collapse

Simply 6 Minutes — The Dollar Store

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“My god, Bart, where did you buy these chairs?” Dennis asks as his chair collapsed with him in and toppled backwards after he sat down.

“I bought them at The Dollar Store,” Bart said. “I got a great deal on them. Then his chair toppled backwards, just like Dennis’ did.

Jeff, who was sitting in the third chair, was laughing hysterically while pointing at Dennis and Bart all akimbo on their backs in the sand. Then Jeff’s chair fell backwards and he, too, was all splayed out on his back. “Sheesh, we shoulda known you’d try to save a few bucks to get the cheapest piece of crap folding chairs you could find. What were you thinking, dude?”

Bart was on his back, laughing. “I was just trying to save us money, guys. But look at this way, nobody got hurt and we’re going to remember this moment for the rest of our lives.”

Written for Christine Bialczak’s Simply 6 Minutes Challenge. Image credit: LOTHAR KNOPP/GETTY IMAGES.

P.S. I have never set foot in a Dollar Store and for all I know, that store may have quality products for the money.

WDP — What Future?

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Daily writing prompt
What are you most worried about for the future?
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My biggest worry about the future on this Independence Day in America is that there won’t be one.

Especially if Donald Trump is allowed to run for and wins the presidency of the United States. And if the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress and continues to stack the federal judiciary with far-right conservative judges with lifetime appointments.

That would be the last nail in the coffin of a free democracy in America and possibly lead to the beginning of the end for the world.

This is not hyperbole. It’s a predictable outcome and I think, sadly, it’s almost inevitable.

Selfishly, I’m glad I’m old and will likely die before the complete and total collapse of society. My heart goes out to those younger than me, whose futures are in jeopardy.

Image credit: Wall art from Banksy: No Future.

Good Morning America

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73EB194A-1164-4DAC-8BC6-F6D924020171This is what greeted me this morning as I opened up my iPhone and went to my newsfeed.

According to the Washington Post article:

The scenes have been disturbingly familiar to CIA analysts accustomed to monitoring scenes of societal unraveling abroad — the massing of protesters, the ensuing crackdowns and the awkwardly staged displays of strength by a leader determined to project authority.


In interviews and posts on social media in recent days, current and former U.S. intelligence officials have expressed dismay at the similarity between events at home and the signs of decline or democratic regression they were trained to detect in other nations.


“I’ve seen this kind of violence,” said Gail Helt, a former CIA analyst responsible for tracking developments in China and Southeast Asia. “This is what autocrats do. This is what happens in countries before a collapse. It really does unnerve me.”

It really does unnerve me as well.

Good morning America.

Sunday Photo Fiction — The Catastrophe

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9C22FBEE-4567-460D-B33E-76F8813222F4“Your desire to indiscriminately cut costs and to stay under budget is what led to this catastrophe,” the mayor said. “The time to talk is over. We must take action in order to ensure that nothing like this happens again in the future.

“We’ve has this conversation before,” objected a city council member from the other party. “No one could possibly have anticipated that the scaffolding, which had been erected for additional seating at the music festival, would collapse when that sudden, violent thunderstorm blew through the fairgrounds.”

“Nonsense!” the mayor shouted. “Your council awarded the contract to the low bidder. You knew they had to cut corners in order to get the contract. Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no middle ground here. You need to take responsibility for this totally avoidable disaster.”

The mayor picked up a large blowup of a photograph that had been mounted on poster board and set it on a tripod. “Look at this devastation,” he said. “It’s a miracle that no one was killed from the collapse. Our role, as the city’s leaders, is to deal with this and I suggest that if you can’t stand the heat, you need to get out of the kitchen.”

(199 words)

Written for today’s Sunday Photo Fiction prompt from Donna McNicol. Photo credit: Pixabay. Also for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (talk), Your Daily Word Prompt (future), The Daily Spur (conversation), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (middle), and Daily Addictions (kitchen). Sorry Word of the Day Challenge, but I couldn’t fit “sensual” into this post and still keep it to no more than 200 words.

#writephoto —Tudor Fixer-Upper

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121AFF2B-15EF-4063-BD8A-E6588A0C9F14“You said you were interested in a large Tudor-style home and that you didn’t mind a bit of a fixer-upper,” the broker explained to her client as the two of them stood on the street looking at the house she wanted him to see. “And it’s within your budget, too.”

Douglas stared at the house. “First of all,” he said, “Whoever built this place went a little overboard in trying to achieve the Tudor look, don’t you think? The whole facade is just garish and overdone.”

“Yes, well, the home was built nearly 200 years ago and for some rich people back then, an ornate, over-the-top style was thought to be a tribute to their great wealth. Besides, that’s an easy fix,” the broker said. “It’s just cosmetic.”

“Maybe so,” Douglas said, “but the house looks uneven, like parts of it are sinking into the ground. That generally means there are foundation issues, which are far from cosmetic.”

“True, but not insurmountable,” the broker insisted. “You should really let me show you inside the house. I promise you’ll be impressed.  And,” she added, “the owner is very eager to sell.”

“Yeah, I bet he is eager to sell,” Douglas said, “before the whole structure collapses in on itself. I’ll pass on this one. What else can you show me?”

Written for the Thursday Photo Prompt challenge from Sue Vincent.