Weather/Seasons
#Flash4Storms | My First [And Perhaps Last] 50-Word Flash Fiction Story
… and now for something completely different.
Sarah Brentyn at the blog, Lemon Shark, is hosting a flash fiction challenge to raise funds for hurricane victims. Read more about the specifics of the challenge here: Flash Fiction Prompt for Hurricane Relief #Flash4Storms.
I’ve never written flash fiction before, however Allie P. did this challenge here on her blog, Allie Potts Writes, and she’s one of the cool kids, so I’m following her lead. Thus I give you my first [and perhaps last] 50-word flash fiction story.
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The knock at the door was soft, but the weeping was loud. Mirabelle asked: “have you seen my mommy?”
Wanting to help, the neighbor called around, learning that her mommy had forgotten kindergarten dismissed early today.
Meanwhile Mirabelle waited, sitting on the sofa, shredding her tissue, forlorn, and plotting revenge.
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Be The Light: Of Hurricanes & Happy Hellos
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INTRODUCTION
As you may remember, starting last March I joined a yearlong monthly event called We Are The World Blogfest.
The purpose of this event is to highlight positive news stories, presenting these stories on your blog on the last Friday of the month.
This being the last Friday of September, I’ve a news story to share with you, my gentle readers & fellow #WATWB participants.
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THE NEWS STORY
Earlier this month when Hurricane Irma made landfall in the USA, Key West was hard hit. After the hurricane moved farther north, for those people who didn’t evacuate Key West, there was no running water, no electric power– and no cell phone service.
One of the people who didn’t evacuate was Buco, a mechanic at The Green Parrot, a famous bar and Key West icon.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, Buco figured out that the closed restaurant next door had a landline connection that was still working. Using an old hand set, Buco was able to get a landline telephone working and accessible to people at the side door of The Green Parrot.
The bar then allowed anyone to make a free two-minute call using the phone so that the residents still in Key West could assure their friends and family that they were ok.
[Full story here: A Key West Dive Bar Closed For The Hurricane, But Let 500 People In To Phone Loved Ones]
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MY COMMENTARY
Overlooking the fact that what Buco did, pirating a phone line, is technically illegal, this story is a feel good one in which human ingenuity and kindness comes together to help everyone.
I especially liked Buco’s observation about the people who stood in line to use the phone. He said: “it’s always their mother’s number that they remember.”
While The Green Parrot [“a sunny place for shady people”] is famous in and of itself, the latest mention of it in the news, under the circumstances, makes me smile about the bar and the people who work there.
[Click here to view Bar Cam].
I can’t help thinking… road trip, anyone? ‘Cause I know a place I’d like to visit. 🍻
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Of Black Coffee, Morning Clouds, and Self-Expression
EARLY THE OTHER MORNING about 6:00 a.m. the clouds floating over our house were so pretty that I decided to sit on the deck, drink my mug of black coffee, and photograph the clouds as they drifted overhead.
AS I WATCHED CLOUDS morph into one shape after another, I remembered a recent interview I’d heard with Carly Simon. She was on Here’s The Thing podcast with Alec Baldwin. [Interview here.]
WHENEVER I THINK OF Carly Simon I think of the lyrics to You’re So Vain, specifically: “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, Clouds in my coffee.” It seemed like the perfect thought for where I was sitting, what I was drinking while musing on clouds.
I HAD ENJOYED LISTENING to the podcast as Carly explained her life, her music, her memoir. Her conclusions. My impression was that she sees her past clearly, with a wit and wisdom that made me appreciate her struggles. And her triumphs.
AS I WATCHED THE CLOUDS, reflecting on what Carly Simon had said, I began to wonder about my own abilities to understand and describe myself to others. Would I ever be able to explain my past, either in verbal or written form, as eloquently and truthfully as she had explained hers?
NOT THAT I HAVE an overwhelming desire to tell all to everyone, but should I feel the need to do so for some reason, would I be able to do it? Would you?
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 