Day: August 20, 2022

Birthday Present

Fandango16 Comments

“The toy store was closed by the time I got there,” Ted complained.

“This is what you always do, Ted,” Carol said. “You wait until the last minute. Her birthday is this weekend. You’re the exemplarily procrastinator.”

“Wait, maybe I can find it online,” Ted said.

“Ted, there is a huge demand for those things,” Carol said. “If they’re not in stores, you won’t find any online.”

“Maybe a used one on Craigslist,” Ted said.

“Used one?” Carol said. “Don’t make me cringe, Ted. How could you even consider giving a used one to your daughter for her birthday?”

“So we’ll get her something else,” Ted said. “She’s only five. She’ll be thrilled with whatever we get her.”

“This is not a trivial matter, Ted,” Carol said. “She’s been begging for a Cabbage Patch Kid for months.”

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Promp (toy), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (closed), The Daily Spur (exemplarily), My Vivid Blog (cringe), Your Daily Woed Prompt (trivial), and Word of the Day Challenge (cabbages).

This post, while fiction, reflects actual events that occurred to me back in the mid-eighties. Cabbage Patch Kids dolls were a worldwide phenomenon. My five year old daughter pleaded with us to get her one. Of course, back then there we no online shopping sites, there was no Craigslist. The only way to get a Cabbage Patch Kid was to hit the pavement and to go from toy store to toy store, from department store to Walmart to Kmart, trying to find one in stock. I finally did managed to score one in time for her birthday, and for about two weeks, until she got bored with that stupid doll, I was a superhero.

Weekend Writing Prompt — Isle of Pelicans

Fandango13 Comments
Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay

I Googled “alcazar.” It’s an Islamic castle or fortress in Spain’s Iberian Peninsula built during Muslim rule centuries ago. Alcatraz Island, the former federal prison in the San Francisco Bay, is a literal fortress, and the island was discovered by a Spanish explorer, who I figured named Alcatraz after the word “alcazar.”

But it was sctually derived from the archaic Spanish word “alcatraces,” which means pelican. So Alcatraz Island means “isle of pelicans,” not a fortress.

(Exactly 76 words)

Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where the word is “alcazar” in exactly 76 words.

SoCS — The Key to Success

Fandango13 Comments

“What do you think is the key to success?” she asked.

“The key to success is definitely preparedness,” he answered.

“Nope,” she said.

“No?” he said. “Okay, the key to success is knowledge.”

“Nope.”

“The key to success is patience.”

“Nope.”

“The key to success is perseverance.”

“Nope.”

“The key to success is discipline.”

“Nope.”

“The key to success is persistance.”

“Nope.”

“The key to success is attitude.”

“Nope.”

“Confidence?”

“Nope.”

“Motivation?”

“Nope.”

“Oh for crissake” he said. “What the hell, then, do you think the key to success is?”

“I know what the key to success is,” she said.

“Fine,” he said. “The suspense is killing me. What is the key to success?”

“It’s love,” she said. “Love is the key to success. Now how about you and I go to the bedroom and make success?”

Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, where we are asked to use the word “key.”

FOWC with Fandango — Closed

Fandango26 Comments
FOWC

It’s August 20, 2022. Welcome 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 “closed.”

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. Show them some love.