Day: May 23, 2020

Weekend Writing Prompt — Wildfires

Fandango9 Comments

406BCC28-B27B-44FE-A0D2-83DFF9C78FADSometimes they were due to a careless camper. At other times, they were started by sparks from power lines taken down by high winds. In either case, the wildfires during the dry season would ravage the countryside, threatening homes, farms, vineyards, and lives.

This wildfire season was no exception, and thousands of acres burned from the out-of-control fires. But then the unexpected happened and a very unseasonable downpour, the likes of which rarely came during the hot, dry summer months, doused the fires, saving countless acres from devastation.

(88 words)

Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt.838D4F9E-B3E5-4A66-8F6D-ED18804A2BF6

One More Award

Fandango28 Comments

F11C06FE-8ACD-4647-9F15-6D3D4ACFD86EThis is a new one for me. I’ve heard of the Kennedy Center Honors, an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. I’ve heard of various awards of excellence. But I’ve never before heard of the Kennedy Award of Excellence.

And yet the blogger at Itsthebiblophile has bestowed this award upon me! Yay and thank you, Biblophile! I went to the source of the award, Parneet Sachsen, who blogs at Timeless Mind, and learned that the award is intended for blogs that…

Through [their] writing, presentation, and objectives, foster human values; promoting intellectual, emotional, and moral growth of peers.

Sweet! The catch is that mine is an award-free blog, but I do love to answer questions from other bloggers, so to that end, here are the questions posed along with my answers.

1. What lessons did you learn in Corona?

It’s best to squeeze the lime just a bit before stuffing it down the neck of the bottle.E04D6D9E-495B-48C7-8C19-B0095295F994

2. What values drive you?

“Live and let live” and “Whatever floats your boat.”

3. Which is your favorite movie?

The 1956 SciFi classic starring Robby the Robot, “Forbidden Planet.”0950A58A-3CF3-4D0F-BD79-98C043B538EE

4. Whom have you ever loved from your heart?

My children.

5. Your dreams in life?

To stay alive until I die.

SoCS —Check It Out

Fandango26 Comments

C5EC6F7E-CA19-4E1D-89F1-0B45440681F3“Cheese,” said Charlie. “It definitely needs more cheese.”

“Well, you’re the chief chef, Charlie,” Charlotte said.

Charlie threw his hands up and sat down on a kitchen chair. “We need to chat, Charlotte,” he said.

“Uh oh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Do I have a choice?”

“Didn’t I ask you to chop up the chives for the chowder?” Charlie asked. “Christ, Charlotte, I personally chose you to be my assistant chef, chiefly because I thought I could count on you to carry out your assigned tasks. I took a real chance on you and I thought you’d be up for the challenge. But something has changed, recently, and your behavior seems a bit chaotic of late. Is there anything you need to get off your chest?”

“Oh Charlie, I used to be so charmed by you,” Charlotte said. “I cherished your skills in the kitchen, and choosing me as your protege was like the cherry on top of the sundae for me. But I think things have been getting a bit too chummy between us and it has made me uncomfortable.”

Charlie took a deep breath. “Listen, Charlotte, if you’re about to take a cheap shot….”

Charlotte interrupted Charlie before he could finish. “Chillax, Charlie. Stop acting like a child,” she said. “You asked and I answered. But don’t worry, I’m not going to say anything to anyone.

“Is that supposed to cheer me up, Charlotte?” Charlie asked. “Do you think I’m some kind of charlatan?”

“No, Charlie, not at all,” Charlotte said.

“Well, you’re done here, Charlotte,” Charlie said angrily. “I’ll send your final check to your home address.”

With that, Charlie and Charlotte turned to the audience and took a bow to a round of cheers and applause. Then Christine Chemsworthy, head of HR, stepped up to the microphone and said to the group of employees gathered in the large conference room, “I’d like to thank Charles and Charlotte for their great presentation illustrating inappropriate workplace behavior.”

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, where we were asked to “ind a word that starts with ‘ch’ and use it as your prompt word. Bonus points if you start your post with that word.” I found quite a few words.

FOWC with Fandango — Maniac

Fandango22 Comments

FOWCWelcome to May 23, 2020 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 “maniac.”

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.