Over the Hill
Here is my contribution to Adam Ickes’ Storybook Corner writing prompt.
This one is 100-250 words, and we get a photo to help us along. My story follows the prompt photo below.
And now on KidzTV, the final ever “Storytime with Millie”.
“Hello boys and girls! Today we’re going to hear the story of ‘The Little Engine that Couldn’t.’
“There once was a little engine, we’ll call her ‘Billie’, who worked ever so hard all her life. She did everything asked of her. But one day, children, the railway staff said she was too old to work anymore! They said that today would be her last day. They thought she was old and ugly and past her best and they shoved her to one side.
“Billie was so upset but the railway staff wouldn’t listen. ‘This is your last ever day,’ they said. All of my, um, Billie’s hard work meant nothing to them.”
(What’s going on? That’s not in the script!
Oh hell, she’s trying to make a point.)
“No matter how much she pleaded, the nasty railway staff told her she was over the hill! They wanted to quietly shove her off into a siding. Can you believe that, children?”
(Do something! Cue up a commercial!)
“’Help me!’ cried Mil… um Billie. ‘All my fans, please, write to the, um, railway staff and save me from the nasty asshats!’”
(Good God, now she‘s swearing. Cut her off, NOW!)
“’This cannot stand!’ she cried. ‘All my life I’ve worked…aargh… get off…”
(Get her!
Ow! She kicked me in the nuts!)
“… save Billie! Save Billie aaargh!”
Beep… Beep… Normal programming will resume shortly.
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It’s almost like “Network” for the under-18 audience. 🙂
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I had to look it up but yes, it could be!
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You haven’t seen it? Oh wow, definitely a movie that was ahead of its time.
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I’ll have to track it down 🙂
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This is brilliant! Poor Millie – she is really not happy, is she? It’s a sad state of affairs when people are ‘shunted off to the sidings’ just because they’re viewed as being too old. I love the little inserts from the production team. 🙂
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This kind of thing happens with depressing regularity I suspect, especially in the media where there’s a feeling that everything has to be “young and beautiful”.
The production team had a bit of a panic attack there! The perils of live TV 🙂
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So funny…I couldn’t stop laughing. That’s how we all feel when we are put out to pasture. 🙂
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Some jobs value age and wisdom, some seem to only value youth and beauty. I’m glad it made you laugh 🙂
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Billie might make Thomas the Train and friends actually interesting!
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“Billie the Disgruntled Engine.” That could work!
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Haha! Those nasty asshats! You tell them, Millie! 🙂
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Yeah, asshats! I used your word 🙂
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Hahaha asshats. Laughed out loud. I think in the version of “Little Engine That Could” (my brother favorite story when he was little) that my brother had, the engine’s name was Tillie. I don’t know. He drove me and my sister crazy watching at movie.
Anyway, thanks for the funny read!
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I’m glad you liked it! I prefer my version of the story 🙂
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Poor Millie! Ousted out for a younger model – a sad but true tale in today’s society, unfortunately.
I had to laugh at asshats! 😉
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I imagine it happens quite a lot in certain industries.
They were asshats 🙂
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News (and film) at 11! The railroad was going in a different direction and Millie was not part of the new plan. Please clear out your desk and be gone before the end of business. Thank you for your 32 years of service.
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Very sad and common story, I think. At least Millie had the chance to publicly air her grievances.
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That is not as comforting as you might think. I know MANY people who have gotten dumped … mostly around age 59 (oddly, coincidentally, when their pensions fully vest) and it takes a while for most of them to recover. They do, but it’s hard to believe it’s happening to YOU.
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And it’s very tricky to get another job at that age. Of course, it’s illegal to fire someone because of their age and there is no longer a “retirement” age (in the UK anyway), but the employer can always find some other reason.
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Haha that’s a great take on the prompt. Poor Millie, er I mean Billie.
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Glad you liked it! I had a little trouble thinking up a story this month initially.
Poor B/Millie indeed 🙂
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I am nearly demented from Thomas but that was great! 😀
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I’m sure throwing Billie into the mix would spice up Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends 🙂
Glad you liked it!
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Enjoyed…. One learns more from falling than successes… Great idea!
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Thanks! And very true.
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Hilarious, Ali. 😀 Sorry it took me so long to read it. The whole thing from start to finish was funny. Odd, isn’t it, that people are let go just before they qualify for a pension. That’s one of the reasons the IRA’s (Individual Retirement Accounts) became so popular. Where I worked in North Carolina, it was a “right-to-hire-state” but I always called it a “right-to-fire-state.” They could walk a person to the door on a moment’s notice. I knew it to have happened. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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That sounds like a pretty rough situation. Fortunately we have laws and employment tribunals and stuff to stop that sort of thing over here. I guess it varies from state to state in the US.
I’m glad you liked my story!
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