A to Z Challenge 2024 Theme Reveal

A to Z Blog Challenge 2024

Theme Reveal

 

This is my ninth year doing the Challenge. Last year, I tried something totally new. I created a single story that spanned all of the letters of the alphabet: “Save me a Story.” I am returning to somewhat isolated stories using a single theme this year. I say “somewhat isolated” because some letters may be connected to other letters as part of shorter stories.

The theme that I chose this year is Truth or Consequences. Prepare for a collection of stories, essays, poems, and maybe even some memoir pieces that involve truthtellers, liars, fairies, witches, and me, who certainly deal with the truth or variations of it and suffer or don’t suffer the consequences of their actions. 

For those who read last year’s story, there might be a return to the Kingdom of Selat, where all the fairytales and folktales originate and the characters who go along with them live. You might also be re-introduced to my dear friend Ronald, who was also part of that story. Adventures and activities with Ronald always try to avoid answering the question, “What could possibly go wrong?”

It’s time to get writing and prepare for the April Challenge. See you all on April 1st. Let the stories begin.

 

 

Posted in A to Z Blog Challenge 2024, Original Stories, Personal Stories, Writing | Tagged , | 13 Comments

A Place…Not Unknown

A Place…Not Unknown

It did not take long; my eyes were closed

The world around me vanished

I know this place; I was younger then.

I need to be there before it’s too late

 

The path was simple; except it wasn’t

There were strange animals in my path

Leopards with two heads and bared sharp teeth

Don’t exist, yet there they were

 

They let me pass, following me with knowing eyes

I continued on, as more strange beasts appeared

My direction was clear, as time meandered on

The desire to be home increased

 

All was familiar before and around me

The park on the left where I played and watched concerts

The stores and White Castle on my right

The elevated subway station in front of me

 

But something was wrong. I should not be here

It is neither the time nor place of my existence

And the creatures, though friendly, scared me

I was not who I should be 

 

I was younger then. I’m much older now

I no longer live in this place. I’ve moved on

The people that I knew are no longer

Yet I am here and need to go home

 

As time would have it, it runs out

Sounds of music fill the air

Familiar tunes to the older me

Music that calls to me, it’s time to wake up

 

Dreams are there to tweak your mind

To take you places you’ve been before

And let imagination rewrite your world 

And so it was, and so it is.

Posted in Personal Stories, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Look before you Leap

Look Before You Leap

Today’s essay has to do with leaping. I intend to focus on two aspects of leaping. Leaping to Conclusions and Leap of Faith.

According to thefreedictionarycom, “Leaping to Conclusions” is To make decisions or form opinions before one has all the pertinent facts.

 Leaping to conclusions is something that one does without thought. With the Internet the way it is, with unverified information posted, anything can seem factual. So, even taking the time to research facts, a choice would be leaping to a conclusion if the facts were not authentic, leading to a wrong understanding. 

According to thefreedictionary.com, “Leap of Faith” is The act or an instance of believing or trusting in something intangible or incapable of being proved.

A leap of faith requires trust and would not necessarily need any facts to support a choice, though having some proof should solidify that leap. 

One is generally judged by the choices one makes in life. So, one should be very careful about jumping to conclusions and taking leaps of faith, especially when it involves decisions that might have unwanted consequences for one’s actions. 

Another thing one must do, should one make a wrong choice based on the above leaps, is learn from the mistakes so that when similar situations arise, one can remember the flaw in their previous leaps of faith and potentially leap to a better conclusion.

Some of us ascribe to those definitions yet fail to take the next step and learn from our mistakes. Our leap of faith, though consistently proven wrong, leaves us with a “Leap of Hope” that this next outcome will be different from the last one, and the person we should not have trusted has changed. After all, he is my friend. What could possibly go wrong? 

Of course, this has never happened to me. I am writing this for those who might benefit from my advice. I’m a firm believer in “Practice what you Preach.” 

 

Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Day Off

A Day Off

I was looking forward to my day off. That night, my workroom’s “To-Do Bulletin Board” was blank. I had nothing planned the next day. 

