Day: November 11, 2021

Thursday Inspiration — The Thrill is Gone

Fandango13 Comments

Truth be told, I’ve never been much of a thrill seeker. I’ve never been sky diving. Not bungee jumping, either. About the most thrilling things I’ve done have been whitewater rafting on the New River in West Virginia, downhill skiing on a black diamond slope at Killington in Vermont, and driving in road rallies with my best friend from college.

And I wasn’t particularly good at any of those activities, more often experiencing the agony of defeat rather than the thrill of victory. I almost drowned in the New River. I cracked two ribs at Killington. And the best I ever managed at a road rally was 12th place. Out of 18 cars participating.

All that said. I’ve had a fun and enjoyable life, albeit not what most people would call a thrilling life. I’m just an ordinary guy who has lived a rather unremarkable life. But I’m happy. I’m content.

And in honor of Jim Adams’ Thursday Inspiration prompt, which asks us to respond to this prompt using the word “thrill,” or going with the above thrilling photo, I’m going to end this post with the great song from blues artist B.B. King titled, “The Thrill is Gone.”

One-Minute Fiction — Too Bad, So Sad

Fandango15 Comments

I received two notices in the mail yesterday. One was from the electric company. The other was from the telephone company. They both told me that the large evergreen tree in my front yard would have to be taken down. The electric company said that the tree was a hazard to the power lines. The telephone company said that the tree was a hazard to the telephone lines. Both letters gave me until the end of the month to remove the tree. At my expense.

I got three estimates from tree removal companies. They ranged from $800 to $1,500. I can’t afford that. So I contacted the electric company and the telephone company and said that if they want that tree down, they have to take it down themselves.

The electric company threatened to shut down my electricity if I didn’t comply. The telephone company threatened to shut down my phone service if I didn’t comply.

It’s a good thing I put in a whole house generator a few years back and that I no longer have a landline because I use my cell phone exclusively.

So too bad, so sad, electric and telephone company. You want that tree gone? Do it yourselves.

Written for Cyranny’s One Minute Fiction prompt. Photo credit: Cyranny.

Three Line Tales — The Piano

Fandango13 Comments

Dora had wanted to learn how to play the piano ever since she was a little girl, but her family didn’t have the money to buy one — even a used one — for her.

As she grew older, her desire to play piano did not diminish, but even as a young adult, purchasing a working piano was beyond her means.

And then she found an old piano keyboard while scavenging in the attic of an abandoned house, and she decided then and there to make her lifelong dream come true by building her own piano around that old piano keyboard.

Written for Sonya’s Three Line Tales prompt. Photo credit: Vladislav Nahorny via Unsplash.

FOWC with Fandango — Flak

Fandango12 Comments
FOWC

Welcome to November 11, 2021 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “flak.”

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.