#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 30th, 2018 – Scrumptious.

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Michael

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Scrumptious.

When we were kids there was nothing more exciting than a visit from Uncle Wendy. Uncle Wendy was the best cook and made the most amazing birthday cakes.

You never knew what surprise you’d find inside the cake Uncle Wendy made for your birthday.

My cousin Jason on his seventh birthday cut his cake to discover Uncle Wendy had secreted a toy car into the centre of his cake.

My sister Alice found inside hers a cloud of glitter stars, which did present an issue with the eating, but the effect was dazzling.

I should point out that this all happened back in the days when hygiene ended with washing your hands before meals.

Uncle Wendy was a great character, eccentric in so many ways but made the most scrumptious cakes.

 

Written for: https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/30/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-30th-2018/

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Wordle #185 – A Case of Onism

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Michael

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This week’s words: Love Dense Condemn Evening Inside Onism (n.)) the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, which is like standing in front of the departures screen at an airport, flickering over with strange place names like other people’s passwords, each representing one more thing you’ll never get to see before you die—and all because, as the arrow on the map helpfully points out, you are here.) Hearten Railroad Contrivance Promise Mandala Flirtation

It was so frustrating she told herself as she studied the map and saw where she was compared to where he was. To make it worse she was under medical advisement because she had been diagnosed with onism a mental state where you wanted to be one place but you were stuck in another. He lived across the lake, she thought about swimming but that was a silly idea, rowing was possible but then she thought love is such a serious business, did she love him enough to risk life and limb.

The distance apart gave her time to consider the good and bad points of their relationship. Each evening she’d sit out on her veranda and think about him and wonder what he was thinking.

He was a bit dense, not the brightest button around, but that was never going to be a reason to condemn him for she knew that on the inside there lay a man of worth, a good man, one she coveted.

There was a dream she continued to have where a pond would re-occur, a mandala, and she knew that at some stage she would have to cross the pond to find her man.

They had long passed the flirtation stage and had made promises to each other that upon meeting they would take the time to establish their true relationship.

She was greatly heartened by his promise to wait for her to be ready. For her it was a matter of contriving to cross the pond, once that was accomplished they would meet first time at the Railroad Café on the edge of town.

As she sat on her veranda, her onism, kicked into gear.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/wordle-185/

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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 29th, 2018 – Fantasic

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Michael

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Fantastic

When Uncle Wrinkle woke up he was gobsmacked by what he saw.

He stood at the window and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“This is fantastic,” he said many times over.

Uncle Wrinkle had been asleep for fifty years and upon waking wanted to know who had won the grand final. We looked in amazement at him as no one remembered the 1968 grand final in fact most the family gathered round his bed weren’t even born then.

Uncle Wrinkle looked around his room and was immediately transfixed by the television on the wall.

There was a lot of explaining to do and a lot of news to convey like the death of his parents, his eldest brother passing away and his girlfriend at the time marrying someone else and having five children.

In the following days Uncle Wrinkle learned so much and sat for a long time looking out the window at the hurrying world. He was now seventy-eight years old. The family had registered him for the old age pension and they paid him from when he was sixty-five so he had a healthy sum to start with.

“Money!” he said, “fantastic I have some but I’d rather have someone I remember with me.”

Written for: https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/29/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-29th-2018/

 

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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 28th, 2018 – Knight

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Michael

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My days of being a knight in shiny armour have been curtailed and nowadays I’m more your knight in rusty armour.

Once I could scale tall towers and rescue damsels in distress but nowadays the arthritis stops me short where tall towers are concerned. Ground level rescues are my limit I’m afraid.

As for acts of valour against dragons or any assorted villainy well let’s say the squeaking armour gives me away far more than it used to.

As it is, there is a certain prestige in being rescued by a dashing knight in shiny armour, it’s the sort of thing that makes the social pages but a rescue from a knight in rusty armour is one you wish hadn’t happened and there is an argument for staying in distress.

Added to all that is the ignominy of being old and wrinkly, your strength begins to fade and carrying anything anywhere is not a pleasant sight.

So I have decided to retire, hang up my trusty sword, put my faithful old steed, Valiant, out to pasture and move into the home for Rusty Knights where WD40 is always on hand.

 

Written for: https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/28/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-28th-2018/

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Sunday Writing Prompt #239 “It’s All in the Title” – A Girl Called Gift

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Michael

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Image: Furgur@Deviant Art

A Girl Called Gift

When she was born, after years of trying, her parents considered her a gift from God and so attached the name Gift to her.

Years later when I met her she was in the isolation ward of the Mental Hospital. She was there because she was dangerous to others and had to be kept well out of reach of anyone.

Gift was a beautiful girl, possessing flashing black eyes and a smile like no other. Her appearance was part of the problem, she would lure you in with her ‘charm’ and before you knew it chaos was happening around you with Gift at the centre enjoying every second.

Gift was deemed a character with a dark soul. It was no one’s fault, her parents had been assured, some people were just touched with evil and there was not much to do about it but keep the rest of society safe from them.

