Day: December 24, 2017

Sunday Photo Fiction — Across the Street

Fandango11 Comments

863C5140-C9A4-4E8C-88E5-F9F84A4C80A6Carol was tapping away on her iPhone. “Are you writing your Sunday Photo Fiction prompt post?” Matt asked?

“No,” Carol responded, “I’m playing solitaire.”

“That’s surprising,” Matt said. “You love that prompt.”

“I’m not inspired by today’s photo. It makes me sad.” She flicked her fingers across her iPhone screen and held it up for Matt to see.

“What’s wrong with it?” Matt asked. “It’s kind of Christmasy.”

Carol looked at the photo. “More wintry than Christmasy.”

“So?”

“It makes me feel sad. Today is Christmas Eve and I don’t want to feel sad,” Carol explained.

“How does that photo make you feel sad?”

“I imagine that I’m looking out of the window of our apartment and seeing that scene,” Carol answered. “The snow makes it look pretty, but I’m bothered by the barbed-wire fencing across the street.”

Matt walked over to where Carol was sitting and looked at the photo once again. “Oh yeah,” he said.

“It looks like there could be a prison or a mental hospital on the other side of that fence and that makes me feel sad,” Carol said

“You’ve got a good heart,” Matt said, bending over and kissing Carol on the cheek.

(199 words)

Mild Weather

Fandango3 Comments

3DE78C0C-8F15-4F23-A228-8F3832DF0AEB“Dad, it’s not the same. I hate it here,” whined Jimmy.

“Me too,” chimed in Marcia.

Helen gave Charlie an I-told-you-so look. Charlie shrugged and then addressed his kids. “What’s not to love about Cancun?” He asked. “The weather is perfect, sunny and mild. The beaches are pristine, and the water is crystal clear. “Jimmy, how can you hate this place?”

Jimmy folded his arms across his chest. Marcia looked at her older brother and copied his defiant stance. “Tomorrow is Christmas. Where’s the snow? Where are our sleds? This hotel room doesn’t have a chimney. We don’t even have a Christmas tree in this room.”

Marcia began to sob. “I bet Santa won’t be able to find us here. He’ll go to our house in Maryland and no one will be home. He won’t get his milk and cookies.”

“And we won’t get our Christmas presents,” complained Jimmy.

Charlie gave Helen a helpless look. He then looked over at Jimmy and Marcia. “Kids, we’re Jewish, you know that, right? We celebrate Hanukkah, not Christmas.”

Jimmy burst out laughing. “I know, Dad. I’m just bustin’ your chops.”

Written for today’s one-word prompt, “mild.”

Song Lyric Sunday —Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead

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Today’s Song Lyric Sunday theme is “danger.” What came to mind for this prompt was the song recorded by the Marvelettes, an American girl group that was popular in the early- to mid-1960s, titled, “Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead.”

The song, written by Clarence O. Paul, Ivy Jo Hunter, and William Stevenson, was released in July 1965 on the Tamla/Motown label. “Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead,” another uptempo single by the Marvelettes, didn’t do that well on the charts. It failed to even crack the top 60.

The song’s relatively poor performance was disappointing for a group that was one of the early successes for Motown Records. The Marvelettes was the first significantly successful girl group after the release of their 1961 single, “Please Mr. Postman.” It was one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.

Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead is a warning to women to be careful in the game of love. Here are the lyrics.

When you give more than you get
You’re in danger (You’re in danger)
You may find that you’re in love with a stranger
(With a stranger)
For who knows what evil lurks within the hearts of men?

It’s vanity
Insanity to play when you can’t win
When you find that you’re losing
It’s time to get on moving
Cause there’s danger: heartbreak dead ahead

It only takes one second, girl, to learn
(To learn)
That playing with fire will get you burned
(Get you burned)
Now girl, don’t you be foolish

They say that love is blind
But it’s clear as the highway sign
That reads “Danger: heartbreak dead ahead”
Heartbreak dead ahead

Read the sign, girl
You’d better mind, girl
Yeah, danger: heartbreak dead ahead

Bonnie Raitt recorded a cover of this song in 1971 that you might enjoy.