Last month’s short story was about a fictional singer that rose to prominence in the 1980’s. Probably what we would call a one-hit wonder, his flame died out fairly quickly at a young age. While I wanted to give Jimmy B. a happy ending, I just couldn’t realistically see how that was possible. So, it was a bit of a downer. Apologies for that.
Continue readingSide Stuff
Stuff I don’t know what to call
When Who’s the Boss was a silly question
Recently, I spent the afternoon home and sick. Because my mom raised me right, if you stay home sick then you do stay-at-home-sick-things. Like watch tv and eat soup and generally have no fun at all. TV viewing has changed since I was a school girl and would be relegated to the dreaded “afternoon tv.” Now that was viewing that made me wish I was back in school. Now, I have streaming and have many, many options. So, what did I choose? A sitcom I used to watch in the 80’s. I discovered Hulu has Who’s the Boss? (1984-1992) available. All 8 seasons and 196 episodes. That day while stuck on my couch I found it a mix of being both a comfort and a cringeworthy watch.
Continue readingOn second glance
I’m not sure how it happened. For some reason, the tv show Ed (2000-2004) awoke in my conscious again. I remembered I watched it when it was on NBC but I don’t think I finished watching it until the finale. Although I’m not 100% sure I watched the finale but that is something I like to do. So, that part is an assumption. The only thing I could remember about it was the plot involved a guy named Ed played by Tom Cavanagh who had a romantic interest in a woman played by pre-Modern Family Julie Bowen. The main impetus was a romance and, of course, as in all fictional romances, the timing being off between the two characters. I also remember Julie’s character ending up in a tree at some point when her character, Carol, was ready and Ed had cooled off. But, overall, my memory was a bit spotty since that was twenty years ago.
Continue readingA good idea on paper
The U.S. government attempted to provide a service at the end of WWI that sounds like a wonderful way to thank fallen soldiers. The intent, I’m sure, was to show gratitude. But the execution of it quickly became quite grisly and I guarantee pricey. As far as I know, the service was only offered at the end of WWI and not repeated for any subsequent war. At least, not at the same level.
Let me start at the beginning though.
Continue readingBreak it down for me
It’s that time again. Time for me to get on my soapbox (blog) and rant (rage) about the fact we in the USA will fall back an hour. Now, I consider me a fairly reasonable person. In fact, my talent has always been to be able to quickly see another point of view. But in my fifty years of viewing, I can not figure out the why of the silly twice a year time change.
Continue readingStory behind the Post – The Hitman’s Retirement
It all started when I found a phone in the gutter. I wondered what the story could be. So, I put something together. As always happens to me, my eyes were bigger than my stomach or in this case, my writing aptitude. I thought I could easily make this a 10-chapter story. Turns out though, I just needed some better editing. But it was too late. I already committed to writing a 10-chapter story not just a normal 5-chapter story. So, I set about stretching it for two months. The story started in July and finished in September with a break in August.
Can there only be one truth?
Ten years ago, actor Jesse Eisenberg was interviewed by Romina Puga. This has become a legendary interview of sorts and clips are still circulating demonizing the actor and victimizing the interviewer. Neither side is represented well. She claims he was mocking and demeaning. He claims he thought it was all a joke. Should be easy enough to determine who is telling the truth since it is on video but even with that it is not that simple.
Continue readingTime to talk about the S—- word
It’s not easy to change a notion. A long held belief that feels true but suddenly isn’t. That’s what happened to the taboo topic of suicide. It was once considered bad form to mention but recent studies have shown that it is actually unhealthy and dangerous to leave it out of conversations. There needs to be the right kind of chatter about it.
Continue readingStory behind the post: The Car Wash
Any long-time reader of this blog should know that I attempt to write a five-part short story every month with 5 Saturdays. It’s an attempt to practice my writing skills. In the beginning of its conception, I thought it would help motivate me to write on a regular basis. That has not panned out as planned. Whenever I look at the calendar and see a 5 Saturday month approaching, I tend to get a little anxious. Mainly because I don’t even have an idea formulating. Such was my predicament toward the end of September. October had five Saturdays and was drawing closer, what was I going to do? Should I keep this goal or file it away as a “no longer applicable” ambition tucked away with other goals I have moved away from. No, I wanted to keep the practice. So, what to write? The week before October 1, I finally sat down and wrote the first chapter of The Car Wash.
Continue readingStory behind the post: The Samson Pill
Maybe you are new to this little blog. Maybe you are just passing through. Maybe you are a faithful reader (there are a couple of you). Whatever the case, welcome! If you are new here, let me tell you about last year’s writing goal: write one continuous story every 5-Saturday month. That may sound like an odd goal so let me explain.
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ck's days 