I woke up the following day after somewhat of a restless night’s sleep. I had a few random dreams of no consequence. However, my concerns about real life had filled my mind. For example, I hadn’t started working on my taxes yet; they were almost due.

 The first thing I did when I woke up was write a post-it note, “Do Taxes,” and put it on my To-Do board. 

I also thought about the email I received about our planned trip. I had to get back to that agent, and that was added to the board. 

As I began to make breakfast, I noticed a set of unopened bills on the table. I hoped the due date hadn’t passed. They got tacked up, too. 

I started eating breakfast when I realized I was supposed to make reservations at Fifth Season restaurant for our anniversary. I needed a reminder to do that. While I’m on the subject of our anniversary, I still haven’t purchased a gift or a card for it. I’m pretty sure it’s tomorrow. 

Didn’t my daughter have play rehearsal after school today? I better make a note to pick her up. 

The phone rang while I was washing the breakfast dishes. It was my boss. He wanted to know where the Cooper file was and had I finished writing up the Off-Week statistics report. He needed both for a presentation to the CEO by 3 o’clock. I said that shouldn’t be a problem. Just in case, I put a reminder note and a copy of the report on the To-Do board. 

It wasn’t even 10 a.m. yet. I noticed a note from my wife on the counter, reminding me to go shopping with a list of ingredients I knew could not be purchased at the same store. That would mean going to Target, Stop and Shop, and Uncle Giuseppe’s. That was not a short trip. She didn’t mention why we needed all that food, but I suspect it had to do with our anniversary. I couldn’t forget that; I put it on the board. 

Today was Wednesday. Right? That meant it was dust and vacuum the house day. How could I forget that?  I would have if I didn’t write it down and post it. 

By 11 o’clock, I had accomplished nothing other than to fill up my blank To-Do Bulletin Board; there were no blank spaces to be had. 

I was beginning to question whether or not this was, indeed, a day off. 

As I stood in front of the board, I tried to focus. How was I going to accomplish all of this in one day? 

I needed another day off. 

Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

An Unbegun Story…or…Could Possibly Go Wrong?

An Unbegun Story…or…Could Possibly Go Wrong?

…could possibly go wrong?” I had it running through my head. I’ve heard it before we started and have never paid attention to the warning or the history behind said statement.

All I had left was to locate the final destination and deliver the packages. Game over.

The problem was this was a neighborhood that I was not at all familiar with. 

It might have been a fun activity had I had someone to play it with. However, that someone bailed out at the last minute, saying he had to go somewhere with his mother. Quelle surprise! 

I should have thought this was fishy from the start, but I trusted Ronald.

When I found the playground, I saw the spot where I was supposed to leave the packages. I also saw three police cars stationed right near that spot.

 What to do? 

I left the packages behind a bush and slowly walked towards the goal line to see if anything would happen. 

One of the policemen immediately stopped me and questioned me about what I was doing there. 

I stammered that I was here to meet up with a friend and play.

The cop looked at me and told me that the park was closed today and that I should go home. 

I tried to inquire as to why the park was closed but was just rushed out of the park with no answer. 

I decided not to retrieve the packages and went home. I definitely did not want to get involved with the police. I was only 13 years old, and my parents would kill me if they found out I was involved in some criminal activity, especially if Ronald was involved.

I caught up with Ronald the next day and told him what had happened. He denied knowing anything or what would have happened had I finished the game. He said it sounded like a fun game when he found it online. 

When will I ever learn?

Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

I wonder…

I wonder…

When you’re sitting in a doctor’s waiting room or at an auto service provider waiting to be seen or for a service to be performed, sometimes your mind wanders, especially if you forgot to bring a book and are disinterested in whatever they have blasting on their TV. The longer the wait, the more things you come up with to think about. You fall into a trance, a dream-like state. Your thoughts create scenarios with infinite possibilities. Some raise questions, and others imagine impossibilities coming to fruition. Like what I’m writing right now… 

I wonder what would happen if…

… there were no political parties, and just one called the human race.

… those who look down on people with disabilities would get to experience those disabilities for a period of time?

