Sharing My World 2016 Week 3
It’s time again for my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
What is your favourite piece of art? (it doesn’t have to be famous)
Hmm, I really just like what I like (I’m interpreting “art” as traditional paintings/pictures/sculptures for the purpose of this question). Nothing in particular. For example, the “Mona Lisa” may be an exceptionally famous piece of art, but to me it’s just a painting of a woman. I don’t see why it’s so “exceptional”.
On the other hand, I think this picture (done by my friends’ older son on the back of an off-cut of wallpaper when he was, I think, eight [EDIT – his mum has told me he was only five!]) is so good I framed it and hung it over my fireplace.
What made you smile today?
Well, nothing yet. I’ve only been awake for two hours. And I’ve been watching “Scream” (the series) on Netflix, which is very good but nothing to smile about, what with all the dead teenagers and whatnot.
Which place do you recommend as a Must-See? Please state which country, state or province.
Tricky, very tricky. There are so many lovely places that if asked to choose I’ll have to go for Cornwall, UK, since I live here. You can see loads of photos if you click on my “Photos” category, but here’s a little taster.
Complete this sentence: When I was younger I used to…
… wish I was older. Now I wish I was younger :-). But retain all my current life experiences and acquired “wisdom” so I could make better choices. I know. It’s a big ask.
FFftPP – Time to Go
Here is my story for Roger’s Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. The opening sentence is in bold, and to read this week’s other stories click on the blue froggy. The photo was supplied by the pubic domain archive.
Picture public domain
Enough is enough. Things had gone entirely too far. He’d decided he wasn’t going to stand for this any longer.
He settled the rucksack on his back and began walking, heading for the woods behind the house. He’d packed everything he might need and had money in his pocket.
As he walked, the sun beat down, merciless, making him sweat. Sitting on a fallen tree trunk, he took a long drink from his bottle. He was doing the right thing, wasn’t he? Of course he was. Standing up, he continued deeper into the woods…
… the woods which were beginning to look quite dark and forbidding. No, he couldn’t start having second thoughts, although… things weren’t really that bad, were they? They’d had such an argument, but when he thought about it, he wasn’t entirely blameless. He hadn’t done what had been asked. He’d lied about it. Maybe he should turn back? His feet hurt, he was running out of drink, he’d eaten all his chocolate and he’d already been gone nearly an hour.
Besides, Mummy would be starting to worry and it was nearly dinner time!
FFfAW – Yellow
Here’s my story for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, hosted by Priceless Joy. This week’s picture was provided by Louise from The Storyteller’s Abode.
To read this week’s other stories, click the blue froggy.
Copyright Lousie at The Storyteller’s Abode
“What… what… what’s going on? It’s yellow. It’s all… yellow! The chair, the walls, even you… I have to get out of here…”
“Mr Jenkins, please calm down…”
“Out here, the sky, yellow! The buildings, yellow! The beach… okay, the beach was always yellow. But the rest…”
“Mr Jenkins, please come back inside!”
“Never again to see the blue of the sky, the blue-green of the sea. All is tinged, spoiled, tainted… oh, woe is me, woe is me!”
“Mr Jenkins, please, you’re overreacting!”
“Easy for you to say, easy for you with your reds, your blues, your greens. My life is yellow now! Yellow, yellow, yellow…”
“As I’ve already explained, Mr Jenkins, you need the dye in your eyes so we can check for scratches to your cornea. It will wear off in a few minutes.”
“… yellow, yellow… huh? Oh, right, you did say that, didn’t you? Well, come on then, check for scratches. I haven’t got all day, I’m a busy man.”
FF – The Gift
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, the weekly 100 word challenge hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by her husband, Jan W. Fields.
Click on the blue froggy for this week’s other stories.
Copyright Jan W. Fields
Gerald stared wistfully at the piano, remembering the spotlight, how the audience faded away as he lost himself in the music. The approach of light footsteps shook him from his reverie as his granddaughter ran up and gave him a hug before sitting on the stool.
He moved around to stand behind her and cupped his hands, gnarled and stiff with age, around a mug of cocoa. He made encouraging noises as the little girl moved her fingers, tentatively at first, then with more confidence, across the keys.
He smiled. Yes, little Masie had the gift.
FFftPP – Motherlode
Here is my story for Roger’s writing challenge Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. The supplied introductory sentence is in bold in my story.
I had a go at some “1950’s detective” this week. It didn’t quite work but it was a bit of fun :-).
Image public domain
We were within a mile-and-a-half of the service roads when we found it. Right where she said it’d be.
She came ta the office yesterday. Bull Duggan Investigations. I’m Bull Duggan. Pleased ta meet ya. She had legs up ta her ears so I had a listen. Said she knew where it was, tried to charge me for the location. I tried ta stall but she was tough, tough as my wife’s meatloaf. I caved. Paid the broad.
So here I am, slogging through Nowheresville USA like some schmuck on a hiking vacation. ‘Cept this hike’s about to hit the motherlode. I yell at the boy to get his legs moving. Lazy good fer nothin’ but he’s my cousin’s kid. Wanted me ta show ‘im the ropes. You know how that goes.
So we find the guy. He’s long gone. Deader’n a dodo spit roasted over an open fire. The kid chucks. He ain’t got the stomach fer this kinda work. I shoo off the vultures. Some don’t like ‘em, but they’re just surviving, live and let live. I pick through the body. I hit pay dirt.