For Gift it happened in school. Seemingly up until she hit puberty she was a normal child, sweet and innocent, doing the things any girl would do. She loved playing with dolls, she was helpful to her parents, she made friends and played sport.

But once in high school there was a marked difference in her. She became argumentative, she stole things from her classmates, she stopped playing sport, she started reading books about the dark arts.

Her parents noticed all this at first and thought it was a growing phase she was going through. But things began to disappear, like money, food and worst of all the family cat.

Gift learned to feign innocence, to use her eyes to convince any accuser she could not have possibly committed anything they were accusing her of.

Then she started to manipulate her class mates, girls were found out of bounds with no explanation, Gift was caught smoking in the toilets, she became a regular visitor to the Principal’s office as she made a habit of disrespecting her teachers and causing mayhem in most classes she attended.

Her parents in disgrace and embarrassment moved her to different schools to no avail.

They sent her to counsellors who were convinced that Gift was fine. She left each counsellor she visited with a report more glowing than the previous one.

Soon people began to understand Gift’s power to manipulate and control anyone she came in contact with, and eventually she was incarcerated in the mental hospital. For everyone’s good!

When I met her she was in a room with a large glass wall through which I could communicate with her. No one was permitted to get within touching distance of her. All her needs were met through the glass and through a small outlet next to the door.

Seeing me, her eyes flashed and a smile came across her face as I realised from the word go she was setting in motion a plan to manipulate me.

There was no doubt she had the appearance of a girl, innocent and incapable of letting butter in her mouth.

She was charming and co-operative, but that was how everyone found her.

An hour later I stood at her room outlet, laden with chocolate, chips and bottles of drink. The nurse on duty looked amusingly at me.

“She got you eh?” he said watching me stuff my shopping through the outlet.

“Pardon?” I replied as I woke from my dream.

Looking through the glass I saw Gift collecting her winnings, then she looked at me, winked, and threw me a kiss.

 

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2018/01/28/sunday-writing-prompt-239-its-all-in-the-title/

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Weekend Writing Prompt #39 – Random (2)

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Michael

apples

Challenge

Prose Challenge – Write a story in 75 words or less that is inspired by the photo prompt and one of the word prompts.

Bonus points for managing to use all three of the word prompts in your story 🙂-  Delicious – Distasteful – Dimension

The orchard crop was the best ever. The trees laden with the most delicious apples. The yield giving the trees a different dimension as the branches bent under the fruity load. We planned a harvest the following week, but found it distasteful when the neighbourhood kids found reason to pick the unripened fruit and gorge themselves leaving the cores scattered around our yard.

We hoped their resulting bellyache would serve as a good life-long lesson.

 

Written for: https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/weekend-writing-prompt-39-random-2/

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#SoCS & #JusJoJan Daily Prompt, Jan. 27th, 2018 – Movement without movement

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Michael

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Veronica was an amazing dancer. When she was on the floor she glided over the parquetry, it seemed she was above the floor as if flying, so graceful was she.

I loved to watch her and when my kids were old enough I enrolled them in her school of dance.

My youngest, the drama queen of the family, took to dance like a pig in mud. She loved nothing better than swanning around the living room, calling attention to herself as she cut a swathe across the carpet and through the heirloom furniture.

It was true we all agreed that youngest had the motion and energy in her feet and body that would take her places. If I only survived the process.

jjj-2018

Written for: https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/26/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-27th-2018/

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January 25: Flash Fiction Challenge – The Edge

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Michael

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It will come as no surprise to know I sent my mother to the edge on more than one occasion. I was the second of three boys, each perfect in our unique ways.

But I know we drove mum mad.

She’d tell us one thing and we’d do the opposite.

She’d get all upset and we’d say sorry and promise the world.

She’d say, “You’ll be sorry when I’m gone, then we’ll see how much your smart arse attitudes help you.”

We never took her seriously; she was mum and always there.

Then one day she hit the edge.

 

Written for: https://carrotranch.com/2018/01/25/january-25-flash-fiction-challenge/

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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 26th, 2018 – address

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Michael

jjj-2018

Address

After a lot of humming and hahhing the speaker managed to get through his address. His obvious nervousness was apparent to all three of us who attended.

Why this man was asked in the first place puzzled us all. He was barely literate as far as I could tell.

The organiser, Millicent Pede, was determined to provide the people of Didjabringabeeralong with a bit up cultural uplifting.

After all it was Australia Day and a day to be celebrated as far as she was concerned.

As it was a public holiday most of the locals were in the pub the moment it opened which meant the air-conditioned hotel front bar was always going to win over the stuffy hot School of Arts Hall.

The speaker was so bad I can’t really remember his address as his every stumble and incoherent utterance caused me to cringe and pray he’d stop and sit down. But he didn’t, his address went on and on.

It was such a relief when he finally sat down and Millicent called an end to the celebration by announcing we should all retire to the pub. Hers was the best address that day.

 

Written for: https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/26/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-26th-2018/

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Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – January 26, 2018

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Michael

On a summers morning down under.

For: https://ceenphotography.com/2018/01/26/cees-which-way-photo-challenge-january-26-2018/

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