WOTD

They Elected Him Nonetheless

Fandango13 Comments

180e264a-67cb-45b1-ac67-c763c90da5b5.jpegUnlike the other graduates from the college —  the one to which his father made a sizable gift so that his son could get admitted — he defied tradition and moved the tassel on his mortarboard from the left side to the right upon receiving his diploma.

That should have been a foreshadowing of things to come five decades later when that same boy, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, would become the leader of the free world.

Could anyone have predicted his unprecedented behavior in office, where he would besmirch our country’s allies and embrace our country’s enemies?

Could anyone have foretold that he would focus his efforts on dividing, rather than uniting, the people he was elected to serve?

Could anyone have envisioned the blot upon human decency he would demonstrate or the stain he would put on the fabric of our great nation?

Yes, they could have. Yes, they should have. But they elected him nonetheless.

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (tassel), Your Daily Word Prompt (besmirch), Word of the Day Challenge (focus), and Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (blot).

Theme Reveal

Fandango20 Comments

42622C3C-9797-4F89-9DC4-A3E3771A3E0CPromise you won’t laugh at me, okay? Starting next month, I will be participating for the second year in a row in the annual A to Z Challenge. What’s that, you ask? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

It’s really very simple. You start on April 1st by publishing a post with a topic beginning with the letter “A,” and post each day of the month, except for Sundays, all the way to the letter “Z” on April 30th.

Here is where you can find badges and the sign up sheets for the challenge. I hope you will consider participating. It really is a lot of fun.

One aspect of the A to Z Challenge is the opportunity to declare a theme. This theme can be anything from horror, sci-fi, humor, fantasy, photography, politics, mental health — well, you get it — anything.

But I’m not really a planner. My blog is a rather spontaneous, makeshift affair. I have, therefore made the bold decision to not declare a theme for my A to Z Challenge posts. I will wing it, waking up each day during April to come up with an appropriate post topic for the letter of the day.

That said, I will try to maintain fidelity to my mission statement for my blog: to write posts that reflect my personal observations and perspectives on life, society, and politics, and to, where appropriate, to infuse my posts with humor.

If you’re interested in reading any of my A to Z Challenge posts from last year, just go to where I list my “Topics of Interest” listing on my blog and click on the “A to Z Challenge” link.

Written for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (laugh), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (makeshift), Ragtag Daily Prompt (bold), and Your Daily Word Prompt (fidelity).

The Resistance

Fandango7 Comments

0492E114-ED86-4A73-91AA-63D39C3B0AFCJason woke up in a cold sweat. He sat up in bed and started to shake, which set off the alarm. A nurse came running into his room and said, “You’re awake! Are you okay?”

“I think so,” he said. I was having some weird visions. “I’m sure it was all a dream. Or a more like a nightmare, actually.”

“A nightmare?” she said. “Do you know where you are?”

Jason looked around, saw the medical equipment and apparatus around the room that he was connected to. Panic started to set in. “What’s going on? Where the fuck am I?”

“You’re in a military hospital, Lieutenant Silver. “You’ve been in a coma for the past six months.”

“What?” Jason said, struggling to comprehend what he had just been told. “How did I get here? What happened to me?”

“Let me go get the doctor,” she said, and left the room.

A moment later, a man walked into the room. “Lieutenant Silver, I’m Doctor Jackson. As the nurse mentioned, you have been here for six months. You were brought to this facility unconscious and close to death. Is was touch and go for hours, but we were eventually able to stabilize you. You never regained consciousness. Until just a few moments ago.”

“What happened to me?” Jason asked. “I have no recollection at all.”

“That’s not unusual,” the doctor said,” given what you went through.”

“Tell me!” Jason insisted.

“In 2022, the president died and his son, who assumed the position of vice president in 2020, filled out the remainder of his father’s term. But in 2024, when he lost his re-election bid, he refused to step down and support a peaceful transition of power to the winner,” the doctor explained. “That triggered a military coup in which the young president was killed, which set off a civil war. The dead president’s loyalists took arms in an attempt to regain power for the family and to install his sister as the new leader in order to continue the dynasty.

“Jesus,” Jason said.

“You were a member of the resistance, but I’m afraid their efforts failed and the resistance came up empty handed.”

“Oh my God,” Jason said. “I don’t remember any of that. So how did I get here?”

“You were fighting against the deceased president’s daughter,” the doctor said, “when your squad got overtaken by an armored division of the military loyal to the regime. You were wounded and the rest of your squad bailed on you, thinking you were dead. You were found and brought here.”

“Wow,” Jason said. “So it wasn’t all just a bad dream, after all. What happens now?”

“Well, now that you’ve regained consciousness, Lieutenant,” the doctor said, “by order of her royal highness, Queen Ivanka, you are to be executed as a traitor to the regime.”

Written for Teresa’s Story Starter Challenge where the story starter is “I’m sure it was all a dream.” And for these daily prompts: Swimmer (hour), Word of the Day Challenge (empty), Your Daily Word Prompt (armor), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (division), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (bail).

The Rooftop Garden

Fandango6 Comments

DA93E711-420C-4AFC-B329-034F713A25C3“Would you like to see the rus-in-urbe we just completed,” Arlene asked her friend Betsy.

“Your Russian ruble?” Betsy said.

“Ha!” Arlene said. “No, our rus-in-urbe.”

“I’m unfamiliar with that term,” Betsy admitted. “What is it?”

“To be honest,” Arlene said, “Not too many people are knowledgeable about that turn of phrase, so don’t feel bad. It refers to a city garden that is constructed in order to provide the illusion of a rural countryside.”

“And you and Richard made such a garden?” Betsy asked.

“Yes, up on our roof deck,” Arlene said. “I’ve been hoarding a variety of seeds and bulbs to use once Richard designed and built the garden. We planted the seeds, bulbs, and some bushes we bought last fall and now, just in time for spring, they are flowering. Come, I’ll show you.” Arlene grabbed Betsy’s hand and led her up the stairs to the roof deck.

“Oh my God, Arlene!” Betsy exclaimed when she saw the garden on Arlene’s rooftop deck. “This is stunningly beautiful. I had no idea.”

Arlene beamed proudly. “It is, isn’t it? And guess what? The local paper is doing an article highlighting urban gardens and a reporter and photographer are coming over later this afternoon to include our little rus-in-urbe in their article.”

“Well aren’t you the illustrious one?” Betsy said, giving her friend a big hug.

Written for Teresa’s Opposites Attract prompt, where the words are knowledgeable and unfamiliar. Also for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (rus-in-urbe), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (order), Your Daily Word Prompt, (hoard), Swimmers (time), and Word of the Day Challenge (illustrious).

Signs of the Times

Fandango11 Comments

33CC6FA8-FE4E-458A-9A32-CB31DE3BDC40“Do you think it will work?” Liz asked.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Stan asked.

“Well, for one thing,” Liz said, “we don’t have a dog. We have a cat.”

“But nobody knows that we don’t have a dog,” Stan said. “So between the ‘Beware of Dog’ sign and the motion-activated sounds of a vicious dog barking whenever anyone approaches our door, I think it will serve the purpose.”

“I hope so, Stan” Liz said. “There have been a lot of break-ins in the neighborhood lately. Maybe this will bring some peace and harmony around here .”

“I do have a backup plan, Liz,” Stan said. “In fact, this might be an even better idea.”

“What’s that?”

“It may rumple some feathers, Liz, but if the dog warning sign doesn’t work, this one just might do the trick,” Stan said. He reached down and held up another sign.424969B9-611E-4073-8A03-F590AD3C87EE

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (beware), Ragtag Daily Prompt (hope), Word of the Day Challenge (harmony), and Your Daily Word Prompt (rumple).