Grandmas Goulash

My father died on Halloween, as the sky turned from dusk to dark. The lights inside continued to glow, illuminating his sallow countenance and catching the barely perceptible rise and fall of a chest drawing its last morphine-glazed breaths. If this were a ghost tale, I would linger on the symbolism of the day. I would illustrate my story with dark forms created by wind that swirled leaves around barren trees. I would recall ominous shadows outside the window, unexplained creaks in the walls or flickers of light drifting into the sky. These would be false.  He did not believe in spirits and none made their presence known that evening. The whir of machines, the soft footsteps of nurses and the muted conversation of family were the only backdrop for his exit from life. Like my father, I do not believe in ghosts. Yet, I hear his laughter as a breeze flows through his wind chimes. I see him in the work of leathery hands that preferred action over sentiment. I feel his presenc...

2525 Time traveler, R2D2, easily blended with 1980’s culture, but gifts from the natives caused a sticky situation in his innards. (125) 2012 “Look, Bella, Edward’s brought some trick-or-treaters.” “Have them wait in the library, while I find the blood substitute.” (122) 1721 His siblings suffered from too much book learnin’, but Wesley’s cannon volley skills secured his future as the next Dread Pirate Roberts. (137) I was going to feature a clip from The Princess Bride that included Dread Pirate Robert’s well known line: Good night, Wesley. Good work. Sleep well. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning. When I came across this parody, however, I couldn’t resist using it instead.

I find it surprising, but I seem to have lost my taste for music. Not all music, but I certainly don’t listen to it with the intensity that I did ten years ago. I don’t remember when I started to love music, but I do remember my intense desire to play the piano. Piano fostered my love of classical music and The Beatles were the first to lure me to rock. Jazz and blues were added in midlife.  There are a few genres that I have never been fond of, but I listen far less to the ones I do love. I realized the other day that I had eliminated most background music from my life. For years, I wore headphones almost constantly while I worked. Music played, whenever I drove the car. I played music when I read. I played music when I ate. Sometimes, I even let music lull me off to sleep. Now, I only enjoy music, if it has my total focus. Although I listen less, I enjoy it more. That’s true of many things in my life, I suppose. I no longer run until I drop and multitasking has been el...

Room to breathe and first choice of food. Who cares if it’s lonely at the top? A good job and a pool with a home. Howard loved everything about his life except the daily rush hour commute.  Bottom feeders never worry about keeping up with the Joneses. Plenty to eat too, if you don’t mind picking through refuse.  Did I forget to use the word of the week? Yes. I almost forgot to post this week’s SY, as some of you may have noticed. I chose this week’s word, as I didn’t dare wake Calico at 3am to ask for one! This week’s word was  forget . This song is a favorite. Calico and I sing it, whenever we talk about wanting something that is far beyond our means. Of course, we change the lyrics to “If I were a rich girl.” 

Calico and Miss Muffin returned home yesterday with smiles on their faces. Calico’s school and work keep her away from home for some fairly long hours. Miss Muffin doesn’t say much, but it’s obvious that she’s missing her mother.  Yesterday, Calico had a free afternoon and took Muffin to a corn maze. It wasn’t as sophisticated as the one near Memphis, but that didn’t stand in the way of their enjoyment. The visit was far less expensive than the city version and included more freebies, including animals to pet, a tractor-pulled ride, a pumpkin patch and a free pumpkin. The icing on the cake was meeting another homeschooling family. The kids had a great time together and phone numbers were exchanged.

I began my career as a computer operator for a large furniture manufacturer. One of the first surprises was the amount of physical labor involved in the job. From boxes of punched cards to boxes of printer paper, it seemed that I was always lugging something. The biggest surprise, however, was the emergency procedure. I knew what to do, when an alarm sounded. “Immediately walk to the nearest exit” had been the mantra chanted by my teachers in elementary school and it was upheld by the sadistic administrators who favored 3am drills at my college dorm. “First”, the lead operator explained, “you must shut down the computer.” What? Shutting down the mainframe involved more than flipping a switch. The process took about five minutes. I pictured myself surrounded by smoke and flames, waiting for the computer to shut down. If the computer was going to melt into a puddle of plastic and metal, did it really matter if the power was on or off? “While the computer is shutting down,...

Crowd’s Absur d Crisp air and loudly attired chairs or stuffy restaurant and loud-mouthed patrons? For Leona, it had been a no-brainer. One More Word Sue never left the café until her crossword was completed. Two days later, she would wonder when habit had become obsession.  Hadn’t Heard Obviously a tourist. Locals had stopped frequenting the café after discovering the black specks in the scones were not raisins. Succinctly Yours offers a weekly photo and word as inspiration for your microfiction. How low can you go? Choose the 140 character or 140 word option. This week’s word was  crisp .