In search of tablespoons and security. (can’t have a cup without the other)

The self reminder of needing to buy a replacement tablespoon took on “special” significance for me this morning. The tablespoon. Most would call it idiosyncrasy. A clark knows it is representative. Of something. Allow me to explain…At a point in my self-evolution, the use of a tablespoon for select activities took on a, shall we say, unique quality. No. Not a quirky habit. For clarks there is no such thing as a “quirky” habit. That term, “quirky’, would be the descriptor a roger might use. The tablespoon, for me, has a specific use aside from that ascribed by Ms. Post.  Among other things, it is used to eat cereal out of a mug (mostly – under special circumstances, a bowl). I broke another pink polka dotted tablespoon the other night. Under precisely the same set of circumstances (there’s that word again! “circumstance”). Impatience had driven me to plunge my favorite pink polka dotted tablespoon into the carton of ice cream in an attempt to scoop it out before it was ready to be taken out. Snap! A clean break, it broke pretty much in the same place as my previous pink polka dotted tablespoon.  And so, it would appear, lessons are often not learned, even as we find ourselves in the midst of doing a thing in which our brains are screaming “don’t do it”! I knew the probability was high the spoon would break, yet I persisted. Why do we disregard what our body is telling us and allow another part of us to convince us to take the chance it won’t happen again?

Mr. Right. It’s a 6.

Following is a continuation of my SSS from 2 weeks ago, “Walk On”.

“Tap, tap, tapping”… he found the resonating echo from the up/down motion of the tiny leather sole upon grimy cobblestone particularly irritating this morning, not entirely for the wearer of the shoe but rather, for the circumstances that summoned him to Whitechapel this foggy morning.

“Pardon ma’am, er, Sister… did I hear you correctly? You are, what word did you use… demanding, I release the body to you? (how he wished she’d stay an observer, he didn’t take kindly to anyone getting in his face, not even a member of the clergy or whatever they call nuns these days). Emphasizing his last 2 syllables, Chief Inspector Winston Wendall Wentworth, III failed miserably to keep sarcasm from dripping copiously from the corners of his mustachioed upper lip, yet recovered sufficiently by losing the subtle sneer to his voice. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to provide me a lot more information before your request is considered, not withstanding, there will be a brief investigation surrounding the events leading to this horrific scene and the loss of your friend’s life.”

Peering down at the nun, Winston Wendall Wentworth, III had a sense this woman was not simply looking up and at him, rather she was gazing into his eyes intently through a prism he dare describe as celestial; the feeling that behind that prism lay a kaleidoscope of mystery not entirely of this realm.

Sister Mary Ephraim, though short in physical stature, towered above most when it came to persistence and achieving her goals; this matter was no less different than raising money for the orphanage or feeding the neighborhood poor, she came for her sister; she would leave with her one way or other.

A TToT. Just because…

Last weekend was not a great weekend. Kinda weird. Naturally, a song immediately came to mind (after the “oddest” experience of the afternoon). Geez. How appropriate. And damn catchy. The song? FFDP’s “A Little Bit off Today“. [If you listen to the song via the link or vid below, know there are a few words some may find offensive. Heads up.] In my younger years, every now and again I’d write to a melody of whatever might be playing in my head at the moment. Today, as I literally ran down a steep (you know – the steep that sends you so crazy fast you hope your body can keep up with your feet?), big ass hill, a couple of words popped into my head. And it immediately began reading internally with the aforementioned melody. Today’s Thankfuls begin with those words:

1.) Ran down a hill today, a pretty big hill today, didn’t even stumble
ran down a hill today, pretty big hill today, didn’t fall and didn’t tumble.

Sun catchin’ in the wind today, was a pretty nice day today
danced for life and everybody,
sun catchin’ in the wind today, it was a pretty nice day today
walked it long for everyone

Ran down a pretty big hill today, didn’t fall and didn’t tumble
ran down a pretty big hill today, kept me honest, kept me humble
Sun catchin’ in the wind today, was a pretty nice day today
danced and walked for everyone

2.) The beauty of this day. Before a storm.

3.) Music

4.) Six Sentence Stories and the writers past and present. All enhance my creative landscape.

5.) Ten Things of Thankful and Dyanne! Lizzi, the creatoress of this hop has passed the torch. Dyanne is our current successor host of this most wonderful of blog hops. Go Dyanne!

6.) My job. The security it offers in a time of uncertainty for so many.

7.) The ability to move, walk, see, hear – to have my senses intact (I think I’ve got them all, lol)

8.) Used bookstores.

9.) the Wakefield Doctrine.

10.) This day. The only day.

 

Iris. It’s a 6.

Finally an efficacious method for understanding the people in our world.

Impressive in it’s simplicity, challenging in application, who would leave home without it.

Like learning a new language, the more we use it the more fluent we become.

Translating what a person means, through actions and words, tells everything about them.

Everyone shares one reality divided by 3, identify the three and life becomes more simple.

Reconciling our lives with how others live in spite of our differences.

It’s Six Sentence Story Thursday Link Up!

Welcome to GirlieOnTheEdge and another edition of Six Sentence Stories! How’s everyone feeling this week? Fired up?! Just cooling the jets until Thursday? Well, ya know… just ‘cuz you link a post Wednesday night to get a jump start or you get up early and link Thursday morning, doesn’t mean if you get inspired and write another Six, you can’t come back and link that one too! As long each story utilizes the prompt word, is 6 and precisely 6 sentences, it’s all good 😀 Write on and we’ll read you soon!

