honeywell is the Mayor of Grand Rapids in my TRANSPORT World.
Honeywell a nod to Heartwell? You bet!
I have not met in person Mayor Heartwell, but I can say he is not a guy who hides in the shadows or behind his other city council members. In fact, he and the rest of city commissioners and elected officials have done wonders for IRL Grand Rapids. (I could tell you horror stories of Grand Rapids in the 1980's, mainly because the town was creepy quiet back then, where-as now...GRAND RAPIDS ROCKS!)
And what about Mayor Honeywell of Grand Rapids circa 2025?
I do not know what kind of challenges Mayor Heartwell endures day-to-day, but I can say Mayor Honeywell, who is a stand-up guy, probably keeps a cabinet of aspirin close by for all the headaches and woe he endures day-in and day-out. His council members are always in an uproar, asking for more in their beleaguered wards, pushing for more security to keep them enclosed and protected within the confines of Grand Rapids city central while complaining they are too boxed in. He is required to endure outside towns and villages coming to the big city asking for assistance or complaining "he" is overreaching his boundaries when it comes to assisting them. (Grand Rapids often sends military transports and aid outside city limits which is met by differing forms of approval, some very negative. Example: Reganshire.)
Most of the Elected Officials of the TRANSPORT World Grand Rapids have either stepped down, left town or succumb to the Viral Blight. The City Treasurer, Rupert Largo, is second-in-command as there is no City Manager, etc. There is no love lost, won or shared by Honeywell and Largo. Honeywell knows the man (Largo) is bucking for his job.
As Heartwell, for real life Grand Rapids, fully supports the great city of Grand Rapids, so does Honeywell.
Heartwell must enjoy his position, as does Honeywell, though...
...In a militarized, post-zombie apoc world, I am thinking Mayor George Heartwell is glad he isn't the one filling Mayor Dennis Honeywell's shoes.
TRANSPORT Book One is available at
Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble online, and at any other fine online or offline (walk-in) bookstore.
