Day: October 9, 2019

Out-of-Pocket

Fandango27 Comments

Empty-Pocket_TopperFor most of my adult life I thought that the phrase “out-of-pocket” meant paying in cash, often without an expectation of reimbursement. As in, “I went to the bar and bought you guys a round and now I’m out-of-pocket fifty bucks.” It’s also how to describe a cash outlay for healthcare deductibles or copays that aren’t reimbursable from your health insurance provider. As in, “After I pay my deductible, my out-of-pocket costs will be a few hundred bucks.”

But when I spent a few years living and working in Dallas, Texas, I learned that it had a completely different meaning — in Texas, anyway. It meant being out of reach, especially while shirking one’s official duties. As in, “I’m going to be out-of-pocket for the next few days, so don’t bother calling or texting me.”

So why am I telling you this? Well, it’s because starting tomorrow, I’m going to be out-of-pocket for the next week. We are having out-of-town guests staying at our place and my wife and I will be playing unofficial San Francisco Bay Area tour guides. Thus, I will be running around hither and yon showing off to our guests all that this city and the surrounding areas have to offer, leaving me very little time to post, read, and respond to comments, or to read and comment on other bloggers’ posts.

The good news is that I have scheduled in advance my daily FOWC with Fandango one-word prompts. But the bad news is that I may miss other prompts that I normally post each week. And I will also likely miss responding to the word and photo prompts from other bloggers.

But I should no longer be out-of-pocket by next Thursday or Friday, unless you count the money I shelled out-of-pocket in my hosting duties. So, until then, keep the home fires burning for me.

In Other Words — The Journey

Fandango6 Comments

Needle in a HaystackTrying to find out who you are is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

You never take off your mask or lift up your veil.

You hide the real you from me while revealing only the person you want me to see and to believe you to be.

And worse yet, you’re hiding who you really are from yourself, as well.

Won’t you let me walk by your side in your journey down the path of self-discovery?

In other words Written 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 “discovery.” Photo credit: S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay.

One-Liner Wednesday — Another Yogi

Fandango9 Comments

5F884453-7C9B-4081-A1EC-4ED23A09D9EEIn my One-Liner Wednesday response last week, I quoted baseball legend Yogi Berra. I thought, given that Yogi is full of these one-liner gems, I’d hit him up again for this week’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt from Linda G. Hill.

“You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”

Yogi was full of these tidbits of wisdom, wasn’t he?

Fandango’s Provocative Question #44

Fandango27 Comments

FPQWelcome once again to Fandango’s Provocative Question. Each week I will pose what I think is a provocative question for your consideration. By provocative, I don’t mean a question that will cause annoyance or anger. Nor do I mean a question intended to arouse sexual desire or interest.

What I do mean is a question that is likely to get you to think, to be creative, and to provoke a response. Hopefully a positive response.

You’re probably familiar with this quote from philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.“ In a 1948 speech to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill changed the quote slightly when he said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.“

So, speaking about what you remember about the past or have learned from history, how would you answer this question:

What do you think was (or is) the most significant event in the history of the human race? Please explain.

If you choose to participate, write a post with your response to the question. Once you are done, tag your post with #FPQ 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.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

FOWC with Fandango — Chill

Fandango28 Comments

FOWCWelcome to October 9, 2019 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 “chill.”

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.

The issue with pingbacks not showing up seems to have been resolved, but you might check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

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