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Link the URL to your post via the blue “Click here to enter” button below.
Link live Wednesday through Saturday night late!
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers  😀

PROMPT WORD:  HUNCH

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=9c9b10dbdecdfb9300b0

“Writers are the exorcists of their own demons.”
― Mario Vargas-Llosa

The Road Untaken. It’s a 6.

But it’s not my dream, that was just it. How many times, how many examples, how many well intentioned comments over the years, the digital billboard flashing inside his head, reinforcing the misnomer; the thumbnail image exploded to full size. Asking oneself a rhetorical question is the first sign something’s wrong; he chuckled at the irony.

What possibly could be the catalyst, after all the foregone “this is it!’s filling the screenplay logbook that was most of his adult life? Was he ready to acknowledge the burden of carrying around the trappings of the once life, the might have been, the could be, because bottom line, none of it mattered.

He’d used no road map, no GPS, simply packed a bag, filled the car, hit the highway and drove, for days, for weeks until he saw the flashing light 50′ in the air, the approaching billboard partially lit, “Welcome to He……………..”

 

It’s Six Sentence Story Thursday Link Up!

Welcome to GirlieOnTheEdge and Six Sentence Stories! Who’s fired up?! Who!? I invite everyone to join me, this week and every week, in writing a story for the best blog hop on the planet! If there was audio to accompany this post (check out Faith at Prairie Wind Press and her 6 from last week. She included an audio “transcript”.  Awesome.), you’d  hear the enthusiasm in my voice 😀 If you haven’t yet tried your hand at a Six Sentence Story, poem or 6 sentence excerpt from a work in progress (check out Clark’s “the Case of the Missing Starr“), why not give it a shot. Guaranteed, you’ll be hooked. Happy writing my friends. Read you soon!

Rules of the hop:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word.
Come back here Thursday through Tuesday, link your post…
Spread the word and put in a good one to your fellow writers 🙂

PROMPT WORD:  CARDINAL

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

“I watched the spinning stars, grateful, sad and proud, as only a man who has outlived his destiny and realizes he might yet forge himself another, can be.”
― Roger Zelazny, Isle of the Dead

Words in sepia. It’s a 6.

sky meets horizon, magic the union

ocean backdrop soothes all but the most hardened

hearts once inseparable, now lay splintered

shards of intimacy scattered upon the sands

 discarded like the wrapping on a long forgotten gift

two paths diverging, in final unison, a wave farewell

 

 

 

Let’s Dance, Shall We? It’s a 6.

Fear, having subdued Rationality, slipped past security. Uninvited, it crashed every life party oblivious to the admonitions of the STAND CLEAR!, DO NOT ENTER! HAZARD! signs.

A flash of gleaming white, daggers at the ready, it’s pointy, razor sharp teeth glisten with drool.  Fear spots me, then smiles wide in anticipation of a feeding frenzy as the scent of familiarity draws it nearer.

I feel the first clawing, clutch at my stomach as it begins twisting in knots as tight as the braiding on a rug; I force myself to breath deeply….again….again…and again.

Tonight, I smile back, as I feel my own teeth having gotten sharper, and throw out my arms for the embrace.

 

 

Officially Unofficial, it’s a TToT

The morning has dressed for Winter. Blue sky trimmed with bands of wrinkled white clouds their bellies lined grey, it is the first full day after the official beginning of Winter. That is where I beg to differ. The way I see it? This is the first unofficial first day of Winter’s end. That’s right, lol. Just go ask Clark. He’ll tell you unequivocally, Winter is over. Go ‘head. Dare you 😀

I woke this morning fairly early for a day I could sleep in. Not only Saturday, it’s the Saturday before Christmas and the beginning of a mini-vacation. I don’t have to return to work until next Wednesday. Sweet. A longtime believer in the body knows first, I was pouring my second mug of go-go juice, when I was accosted by a few creative “punks” taunting, “Gee, Denise, no pressure, why not sit and write a spell, huh?, huh?” Floating in a pressure free zone, they knew words tended to coalesce easier, you know, when they don’t have to appear. When they don’t need to perform.

Now what?! Seems I’ve scared them away. No nevermind. Cat’s out of the bag. I’m on alert now! (and no. won’t give in to the notion I’ve “wrecked it somehow”). Since I’m also one to not (intentionally) follow convention, not naturally blend in, I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to some folks and to shout out to the Universe my appreciation in this official, unofficial TToT:

Kristi, creator of Thankful Me. Even though we be on holiday hiatus, thank you for bringing us all the Ten Things of Thankful Blog Hop.

Clark. For the Wakefield Doctrine and providing living proof that commitment and practice produces results.

Zoe. She handed me the baton and challenged me to lead the Six Sentence Story Blog Hop. I’m thankful she did!

Six Sentence Story current (and past and on hiatus) participating writers: Mimi, Paul, Reena, Clark, Deepa, Pat, Dark Netizen, Neel, Rene, D. Avery, Sa, Ira, Deborah Lee, Val, Lisa, Kristi, Dyanne…I know I’m leaving someone out – my apologies! Bottom line: I totally enjoy bringing everyone the writing challenge that is the SSS and so appreciate reading your work. It’s not only an entertaining endeavor, it’s an opportunity to learn, to discover, and to enjoy getting to know people I’d otherwise never know!

Cynthia aka Sageleaf of Intuitive and Spiritual. She is a bright, shining beacon for my people 🙂 Talented and creative, I’m lucky to call her friend.

The Internet/Techonology. See above!

Family. In all its iterations.

For a warm place to live, transportation to take me where I want/need to be.

Health, vitality, opportunity to increase both.

This day…This day, my gift…This day my opportunity…This day, my only day.

Thank you all for giving me a bigger world.