Day: March 14, 2022

Seeking Absolution

Fandango19 Comments

“In your own inimitable way,” the pastor said to the young woman, “you’re a good woman. Your only real flaw is that you have a tendency to gossip a little too much, but that’s not that uncommon, is it? Women thrive on gossip.”

The man sitting next to the woman chuckled. “And you,” the pastor said, looking at the man, “you seem to be a kind, unassuming, albeit unaffectionate man, whose biggest vice is that you are happy to browse pornography sites for hours on end, rather than being the man who considers his wife’s needs.”

He paused for a long moment before continuing. “But the two you have somehow managed to raise a wonderful daughter and a bright son. And most important, you have each committed to making a 180 degree turn in order change the current downward trajectory of your marriage. As your pastor and marriage counselor, I believe if you do the hard work you have promised, you can achieve total absolution for your sins.”

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (inimitable), My Vivid Blog (gossip), Your Daily Word Prompt (thrive), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (little), Word of the Day Challenge (browse), The Daily Spur (daughter), Scott’s Daily Prompt (180 degrees), and E.M.’s Random Word Prompt (absolution).

Share Your World — 03/14/2022

Fandango13 Comments

It’s time for another edition of Melanie’s Share Your World prompt. This week she is asking…

How do you tell if someone has a sense of humor?

If they make me laugh. Even more important, if they laugh at my jokes.

What sort of music do you prefer?

Classic rock, baby.

Thoughts on gravy or sauce? Yea or nay?

I’m not sure I understand the “yea or nay” aspect of this question. Both gravy and sauce exist. That said, gravy goes on meats (turkey, beef, chicken), and some veggies (mashed potatoes). Sauce goes on pasta, some meats (barbecue sauce), to spice things up (hot sauce), or from crushed or jellied fruits, like apple sauce or cranberry sauce, respectively. So my thought on both gravy and sauce are “yea” unless you call the red sauce that goes on pasta, gravy, in which my vote would be “nay.”

Would you enjoy a hot air balloon ride?

Yes. My wife and I went on a hot air balloon ride over Napa Valley for one of our anniversaries and it was great. Fantastic views one mile up in the air and so quiet. My advice, though, is to wear a hat, especially if you’re tall. The heat from the burner used to heat the air that keeps the balloon afloat almost singed what few remaining hairs I had left on the top of my head.

What do you think is widely taken for granted?

Many of us, myself included, took American democracy for granted.

Before and After

Fandango27 Comments

On Thursday my wife and I adopted a rescue dog, which I may have mentioned to you here. Thursday night, the dog’s first night in a strange house — not that there’s anything particularly strange about our house, but for her, having been at the animal rescue center for nearly a month, it was strange for her — and it didn’t go well. My wife and I hardly got any sleep. But by the next night, our new addition was apparently feeling more comfortable at her new venue and the three of us got a good night’s sleep.

And so far, we are adjusting well to our dog and she is adjusting well to us. So it’s all good. Well, except for the cost of dog food, dog treats, dog toys, dog bones (for chewing), dog beds, etc. I’d forgotten how quickly those costs can add up.

But the point of this post is to share some great news with you all. I have gotten up off my lazy ass and am racking up some heavy numbers. What am I talking about? Let me explain.

I have an app on my iPhone that automatically keeps track of my daily steps. I took a look at a bar chart that the app generates showing my steps each day. And it’s pretty clear that getting a dog is having an impact.

Look at the difference in daily steps in the three days immediately preceding the day we brought the dog home and the days since.

Woo hoo, I’m gonna be in fighting shape again before you know it.

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #160

Fandango15 Comments

Welcome to Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge. Each week I will be posting a photo I grab off the internet and challenging bloggers to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the photo. There are no style or word limits.

The photograph below is from GaudiLab at shutterstock.com.

For the visually challenged writer, the photo is of a man sitting at a table looking at the screen of his laptop with a shocked expression on his face.

If this week’s image inspires you and you wish to participate, please write your post, use the tag #FFFC, and link back to this post. I hope it will generate some great posts.

Please create a pingback to this post or manually add your link in the comments.