… gender, race, age, and religious equality were not words in any language because they were the norm rather than needing to be asked for.

… subscription costs for things like newspapers, TV, Internet, and phone services were divided equally among all customers rather than making some pay more, so discounts could be given to new enrollees. 

… we could travel anywhere in the world we wanted instantaneously.

… people would listen to reason rather than rhetoric and unsubstantiated misinformation.

… we all cared for each other rather than only ourselves.

… the only disease we had to prevent and protect ourselves from was ignorance.

… animals could communicate with us.

… there was life on other planets, and we could learn from each other and coexist.

… vehicles focused more on conserving energy and being more efficient rather than being built for speeds that should never be reached.

… we actually did what was necessary to mitigate climate change and environmental destruction in our lifetimes.

… filling out forms, like tax and financial applications for loans, was a simple process.

… we didn’t have to pay that extra 3.5% on goods and services if we used a credit card. 

… the Mets and Islanders would actually win the World Series and Stanley Cup. 

 

Someone appears to be talking to me. 

 

“Excuse me, what did you just say? The doctor can’t see me now because he’s waiting to get his car back from the dealer who has him on hold, and I have to reschedule, as your office hours have ended.” 

“Yes, sir.”

“And you will reschedule me?”

“Well, sir, since our office hours are over, you’ll have to call back tomorrow; our office hours are from 9 – 5 every day, except for tomorrow…and the next day… and…, or you can reschedule on our website, provided it’s not overloaded with users trying to schedule.”

“I’ll think about it,” was my reply as I got up to leave. 

It’s a wonder that any of us get anywhere in this world.

 

Posted in Original Stories, Personal Stories, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

My First Day

My First Day or Substitute teaching is no fairytale

It was my first day subbing in this district. Trust me, this is no ordinary district. At least the class I was assigned to wasn’t ordinary. I was to teach a literature lesson to a unique bunch of students. How they managed to put this group together is beyond me. 

In my 40 years of teaching, I had my share of challenging students in any given class; however, they were never all in the same class at the same time. I thought I was prepared. 

I stood in the front of the classroom as students glided in. Well, some did. When Tigg entered, he literally bounced in. In fact, I couldn’t get him to stop bouncing. He kept commenting about it being a wonderful thing to do. 

Then there was Cindy, who more or less hobbled in. She was only wearing one shoe; more like a slipper if you ask me. And who wears slippers made out of glass? 

When Punzey came in, her hair was so long that the students behind her kept slipping on it. When she finally found a desk near an open window, she just gathered up her hair and tossed it out the window. It seems she was used to doing that. 

When the twins Hansel and Gretel came in, I couldn’t help but notice they were leaving bread crumbs on the floor behind them. According to the teacher’s notes, they get lost a lot. 

Well, they all got in and took their seats. That is, except for Goldy. She just couldn’t find a seat that suited her. “This one’s too hard.” “This one is not close enough to the door,” “This one is so fragile, if I sit on it, I’m sure it will break.” This went on and on for the whole time she was there. 

When I took attendance, I discovered some of them had quirky names and behaviors. I asked one student, who was a real pain in the Rump, what his name was, and he wouldn’t tell me. He said I had to guess it, and if I didn’t guess it right in three days, I would have to give him my firstborn child. I tried guessing a few names to no avail and then gave up. I can’t imagine that he really would take my 30-year-old child. 

This girl, Red, came in, and when she found her seat, I was going to point out to her that hats weren’t to be worn in the classroom. I considered hoodies to be pretty much the same as hats; when suddenly, I heard a great scream.

“AHH! A SPIDER!”

It seems that Muffy had arachnophobia and was deathly afraid of spiders. When seen, Muffy just got up and ran out of the classroom. 

Once everyone was in their seats, I attempted to start the lesson but was interrupted more than once. First, the hall monitor, Mr. Troll, complained that some gruff kids wanted to come in late and that he, Mr. Troll,  would make sure they couldn’t. I did see three kids named Bill, Billy, and William. They made it into the classroom one at a time, each claiming they were the “Greatest Of All Time.” Just before the last one entered, there was this great howl then a thump coming from the hall. Before I could react, I was told by one of the students that this happened every day and I should ignore it. 

