Suprise Me

The Old Fisherman by
25
(40 Stories)

/ Stories

I liked the old fisherman from the beginning.  He sits comfortably on a body-contoured stump, exuding patience and serenity, lightly holding his fishing pole.  His jug is alongside (maybe for fish storage, maybe for refreshment). He wears leather strapped sandals, a broad sun hat, and a flowing green and blue robe.  His white beard and hair suggest the wisdom of age. He is contemplative, certainly in no hurry.  He may be surprised that his serenity has been interrupted by the arrival of the fish. 
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You’ve Probably Heard of It By Now by
50
(90 Stories)

Prompted By Guilty Pleasures

/ Stories

It’s all over the news. You might even be sick of hearing about it by now. Just one word: Wordle. Well, actually up to six words. Five-letter words. But only one word wins. A different word every day, the same word for everyone. In the world. Free. (For now.) And you can only play once…
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No Way to Say Goodbye, part three by
200
(302 Stories)

Prompted By Final Farewell

/ Stories

As an adult, I have given public final farewells for three important people in my life: my father, my mother, and my ex-husband.
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My Celebrity Crushes by
200
(298 Stories)

Prompted By The Crush

/ Stories

In July of 2018, Arthur Andrew Gelien died. I knew him as Tab Hunter and had his picture pasted in a scrapbook devoted to my celebrity crushes. I was my granddaughter’s age when I swooned to his song Young Love and watched him in the movie Damn Yankees. He was cute and, like several of…
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The Dead Book by Jane Churchon by (2 Stories)

Prompted By Working

/ Stories

I like to take my time when I pronounce someone dead.
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A friendly feud by
50
(50 Stories)

Prompted By Family Feud

/ Stories

Nearly every winter, it seems, my wife and I engage in a friendly feud about how many pets are enough.
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A Union Town by
200
(359 Stories)

Prompted By Strikes

/ Stories

I come from Detroit. My family was in the automotive industry. My great uncle, Meyer Prentis (Uncle Meyer) was the Treasurer of General Motors when it was the largest corporation in the world. My dad’s oldest brother was it’s comptroller. My dad worked for the Chevrolet division in Flint, MI before WWII, but upon returning from…
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The Cacophony for the Carceral State by
25
(33 Stories)

Prompted By Prison

/ Stories

Overture.  The Middletown Ct. Police Station—Bartok’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion. Before beginning my job as a substitute teacher, I traveled to the police department for a fingerprint security check.  The officer, a large friendly African American interviewed me. “Where will you be teaching?” “Middletown High School.” “Oh,” he warningly replied. “Do you know…
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We’d make a peach of a pair by
100
(165 Stories)

Prompted By Valentine's Day

/ Stories

I don’t think the memory of that ever left her, written wordlessly in a scar on her heart.
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Turning Points on Road to Retirement by
200
(298 Stories)

Prompted By Turning Points

/ Stories

I have been thinking lately about the many different roads or turning points that have made up the map of my life thus far. Sometimes, the choice of path was the more traveled one. Sometimes, I chose the one less traveled by. Looking back on a lifetime of choices, it seems like some of the most important ones chose me.
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