There it is. Shiny like a brand new nickel. The Maltese Budgie. Pay day. Now to track down that broad…
Sharing My World 2016 Week 2
Here is my post for Cee’s Share Your World for this week.
Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets?
Apparently there are at least a hundred billion galaxies in the known universe. Each contains a gazillion stars. Even if only one in every billion billion stars has a habitable planet (that is, habitable by any sort of life) that’s still a lot of possibility for life!
How many places have you lived? You can share the number of physical residences and/or the number of cities.
Quite a few. As a student particularly I moved around a lot, on and off campus. Let me have a think.
- Cornwall, SW England – 5 different places
- Surrey, SE England – 4 different places
- Hampshire, SE England – 1 place
- Hertfordshire, SE England, 1 place
- Stuttgart, S Germany, 2 places
- Cork, S Ireland, 2 places
Let’s add all that up. Let’s see, 4 plus 5, carry the 10, multiply by the day of the week, add Sunday, subtract the remainder, add the number I first though of… wow, 27,453! That’s a lot of places.
If you given $22 million tax free dollars (any currency), what is the first thing you would do?
I’d pay off my debts. That wouldn’t make much of a dent in 22 million, though. Then I would have a little holiday in New Zealand to visit the Hobbits.
The Never List: What are things you’ve never done? Or things you know you never will do?
I’ve never jumped out of, or off anything high up. That’s a good thing. I’ve never gone swimming with sharks. That’s a good thing too!
As for things I’ll never do, I’ll never use super powers to transport myself to the centre of the Sun where, protected from the heat by a personal shield I will never open a burger bar, catering to the hungry sun-dwellers.
I’m pretty sure I’ll never do that.
FF – Letting Go
Here is my story for the weekly Friday Fictioneers challenge, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s picture was contributed by Amy Reese. Thanks, Amy :-).
For the other stories this week, click on the blue frog.
Copyright Amy Reese
“Oh, Sally, look. It’s a complete mess already. Weeds, sticks…”
“Hun, it’s been weeks.”
“Has it been that long? It seems like only yesterday.”
Sally looked at her husband, eyes brimming with concern. It had been three months since the funeral. She took his arm. “Come on, we’d best go inside. Do you feel ready?”
Grief etched on his face, Harold looked up at the house, a house now empty of life. He placed one tentative foot on the detritus-covered steps and froze. “No… no, not today. Maybe tomorrow?”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
FFfAW – Long Gone
Here is my story for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers. This week’s photo was contributed by Etol Bagam. Click on the blue frog for this week’s other stories.
Copyright Etol Bagam
“And here we have what was known as a ‘bar’. Please feel free to look around, and ask me any questions you wish.”
The crowd wandered around the little room, oohing and aahing.
“Excuse me, what was this strange table for?”
“We believe it was an educational tool. These balls probably represented planets, and helped patrons understand gravitational mechanics.”
The crowd oohed and aahed some more.
“What was in these bottles?”
“A good question! These held a flavoured mixture of toxic chemicals. They imbibed this mixture, would you believe?”
The crowd looked shocked.
“And these little plates held the burnt remains of a poisonous weed, smoked by the patrons.”
“My goodness,” said one of the crowd. “It’s no wonder they all died!”
“Indeed. After they blew their world apart, all our survey team found was this one little room, which we carefully transported across the galaxy to this museum. We can only thank Przzglub that these self-destructive hoomans never developed interstellar travel.”
The crowd nodded in agreement as they moved to the next exhibit.
Sharing My World 2016 Week 1
Here are my answers for Cee’s Share Your World.
As a child, who was your favourite relative?
Ooh, I can’t answer that, I might upset someone!
If you could be a tree or plant, what would you be?
I think maybe a cactus. I quite like the scenery in “cactus country” so I could just sit there all day admiring the view.
What would be your preference, awake before dawn or awake before noon?
I would like to be awake before dawn. I’m more of a morning person and I always wake up quite early even if my alarm is not set.
Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?
Definitely underground. That sounds quite snug and warm while the tree nest sounds very exposed. I wouldn’t want to be up there high winds and driving rain. Of course, I’d have to be sure that my burrow has adequate drainage in case of those heavy rains!
Over Exposure
I had trouble with Friday Fictioneers this week and I had trouble with this story too! Do you ever get weeks when the story just won’t come?
This photo comes from Pixabay.
Picture from Pixabay.com
“So, what do you think?”
“It’s rubbish. It’s set all wrong. I can see right through you. All I see is bones.”
“Perfect. The perfect diagnostic tool.”
“I wanted to see you in your underwear! This is no good.”
“Pig. Is that all you think about? This will help thousands in hospitals everywhere.”
“If you adjust it to see people naked, instead of selling it to a few hundred desperate hospitals you’ll sell it to three billion horny men.”
“I’m warning you…”
“Come on, Suzie…”
“Dr Chapman!”
“Whatever, come on, I wanna see you with no clothes on. Twiddle the settings.”
“Right, you sexist moron, that’s it…”
Two days later…
“… and as you can see, ladies and gentlemen, even without an autopsy my Diagnosticon (patent pending) allows you to see that a scalpel penetrated the kidney area, proving that he accidentally stabbed himself in the back while delivering sexist comments…”
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