Month: February 2018

Live and Let Live

Fandango13 Comments

E9227BC6-99B3-4720-85AF-9D57A498DD08“Without God, you can have no moral compass,” he admonished. “How can you know right from wrong or good from evil if you don’t believe in God. Have you no core beliefs?”

“Of course I know right from wrong and good from evil. And yes, I do have core beliefs,” I said. “But they don’t include believing in a mythical, supernatural, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient being.”

“But God created everything, including you. If you don’t believe in God, what’s the point of life? Of all of this?” he said, waving his arm around.

“Look,” I said. “I believe in live and let live. You know, whatever gets you through the day. Why can’t you do the same? Why do you feel compelled to ridicule me, tell me that I have no moral compass or that my core beliefs are meaningless just because they’re different from yours?”

“I’m just trying to save your soul from eternal damnation,” he said. “Don’t you want to be saved?”

“Saved from being condemned to an eternity in a hell I don’t believe in?” I said. “How about saving me from all of your religious proselytizing, please?”

“I just want you to feel the joy knowing that Jesus is with you and that you’re with Him.”

“I know you mean well,” I said, “and I respect your beliefs. You are free to believe whatever you want to believe, and if your beliefs work for you, that’s great. But so am I free to believe — or to not believe — and if that includes believing that God does not exist, you should respect my beliefs because that’s what works for me.”

“But without God there can be no morality,” he said. “That’s one of my core beliefs and it’s my duty to God to share them with you and to guide you so that you can know Him.”

“I’m sorry, but, while I appreciate whatever it is that you choose to believe, I just don’t accept, much less embrace, it,” I said. “Because my core belief is ‘you do you and I’ll do me’ and, by following that core belief, we’ll both do fine.”

Written for this past Sunday’s Sunday Writing Prompt from Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie. The challenge is to examine one of our core beliefs. In response to this prompt, I wrote this short, kind of fictional vignette. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Winter Storm Warnings

Fandango2 Comments

ForecastThe forecast is looking kind of dim. Meteorologists are calling for heavy, sustained rain on eight of the next ten days. In fact, they’re reporting that “winter’s biggest storm to date” is bearing down on the area. “This is a once-a-winter kind of event,” one overly excited weather reporter said.

These self-serving weather experts are acting like dogs in heat over this rainy, stormy forecast. They’re thrilled by the prospect of a drenching rain storm accompanied by massive snowfalls in the higher elevations just because our area is experiencing severe drought conditions.

But do they, as I must, have to walk their dog four times a day? A dog that hates walking in the rain, no less? No, they don’t. All they care about is averting a stupid drought later this year. The audacity of these people.

Where’s climate change when you need it? This is clearly Obama’s fault. And what about Hillary’s emails?

Yes, things are looking quite dim for my poor dog and me over the next ten days.

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

#100WW — Chick Magnet

Fandango9 Comments

EC574773-FACE-47ED-B02F-3A4B4BA08A52“He’s my chick magnet, Dude,” Clyde explained to his friend, Carl, about why he put his puppy in his backpack rather than walking him on a leash. “You wouldn’t believe how many gorgeous babes come up to me and start oohing and ahhing when I walk down the street. They start petting him and saying how adorable he is and the next thing you know, these beautiful women are giving me their numbers and begging me to call them.”

“Interesting. But there’s one problem with your plan,” Carl said, watching the damp spot spread across the bottom of the backpack.

(100 words)

Written for today’s 100 Word Wednesday prompt from Bikurgurl. photo credit: Savs.

One-Liner Wednesday — Curiosity and Imagination

Fandango3 Comments

39261294-2CB6-40A7-B8BA-1A903454595F“That adage about ‘write what you know’ is basically the opposite of the way I function. I write about what I’m curious to find out.”

Jennifer Egan, American novelist

Okay, yes, this one-liner is actually a two-liner. But it’s no less an interesting message. A lot of truly great writers have advised wannabe writers to write about what they know. Makes sense, right?

But as Jennifer Egan suggests, if you write about something you’re curious to know, you’ll research it and will, therefore, end up writing about what you know. That, too, makes sense.

Although, I might modify Jennifer’s quote slightly. Because if I had to personally know about everything I wanted to write about, I wouldn’t have that much to write about. So instead, I’d say, “Write about what you’re curious to find out…or whatever your imagination conjures up.”

Written for today’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill. Image credit: Lysons_editions (Pixabay.com).

Please Don’t Go

Fandango9 Comments

0B2487E6-F397-4A38-AD6B-2B66D6C4CDD6“Mom, I really don’t think you should go,” Abbie said to her mother.

“Why not, Sweetie?” Amanda asked her daughter.

“I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling,” Abbey replied.

“Ah, another one of your premonitions?” Amanda said, a wry smile on her face.

“Don’t mock me, Mom,” Abbie insisted. “I am worried for you, that’s all.”

“I know, Sweetie,” Amanda said. “But you always seem to have these feelings of foreboding and nothing bad ever actually happens. You’re too young to be such a worry wart.”

“But Mom….”

“Abbie, enough already,” Amanda said. “I’m going to be surrounded by other teachers who feel the same way I do about that clown of a president suggesting that we teachers pack heat in our schools. It’s a peaceful demonstration. It will be fine. I’ll be fine.”

Knowing that she would be unable to persuade her strong-willed mother against going to the rally, Abbie finally gave up. “Just promise me, Mom, that if things get even the least bit weird, you’ll leave.”

“I love you, Sweetie, even with all of your worrying and troubling premonitions,” Amanda said, hugging her daughter. “I’ll be back before dinner time.”

********

The bulletin came on Abbie’s iPhone news feed about two hours later. There was a shooting at the teachers’ rally at City Hall. A man with an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat, opened fire on the the assembled group. There were mass casualties.

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