Day: December 8, 2020

Over the Top

Fandango18 Comments

“Um, don’t you think it’s a bit excessive?” Harold asked his wife. “Pearl earrings, sparkly glitter on your skin, the bright red lipstick, the very heavy rouge on your cheeks, that blue green eyeshadow, and those fake eyelashes. What on earth prompted you to put on such heavy makeup that way?”

“Oh stop, Harold,” Elaine said. “Tonight is your new boss’ Christmas party. It’s going to be a joyous occasion and I want to make a good impression.”

“You’ll certainly make an impression, Elaine,” Harold said. “It’s over the top. You look like a freaking clown. And if you don’t stop drinking those martinis one after the other, you’ll be giving off fumes like an old gin mill.”

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (pearl), Your Daily Word Prompt (glitter), The Daily Spur (prompt), MMA Storytime (joyous), and Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (fumes).

Truthful Tuesday — Show Me the Money

Fandango8 Comments

Frank, aka PCGuy, has published another one of his Truthful Tuesday posts. This week Frank points out that many people resort to gift cards or cash because they have no idea what to actually buy the person they want to give a gift to. So he asks us:

When it comes to giving money, do you view it as a thoughtful gift, or as a sign that the giver didn’t care enough to think about a “real” gift?

My wife and I differ on this. She believes that cash and gift cards are impersonal and thoughtless. But my mantra is show me the money. I’d prefer someone giving me cash or a gift card rather than giving me something I don’t want, need, or won’t like. And, as the old saying goes, “Money talks and bullshit walks.”

So, yeah, I’m fine with both receiving and giving money as a gift.

Of course, if someone has shared with me something they really want or need and it fits within my gift budget, I’m fine with getting them that. As long as I can order it online and have it shipped to them.

MLMM Photo Challenge — The Diagnosis

Fandango24 Comments

Carla was nervous. In her 19 years of existence she had never had an x-ray before, so when her doctor told her that, for diagnostic purposes, he wanted to get an x-ray, it sort of freaked her out.

“I want the x-ray just to rule out anything serious,” the doctor explained to her. “It will be painless and it will be over before you know it. All you need to do is stay perfectly still for a few seconds.”

“I guess I can do that, Dr. Hill,” Carla said. “I’m willing to do whatever you think is best if it will help you to figure out what is causing these strange sensations in my belly.”

With that, the doctor led Carla to a small room and had her stand in front of an intimidating looking machine. “You’ll hear a low humming sound for a second, Carla,” Dr. Hill said. “Remember to be perfectly still until I tell you it’s okay to move.”

It was all over within a few seconds and the procedure was, as Dr. Hill had promised, painless. “Go on back to the other room, Carla,” he said. “I’m going to take a quick look at the x-ray and then I’ll come in and let you know what, if anything, I see.”

Carla sat down in the examination room and anxiously waited for Dr. Hill to join her. When he finally walked back in, Carla asked him what the x-ray showed and if what she had was curable.

“Actually, Carla, your condition is not uncommon for a young woman your age,” he told her.

“What is it doctor?” she asked. “Can you give me something to help?”

“Well, Carla, there really are no drugs you can take for this condition,” he said. “And it’s something that you’re going to have to learn to manage.”

“Oh Dr. Hill,” Carla said, “is it really that serious? What’s the condition called?”

“Yes, Carla, it can be serious,” Dr. Hill said. “Here, Let me show you.” He tapped the keys on his computer’s keyboard and her x-ray appeared on the large computer screen.

Carla gasped when she saw it. “Oh my God, doctor, are those butterflies in my stomach?”“That’s correct, Carla,” Dr. Hill said. “You’re suffering from a severe case of first love, but the good news is that it’s almost never fatal and you’ll eventually get over it.”

Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Photo Challenge. Photo credit: WeHeartIt.com.

FOWC with Fandango — Fumes

Fandango18 Comments

FOWCWelcome to December 8, 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 “fumes.”

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. Please 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.