WOTD

The Big 7-0

Fandango5 Comments

“Can I tell you a secret?” Betsy asked.

“Of course you can,” Andrea responded.

“You have to promise not to tell,” Betsy said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Betsy. My lips will be sealed,” Andrea assured her friend. “So tell me, what’s your big secret?”

“It’s Fred’s seventieth birthday next month and I’m planning a big surprise party,” Betsy said. “I am going to confer with his poker, bowling, and golfing buddies to set the date and the place.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten that this was his 70th. That’s a biggie,” Andrea said.

“Indeed,” Betsy said. “That’s why I’m being so assiduous in my planning. And you know that Fred has been preoccupied with getting old ever since he retired. So I want this to be a celebration of his birthday, not an event that could cause him any trauma. I’m going to keep it low-key and not brandish any decorations or reminders that he’s reached seventy. It’s just another birthday, right?”

“I get it. But, Betsy,” Andrea said,” “he should be happy to have reached that ripe old age in the era of COVID.”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Betsy said. “But this is Fred we’re talking about.”

Written for Paula Light’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, where the theme is secret.” And for these daily prompts: Word of the Day Challenge (birthday), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (confer), The Daily Spur (forgotten), Your Daily Word Prompt (assiduous), MMA Storytime (trauma), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (brandish).

Happy Together

Fandango21 Comments

“There’s already a stain on our new carpet,” Diane complained to her boyfriend. “What did you spill on it?”

“It wasn’t me, it was the cat,” Mitch said. “He threw up a hairball this morning, but I cleaned it up, so now it’s virtually invisible.”

“It’s not invisible if I noticed it,” Diane said.

“Well, it blends in with the pattern in the rug,” Mitch said. “You really have to strain to see it.”

“I don’t know why I agreed to let you get a cat,” Diane said. “He’s destroyed our furniture with his claws, he’s throwing up hairballs every other day, and I’m even finding cat fur in my food. I think we should get rid of him.”

“No way, Diane,” Mitch said, “I’d sooner get rid of you than the cat.”

“You can’t be serious,” Diane said. “You’d detonate our relationship over a fucking cat?”

“Well, consider the variables,” Mitch said. “The cat is low maintenance, not demanding, doesn’t hassle me all the time about stupid things like invisible stains on the rug. I’d say, in the scheme of things, the cat’s foibles are easier to deal with than are your idiosyncrasies.”

“Okay, fine, we’ll keep the damn cat,” Diane said.

“Great,” Mitch said. “I’m sure the three of us will be very happy together.”

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (invisible), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (pattern), MMA Storytime (detonate), The Daily Spur (strain), Word of the Day Challenge (variable), and Your Daily Word Prompt (foible).

Need to Stay Awake

Fandango6 Comments

I always eat a piece of chocolate
Right before I go to class
Not a lot, mind you
Just a meager amount
Enough to make sure
I don’t slumber during class
Because teacher said that
If I fall asleep one more time
I’d be out on my ass

Written for these daily prompts: The Daily Spur (chocolate), MMA Storytime (class), Word of the Day Challenge (meager), and Ragtag Daily Prompt (slumber).

He’s Never Going Away

Fandango35 Comments

Donald Trump will be making his big return to the national stage this weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). He will be giving the keynote speech at the conservative conference on Sunday and is expected to declare himself the “presumptive Republican presidential nominee” for 2024.

Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, pictured above with his hero, Donald Trump, is a staunch supporter of the ex-president, and he is very enthusiastic about his former boss’ return to the spotlight. Meadows said that, “You’re going to see a speech on Sunday that talks about not only the beginning, but what the future may look like, and I’m excited about it.”

Unfortunately, Meadows is in the company of many Republican Trump supporters who want to return to what they consider to be America’s halcyon days of 2017, when Trump was in the White House and the GOP controlled both the Senate and the House. They don’t realize that they are like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse, blindly and naively following the ultimate poster boy for autocratic leadership and the demise of democracy in America.

But scariest of all, Meadows added, “What we will see on Sunday is the start of planning for the next administration. And I can tell you, the people that are at the top of that list, all of them have Trump as their last name.”

I’m not a religious person, but all I can say is “God help us.”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One- Word Challenge (staunch), Your Daily Word Prompt (enthusiastic), The Daily Spur (company), Word of the Day Challenge (halcyon), Ragtag Daily Prompt (lamb), and MMA Storytime (poster).

The Big Lie

Fandango16 Comments

One aspect of the fallout from the Trump administration is that there exists an ongoing threat to the safety and security of the United States. This is due to the “Big Lie” promoted by Donald Trump and reinforced by a number of powerful, complicit Republicans in Congress, many of whom still claim that this situation we’re in is serendipity, rather than as a result of a deliberate campaign of lies and misinformation designed to incite violent, domestic, Trump-supporting, right-wing extremists. These MAGA-maniacs are now threatening to blow up the Capitol building when Joe Biden is expected to give the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress and to kill as many members of Congress as possible.

Any astute, bipartisan observer should be able to read the calligraphy on the wall. The Republicans need to immediately disavow Trumpism and distance themselves from the former president or our nation will not survive.

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (fallout), The Daily Spur (safety), Word of the Day Challenge (serendipity), Your Daily Word Prompt (astute), and MMA Storytime (calligraphy). Image credit: Shutterstock.