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FF – First World Problems

February 22, 2017 Leave a comment Go to comments

Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Sarah Potter.

I came up blank this week. I don’t do well when there’s nothing hilarious in the photo. So here’s a story which makes some sort of statement. Or whatever.

Copyright Sarah Potter

Copyright Sarah Potter

 

Snowflakes fluttered down through the darkness, silent, gentle, already a centimetre deep. The people of England were beginning to panic.

“How will I get to work?”

“The kids’ school is half a mile away! What will we do?”

“What if we run out of food?”

“This is a DISASTER!”

 

Half a world away Amira dodged through an underpass to avoid the roving gangs, bread clutched to her chest. Gunfire sounded, but a few streets over. She took a chance and raced across the square into her half-collapsed bedsit.

Home safe, food for the babies. Today had been a good day.

 

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  1. jellico84
    February 22, 2017 at 9:00 pm
    Reply

    Quite a statement made here… a powerful statement, indeed! Great Write!

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 8:05 am
      Reply

      Thanks 🙂 I’m glad you liked it.

      Like

  2. Merbear74
    February 22, 2017 at 9:09 pm
    Reply

    All about perspective.

    Liked by 1 person

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 8:06 am
      Reply

      Yep. I feel like the world has ended if my internet connection resets.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Dale
    February 22, 2017 at 9:29 pm
    Reply

    One person’s one centimetre of snow is another’s fight for survival…

    Like

  4. Kecia Sparlin
    February 22, 2017 at 9:36 pm
    Reply

    Great contrast. I saw two very different scenarios yet also the connection between them. Well written.

    Like

  5. The Indecisive Eejit
    February 22, 2017 at 10:03 pm
    Reply

    Nice take and well said!

    Like

  6. Rommy
    February 22, 2017 at 10:12 pm
    Reply

    The contrast presented was stunning.

    Like

  7. magickmermaid
    February 22, 2017 at 10:31 pm
    Reply

    Well done! I agree, powerful statement!

    Like

  8. Iain Kelly
    February 22, 2017 at 11:06 pm
    Reply

    A great statement, and one I often shout at the news on television more bluntly when the top story is how bad weather has made travel difficult for Londoners to get to work! 🙂

    Like

  9. neilmacdon
    February 22, 2017 at 11:24 pm
    Reply

    I agree

    Like

  10. Marilyn Armstrong
    February 23, 2017 at 12:40 am
    Reply

    Oh, I so totally agree!

    Like

  11. Lyn
    February 23, 2017 at 8:54 am
    Reply

    Excellent! We really have no idea about what it means to go without :/

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 12:44 pm
      Reply

      Thanks! For me, “without” means the internet went down and I can’t watch Netflix. Not really life-threatening.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Lyn
        February 23, 2017 at 10:53 pm
        Reply

        For some (like the elevator scene in the movie You’ve Got Mail) it’s a broken fingernail :/

        Liked by 1 person

  12. gahlearner
    February 23, 2017 at 9:39 am
    Reply

    I, too, live in a world where a centimeter of snow leads to chaos. I love the contrast, you set our privileged drama into perspective. Great stuff.

    Like

  13. evilsquirrel13
    February 23, 2017 at 10:13 am
    Reply

    [Curmudgeonly voice]Now let me tell you something, Amira…. back in MY DAY, we had to duck into underpasses, avoid gangs and gunfire, AND do it all while trudging through 50 centimetres of snow just to bring the bread home for the young whippernsappers! And we didn’t complain about it, ya hear? Now, did you remember to pick up my fiber suppliment, or are you gonna have to go back out into the mean streets and get it for your poor decrepit Grandpa?[/Curmudgeonly voice]

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 12:46 pm
      Reply

      [whiny voice]Aw Grandpa, I’m only 6 years old and someone did just let off a nuke next door[/whiny voice]

      Like

  14. rochellewisoff
    February 23, 2017 at 10:41 am
    Reply

    Dear Ali,

    The mere threat of snow throws Kansas City into a panic. Bread and milk fly off the grocery shelves as if we’re going to be snowed in for a month. Your story puts everything into perspective. Very well done.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 12:47 pm
      Reply

      Dear Rochelle,
      It’s been several years since we had snow down here, but I go into a panic regarding driving and so on. I keep thinking “a few more weeks and we’ll be safe for another year…”
      I’m glad you liked my story!
      Ali

      Liked by 1 person

      • rochellewisoff
        February 23, 2017 at 12:53 pm
        Reply

        No snow to speak of this year here either. It has been more like spring this week. However, when I was working and driving 50 miles a day, I would be chief among the panicked. I thought when I retired I’d stand at my window and revel in not having to drive in it. So far there’s been no reason to revel.

        Like

        • draliman
          February 23, 2017 at 12:55 pm
          Reply

          Cornwall is very hilly – I’m not sure I’d even make it off my quite steep driveway!

          Liked by 1 person

  15. Priceless Joy
    February 23, 2017 at 2:11 pm
    Reply

    It certainly does make a statement! Great story!

    Like

  16. Snow's Fissures and Fractures
    February 23, 2017 at 2:53 pm
    Reply

    Very powerful and sadly very true. Fantastic work!

    Like

  17. The Voice
    February 23, 2017 at 3:09 pm
    Reply

    I think you captured the idea quite well. A nice change of pace for you. Great as always, Ali.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 3:18 pm
      Reply

      Thanks. I did think of a comedy later on but it was nearly bedtime 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Magaly Guerrero
    February 23, 2017 at 3:16 pm
    Reply

    This reminds me of “snow days” while I lived in the south of the United States. I watched people panic about snow that wasn’t even sticking to the ground. It was quite strange… often humorous… and to many times, dangerous… since it seemed that everyone forgot how to drive.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 3:19 pm
      Reply

      That’s a bit like here. We only get snow which actually sticks about once a decade. I dread the thought of driving in the stuff.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Sarah Potter Writes
    February 23, 2017 at 3:31 pm
    Reply

    That was darkly funny, because that is how the Brits often carry on! One leaf on a rail track and all the trains are cancelled. That photo was taken from my front garden. You can see how hilly it is. People start trying to drive their cars at the first sight of snow and end up skidding all over the place, unable to get up the hill again after they’ve been out shopping, stocking up for the siege. It always gives me a huge laugh. You would think that they’d never heard of snow boots and rucksacks and walking to fetch the things they really need.

    That being said, I think that in Amira’s situation, they would alter their focus and survive because they had to.

    You have done admirably, contrasting the two, despite saying that you came up a blank.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 4:08 pm
      Reply

      I worry about driving in snow myself – I’d still have to get to work nearly 20 miles away. Fortunately it hasn’t snowed here since 2010 or whenever that “big freeze” was in the UK.

      I’m glad you enjoyed my story! I did have trouble thinking of something this week, though it’s a very pretty photo 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Sarah Potter Writes
        February 24, 2017 at 2:40 pm
        Reply

        Yes, driving to work can be a nightmare. I remember many years ago when my quickest route to work was over the South Downs, via Devil’s Dyke. Sometimes in the winter, it was a bit like going on a switchback ride in a dodgem car! I am lucky now, as any work I do is from home.

        Liked by 1 person

  20. michael1148humphris
    February 23, 2017 at 4:09 pm
    Reply

    I flew home to England and dire warnings of a severe storm, your story is so apt. Well done

    Like

    • draliman
      February 23, 2017 at 4:24 pm
      Reply

      Thanks! No snow here, just a lot of wind.

      Like

  21. FabricatingFiction
    February 23, 2017 at 4:33 pm
    Reply

    I love this Ali! The shift is so powerfully done. Us Brits have it easy.

    Like

  22. Keith's Ramblings
    February 23, 2017 at 5:03 pm
    Reply

    Why we worry about a little bit of snow I don’t know. Celebrate it, build a snowman. If you are struck by a snowball just think how you lucky you are that’s all it is.

    Click for my Friday Fiction

    Like

    • draliman
      February 24, 2017 at 8:06 am
      Reply

      True, it could be something so much worse. Anything which interrupts our cosy little lives gets blown out of all proportion sometimes.

      Like

  23. nonsmokingladybug
    February 23, 2017 at 5:45 pm
    Reply

    We have food, we have shelter. It’s indeed a good day. We forget that too often.

    Like

  24. liz young
    February 23, 2017 at 7:46 pm
    Reply

    Other people’s troubles should put our own into perspective more often – excellently done.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 24, 2017 at 8:06 am
      Reply

      Thanks. We should remember how lucky we are.

      Like

  25. Life Lessons of a Dog Lover
    February 23, 2017 at 9:52 pm
    Reply

    Nicely done. I love the contrast and the reminder.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 24, 2017 at 8:07 am
      Reply

      Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!

      Like

  26. Danny James
    February 23, 2017 at 9:53 pm
    Reply

    Puts everything in perspective.

    DJ

    Like

  27. magarisa
    February 23, 2017 at 10:52 pm
    Reply

    This is what you call drawing a blank? It’s fantastic!

    Like

    • draliman
      February 24, 2017 at 8:07 am
      Reply

      Thanks, I’m glad you liked it! I wanted to write a comedy, though. I like to make myself laugh 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Christine Goodnough
    February 24, 2017 at 4:04 am
    Reply

    Ah yes. In this world there are wars, bullets flying, bombs exploding, violent roving gangs — and inconvenient weather. I really like your take on the prompt.

    Like

  29. wmqcolby
    February 24, 2017 at 4:24 am
    Reply

    Contrasts. I like it! We can cry and moan about our circumstances only to realize others can have it tougher. Good job, Ali!

    Like

    • draliman
      February 24, 2017 at 8:08 am
      Reply

      Thanks, we’re very lucky indeed.

      Like

  30. mandibelle16
    February 24, 2017 at 8:41 pm
    Reply

    Great write! A really apt comparison. Of course we know which one is really the disaster.

    Like

  31. Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
    February 24, 2017 at 9:19 pm
    Reply

    A good day… yes for some it means to survive… for others the smallest nuisance is a disaster.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 25, 2017 at 5:42 pm
      Reply

      Some people need to get some perspective.

      Like

  32. plaridel
    February 24, 2017 at 10:07 pm
    Reply

    a change of perspective will go a long way. well done.

    Like

  33. Clare Hempstead
    February 27, 2017 at 1:26 pm
    Reply

    The stark contrast drives the point home well.

    Like

    • draliman
      February 27, 2017 at 3:20 pm
      Reply

      Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!

      Like

  34. Dahlia
    February 27, 2017 at 2:27 pm
    Reply

    Very nicely put.

    Like

  35. lingeringvisions by Dawn
    February 28, 2017 at 12:40 am
    Reply

    Good to keep us humble.

    Like

  36. milliethom
    March 2, 2017 at 7:56 am
    Reply

    Wow, that really hits home. We in the ‘west’ have things so easy compared to some parts of the world. As for England and snow- we do make a terrible fuss, even though many parts of the country rarely see a snowflake! A great job out of a prompt that didn’t inspire you. 😀

    Like

    • draliman
      March 2, 2017 at 9:37 am
      Reply

      I’m glad you liked it! We need a bit of perspective sometimes 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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