Then, a girl named Bo popped her head into the room and asked if anyone had seen her iPhone. She said she must have lost it somewhere and didn’t know where to find it. She said it had a sheepskin cover. It was suggested that if she went home, it would probably turn up there. Again, I was told that this was another daily occurrence. 

I tried to start the lesson again. Before I could get a word out, Mary, sitting in the front row, screamed, “I can’t believe it followed me here again!”  Mary got up and ran out of the room to catch something, a dog or a cat, maybe? Everyone in the room just broke out laughing and playing. I found out later on the animal was a lamb. Who keeps a lamb as a pet nowadays?

I surveyed the room once everyone calmed down and got back in their seats. Most of the students were looking at me, waiting for instructions. I noticed Jack take a gold pen from another student’s desk and pocket it. I would have said something, but the other student was very big, and I figured I’d let the big guy deal with it, hopefully when I wasn’t around.

Then there was Queeny. She wasn’t looking my way at all. All she was looking at was a pocket mirror. I could hear her mumble how beautiful she was, more beautiful than anyone else in the world. 

Of course, there were the sleepers, Beauty and Alice. Clearly, they had been up all night partying and couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore. Beauty was dead to the world with her head down on her desk. I’m not sure if anyone could wake her up.  On the other hand, Alice was sitting up with her eyes closed and clearly daydreaming. I have no idea what she was dreaming about. She kept muttering things like, “Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, little bat!” and “Off with her head!” Again, as long as she remained relatively quiet, I wouldn’t wake her up. 

I decided to ignore all the distractions and start for the third time when I heard a loud horn trumpeting from afar. 

The whole class cheered. “Hurray! He finally woke up!” Then, they all got up and ran out of the room. 

 I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea what just happened. Luckily for me, one of the students, Winnie, lagged behind and approached me. 

“I thought you taught your lesson quite well, even though everyone says I’m just one with a very little brain,” he said.

“That’s silly,” I replied, “I never even started teaching a lesson.”

 I guess that makes sense. My friend Christopher always tells me I’m just being a silly old bear. But, whatever it was you did do, you did it very well.” 

“Thanks, I guess. Where did everyone go?”

Winnie explained, “When Boy Blue blows his horn, it means that school is over and we should all go home. We never know when that will be, for you see, Blue naps a lot near school in a meadow under a haystack, and he wakes up, well, when he wakes up.”

Winnie thanked me again, turned, and left the classroom to go home. 

Well, that was my first day subbing. What did I do next? I gave up subbing, that’s what I did. Instead, I decided to devote my life to writing and storytelling. Maybe I can tell about this adventure. I’m sure there’s a story to be found in it somewhere. 

Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Hill

The Hill

***

Speeding down the hill as the wind whipped by my face, I felt the exhilaration of excitement, knowing that I had taken the challenge. The snow still fell heavily as my fingers began to get colder, and now I had second thoughts. I thought back to how I got into this situation.

The forecast last night was for zero to two inches of snow mixed with rain. Who knew that a rogue blizzard was going to hit?

We met up at the top of Deadman’s Hill. It was aptly named for its slope’s steepness and because the hill’s bottom part was an unguarded cliff edge. My friends and I often sled down the hill with no problem. We would build up a barrier of snow at the bottom that curved off to the side path, just in case we couldn’t steer ourselves onto that path.   We also took the precaution of starting our descent in the middle of the hill so we wouldn’t go so fast. 

However, today was different. We didn’t expect this kind of wind and snow. Although our parents warned us to be careful and not go down this hill, our teenage invincibility prompted us to do it anyway.  

Add to that, and I’m not sure who suggested it, but I can imagine who did; we thought, why not try it from the top this time? What could possibly go wrong? The wind was blowing against us, so surely that would slow us down, and the snow was probably soft and high enough to create its own barrier at the end of the hill.

Somehow, I was selected to be the first to try. I’m pretty sure when asked who wanted to go first, everyone but me took a step back.

