Day: September 19, 2019

They Were Not Gods

Fandango12 Comments

070D62D7-B273-497C-9AA7-FC3C154B5F8FSamantha Bee is a very funny woman and she showed this great, entertaining, and informative video on her show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, last night.

Many Americans, particularly those on the conservative/Republican side, consider our Founding Fathers to be almost god-like. But they were actually just a bunch of old, white, 18th century, slave-owning, misogynist men. Not gods, just men. Very smart, somewhat prescient men, but men nonetheless.

What I liked about this video is that it humanizes these men and demonstrates that they were not infallible. And they were not gods.

I think it’s worth four minutes of your time. Let me know what you think.

Thursday Inspiration — Back in the High Life

Fandango9 Comments

BA282950-8068-4F10-BCD5-545CC5A57F36For this week’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, Paula Light gave us the theme “high” and presented us with a psychedelic (sort of) picture of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Given that I live in San Francisco and that I enjoy getting high (occasionally), there was no way I could resist responding to this prompt.

When I was a young man, back in the dark ages when smoking marijuana was a crime, I was a criminal. I had friends who had friends who could score a dime bag of grass — the good stuff, Acapulco Gold, dude — and would sell it to us. By us, I mean my friends, and then after I got married, my wife and me.

I only indulged (got stoned) on occasional weekends and I became quite adept at rolling well-packed joints using Zig-Zag “cigarette” papers.3CD8842C-746C-47BD-B96A-5EA05DF5CAF6And then there was my bong. Talk about a mind blowing high!

One day, my wife found out that she was pregnant and she and I immediately went cold turkey. For decades. Pretty much until January 2018, when the recreational use of marijuana became legal in California. Our kids are now grown up and are out on their own. A pot dispensary store opened up about six blocks from where we live. And they sell the most tasty marijuana-infused cookies, gummies, and marshmallows. Yum.

And so here we are, living virtually next door to Golden Gate Park and in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge. We are truly back in the high life again!

In Other Words — Beyond Repair

Fandango16 Comments

4F22CEEA-4DA2-4B49-9B0B-39EDBFFC8189Ever since our first date, the chemistry between us was undeniable, and our relationship fell into a comfortable rhythm for both of us.

Yet the concept of true love has always been a nebulous one for me.

Sadly, over time, a fissure in our once beautiful relationship occurred, and that rift began to tear our love asunder.

And as much as it pains me to admit this, I lack the tools to repair our broken love.

I’m so, so sorry, but whatever this thing called love is supposed to be, I just don’t feel it anymore.

In other wordsWritten for the In Other Words prompt from Patricia’s Place. The challenge this week is to write a story or poem of five lines or fewer using the picture above and/or the word “repair.” Photo credit: Steve Buissinne from Pixabay.

Also written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Tale Weaver prompt, where the challenge is to write about the word “sorry.”

And also for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (date), Daily Addictions (rhythm), Word of the Day Challenge (love), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (nebulous), Ragtag Daily Prompt (fissure), and Your Daily Word Prompt (sunder).

The Fruits of Tough Love

Fandango16 Comments

8594E5B8-98FE-4F67-9029-31133C22698D“Don’t you think your punishment is a little too harsh?” Betsy asked her husband.

“Absolutely not,” Hal said. “What the boy needs is some tough love, not the coddling you always bestow upon him, no matter what he does.”

“I don’t think you need to be so antagonistic toward him,” Betsy said.

“Oh, are you asking me to give him clemency, Betsy?” Hal asked, sarcastically. “That’s not going to happen. I’ve no doubt that my tough love approach will bear fruit.”

“You know what would really bear fruit in improving your relationship with your son?” Betsy said. “You should try harder to bond with him, to do something together, like go to the library.”

Hal broke out laughing. “I’ve garnered enough evidence of your parenting skills, Betsy, to know that your continued indulgence of the boy’s bad behavior has not worked and he’s just getting worse. I believe in that old adage that when you spare the rod, you spoil the child, and I will not have that.”

******

The headline in the newspaper the next day read:856416CD-7867-4238-A559-E5A07229F4B3

This fictional tale was written for these daily prompts from yesterday: Weekly Prompts (tough love), Word of the Day Challenge (antagonistic), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (clemency), The Daily Spur (fruit), Ragtag Daily Prompt (library), Your Daily Word Prompt (garnered), and Daily Addictions (continued).

#100WW — Dinner Time

Fandango2 Comments

9ab1628d-4720-46ea-8b3c-6ae419c6a3eb.jpegThis was their last day before they had to fly back home to the States the next morning, and they’d been walking around the city for hours, taking in all the sights,

“We should head back to the hotel, hon,” Dick said to his wife.

“My feet are killing me, Dick,” Molly said. “Can’t we eat around here and then grab a taxi to the hotel?”

Pulling out his French to English dictionary, Dick pointed to a painted brick wall and said,“You’re in luck. That sign says “Dining Room, Meals Served. At least I think that’s what it says.”

(100 words)

Written for this week’s 100 Word Wednesday prompt from Bikurgurl. Photo credit: Cyranny.