Monthly Archives: September 2010
Memory Lane
The house at the end of the block Holds bad memories for everyone. The entire town was guilty Of leaving those people To twist in the wind When an angry driver totaled their lives. An intentional accident. Because of their religion. So kids, don’t play there. Now that they are finally gone, We want to forget. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the […]
13 Questions I Will Not Answer
Guta at Murphy’s Library is featuring me this week. She’s letting people pose questions that I am supposed to respond to in a follow up post. You all probably know more about me than you need to, but there are some things I won’t respond to. 1. What is your religion 2. What’s your address 3. What’s your phone number 4. What’s your PIN number 5. What’s your password 6. What are your childrens’ names 7. Where do they go […]
Sidewalk Art
Mr. Al was walking around near campus when he saw this. What amazed him was that it was made using pieces of bark like they had as ground cover around the tree. My guess is some art student was in the mood.
Mount Rushmore
I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of Mount Rushmore before. Generally the ones available are these noble, inspiring shots taken from fairly close in with deep blue sky in the background. Have you ever seen any like these? This is what you see when you don’t actually drive in to the monument itself, but rather simply skirt around the outside.
Badlands, part 2
The thing about The Badlands is that they aren’t formed the same way regular mountains are. You don’t see them on the horizon the way you do the Rockies. Instead, they are carved out of the earth. The ground simply gives way to them. You look down at the peaks, rather than up. If you look real close, you can see Mr. Al in this shot. Planes and hills. Makes for an interesting combo.
The Snake
Totally Random Picture: She smiles thru loneliness, says “it’s nice” even when it isn’t. She flits from one to the next, spreading “cheer” and becoming popular until she slipped and let her fangs show. I would sympathize, if I dared. Monkey Man hosts the 160 Character Challenge. See what you can write in 160 characters or less, spaces included.
Vacation at Lake Cour d’Alene
Jack: It’s a nice day. Beautiful. Don’t you think so? A day like today is just naturally good. Jill: Speak for yourself. The humidity is anything but beautiful to my hair. Jack: Yeah. Naturally. Today’s theme is natural Previously in Jack and Jill: Lesson The rules for Photohunt can be found here. Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 182: Boom! Tee-Hee
Vin knew it wasn’t fair to blame Miranda for chasing after Drew before she finally fell in love with the right man – himself. Still, it rankled. He yanked off his socks, then leaned back in the chair to see she still stood by the closet, her fingers twisting a button on her metallic red blouse. “Hey. I really am sorry.” She frowned and turned away as if the earth might swallow her up if she actually looked him in […]
The Ghost
We thought the old house at the end of the block, the one with the gables and dead hedge, was haunted, and that’s why everyone said not to go there. The floors weren’t rotten or anything. So of course we went there all the time, until we were caught. The look in Dad’s eye wasn’t fear. It was guilt. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is […]
13 More Things People in My Family Have Said
1. The Boy: Curry? I thought it was bad incense. 2. The Girl: “Mom! You should hear the conversations I have with myself. They’re weird.” 3. The Girl: Ow! Don’t rub my head. I’m dandruffly injured. 4. Mr. Al: It never ceases to freak me out the messages you can receive when you’re open to that sort of thing (during a conversation about God) 5. The Girl: I’m just happying. 6. The Girl: I find with a lot of music […]
Ah Maria, The End
Maria Theresa’s response to her growing infirmities was to push herself even harder. When she was told that these exertions would be her undoing, she redoubled her efforts. These were not the actions of a woman who was denying her mortality; they were the actions of a woman who knew she was dieing and wanted to get it over with. There was very little in the world that frightened Maria Theresa. Nothing frightened her personally. Certainly not the thought of […]
What a Load
Have you ever had to pass something like this on the road? We ended up passing it three times before we were done. It may not have a “wide load” sign, but that truck took up more than his fair share of the road. What’s on the back? Tires. Since he was headed for Butte, I’m guessing they are tires for one of those strip mining tractor things. We’re talking about a vehicle the size of a small house.
The Badlands, Part 1
We hit The Badlands twice on our trip. The first time through we got there as the sun was setting. Ideally, this is the best time in which to take pictures of the place. Frankly, the color in the rocks washes out to a desolate gray during the day. Unluckily for me, or maybe luckily, a storm rolled in. We had no more than a few rays of sunshine, and then only while we were actually driving so I couldn’t […]