What the hell was I thinking?

It usually took about two minutes to get to the bottom of the hill when we started in the middle. But being that it was snowing heavily and the wind was against me, I wasn’t going as fast as usual, though it was fast enough, and I was picking up speed after all, I did start higher up on the steep hill.

Some people say that just before you die, your whole life passes before your eyes. In this case, I was about two-thirds of the way down the hill when not my whole life passed, but instead, wanting to live finally reached the logical cortex of my brain. 

Sleds are not made with brakes, and with trees on both sides of the hill (Did I forget to mention that?), steering off to the side at the speed I was going was not a healthy option. So I did what any other panic-stricken individual in fear for his life would do. I pushed myself off the back of the sled and, at the same time, dug my feet into the snow and let the sled make its own way down the rest of the way. 

Checking myself for injuries (luckily, there were none), I was tempted to scream up the hill (not that they would have heard me), “That was great! Let Ronald go next!” Instead, I slowly trudged up the hill back to where I started and convinced everyone else to go to a normal hill to sled, which we did.

When we got to the other hill, I had to double up with others on their sleds.

I’d tell you what happened when I got home minus one sled, but that will have to wait for another day. 

***image created by CoPilot – Microsoft Bing

Posted in Original Stories, Personal Stories, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Friend or Foe?

Friend or Foe?

It drips from faucets clear – drop by drop. Steady sounds of unbearable torture

Drooping plants and flowers call to it – Give me strength

A desert’s claim of power knows not of its being. 

Yet an oasis of hope nurtures its very essence.

It tempers fire’s embers

Scientists refuse to call it by name, you are only two letters and a number

Earth is its home. It exists more than anything else, and it continues to grow

It’s pulled from the sky, so there is no escape.

Its growth is not its own. It has a dark side.

It takes from others. 

It borrows from the frozen places where man’s foolishness has let ice flow

It taints the world that prisons it by utilizing more of man’s mistakes. 

Acidic torrents make things wilt and die. 

It relishes in the power it holds and the destruction that uses its force to kill

But why? 

 

You are needed. You bring life. You quench a need that means survival. 

You are our savior.

You are water.



Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Proceed with Caution

Proceed With Caution

If I only had control of when and where a person could be born, I would be the happiest time-historian alive. I might not be the happiest, but it sure would be a lot of fun.

Think about it. I would not have to worry about where I have to travel to go back in time. Presently, the time-history analog device (THAD) that we use is only time-calibrated. To go back to, let’s say, Abraham Lincoln’s birth, I would have to travel to Kentucky to the area where Lincoln’s log cabin should be and then activate the THAD to take me back to February 12, 1809. Of course, I would have to know the exact time of his birth to see it. 

Being able to control where an event happens, I could make my living room the place of birth, travel back to 1809, and watch the event happening while relaxing in my recliner. Wouldn’t that be fun? What could possibly go wrong?

I know, there are all you nay-sayers out there who are complaining that it would disrupt the history timeline. People from the past should have no knowledge of the future, and if you transport historical people to our present locale, the knowledge gained here, when they get sent back, would change whatever was expected to occur. 

I believe history is a fixed event, so anything you try to change will be repaired and rectified by history itself. Think of what happens when you get heart bypass surgery. They cut and pull veins from your leg to bypass clogged arteries to your heart. Does your leg shrivel up because blood can’t flow through the truncated vein anymore? No. Your body reroutes the blood flow, so you are the same person you were originally. Why can’t history do that?

That’s why, as much as you may want to change history with THAD, for example, make sure an evil dictator never gets born, it won’t work. Though, that is a theory I would like to test someday. 

Having things happen in your living room won’t make a difference. I have pointed this out and written extensively about all these ideas to my colleagues and the Department of Time History at the highest level. 

Unfortunately, I have not received any positive reactions from any of these agencies other than that my Time-History license has been revoked. 

Little do they know that I still have my old machine hidden in my house and can rig it so that it is not traceable. So, I’m laying low for now, but someday, you will all be writing about what I accomplished. All I need is to find the key to my cell. 

Posted in Original Stories, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment