Day: July 15, 2018

#FOWC — Down But Not Out

Fandango24 Comments

1E5FB4E1-E8E7-4829-9CBE-D644DD5067B0My page views yesterday were down by nearly 50% from what they were just four days ago. After a cursory review of possible causes, I came to the conclusion that my duties as a tour guide for my out-of-town guests resulted in my writing fewer posts yesterday, posting fewer responses to comments people made on those posts, and reading and commenting on fewer posts by other bloggers.

In fact, I was so busy entertaining our guests that I even forgot to write a post in response to my own one-word prompt, “cursory.”

But far be it from me to allow my precipitous drop in page views yesterday cause me to feel woebegone. Oh no, I’m going to make that feeling of woe be gone. I’m going to plant my feet squarely on the ground, and take my guests on the best tour of San Francisco today that one can imagine.

5330D350-810F-4AD5-B29B-6F7C47F060A1I’ll be like that ant in the fairy tale that my Great Aunt Sally used to read to me. The one about the little ant carrying a huge load many times its size and storing up food for the long, cold winter while the grasshopper sings and fiddles away the summer, leaving it having to beg the ant for help.

(I realize that this Aesop fable, “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” seems to be a bit out of context here, but I had to figure out a way to use the words “great aunt” and “ant” in order to complete Teresa’s Three Things Challenge.)

Written for today’s Word of the Day Challenge, “woebegone,” for Teresa’s Three Things Challenge, where the three things are great aunt, ant, and plant, and for yesterday’s Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “cursory.”

Song Lyric Sunday — Give Me a Break

Fandango25 Comments

Today’s Song Lyric Sunday prompt from Helen Vahdati is the word “break.” This was an almost overwhelming assignment. There are so many songs about heartbreak, breaking up, breaking ties with someone, breaking away, or breaking something, that it’s hard to find one song to choose. But find one I did. Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart.”

Written by Neil Young, the song, which was the third track on his album After the Gold Rush, was released as a single in October 1970. It became Young’s first top 40 hit as a solo artist, peaking at number 33 in the U.S.

The song was rumored to be about Steven Stills, who allegedly alienated his bandmates by referring to them as his “back-up singers” on stage. But Young later admitted it was about one of his other bandmates, Graham Nash, who was heartbroken after breaking up with Joni Mitchell.

Here are the lyrics to the song.

When you were young
and on your own
How did it feel
to be alone?
I was always thinking
of games that I was playing.
Trying to make
the best of my time.

But only love
can break your heart
Try to be sure
right from the start
Yes only love
can break your heart
What if your world
should fall apart?

I have a friend
I’ve never seen
He hides his head
inside a dream
Someone should call him
and see if he can come out.
Try to lose
the down that he’s found.

But only love
can break your heart
Try to be sure
right from the start
Yes only love
can break your heart
What if your world
should fall apart?

I have a friend
I’ve never seen
He hides his head
inside a dream
Yes, only love
can break your heart
Yes, only love
can break your heart

FOWC with Fandango — Legend

Fandango21 Comments

FOWCWelcome to July 15, 2018 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “legend.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.