My Latest Short Story

I went to a website familiar to me, titled:  Ann Linquist Writes.  Ann instructs online writing classes that I've taken and facilitates her personal website.  On her website, I found her latest writing prompt which included the four word clusters listed below.  She challenged writers (all are welcome) to include these phrases in a short story.  Mine follows.  

A woman named Red Hannah
An annoying limp
Macaroni and cheese
A big E


I lived in a humble home with a crooked stoop and a torn screen in the front door. The house was smack dab at the east end of Finley Road where no one drove unless by accident. On those rare occasions, by the time I creaked and groaned up from my chair to say howdy, whoever it was, was gone. I’d raise my scrawny arm and wave at the dust that rose up as the car disappeared. Then, I’d feel empty and grope for something to fill the emptiness.

When folks spoke of me, their stories were of “a woman named Red Hannah.” They knew little of me for I avoided going to town but for bare necessities. An annoying limp made walking real hard so I never wasted my steps. I don’t know where I bought my food. The sign over the door was worn bare except for a big E. No matter. Inside, I knew right where to go for macaroni and cheese, milk, bread, canned fruit and dried beef.

Food worked miracles. When I felt lonely, empty of soul, my stomach talked to me. It asked for fruit and milk first thing every morning. I obediently set the table. Bread, dried beef and milk at my table for one was my high noon grasp for joy. I saved the mac and cheese for my grand finale dinner. Just me and my stomach thought life was good.

We kidded ourselves for a long, long time, that is, until 9:00 in the morning or thereabouts, on June 1st, 1949, when a rusty truck stopped at the end of Finley Road and dumped out a crusty old man. He stepped up on my crooked stoop and rattled my door. He didn’t seem in a hurry. I made it to the door before he could go. To make a short story shorter, on account of this accidental visitor, I’m not eating alone anymore.

Life is better with two stomachs to fill.

The Christmas Story

Jesus is born of Mary.

The Wise Men come with gifts.

The Shepherds come with joy in their hearts. 

Because of this, God's most beautiful gift to the world, we celebrate Christmas.

Snowmen Care About Location!!!

We stationed our snowman in his own little skating rink right outside our kitchen window.  We thought he'd be happy there.

Yesterday, I noticed a look of concern on his face.

Could his concern be due to his location under our bird feeding station?

It seems we overlooked one disadvantage to placing him under feeding birds.  Silly, inconsiderate me!  I thought that was snow on his stocking hat!

 

Siesta Key Village

We always enjoy strolling through Siesta Key Village.  It's just fun with all the color and unique shops and restaurants.

It's easy to see that Siesta Village is a happy place.

Carter Philip's Birth Announcement

I can't stop looking at this beautiful birth announcement that arrived in our mailbox this week.  My cousin, Kathy, and her husband, Greg have been blessed with another grandson.  Seeing Carter lying in that softly-lined basket melts my heart.          

Carter's big brother, Tyler, is obviously tickled pink to be a part of this important announcement.

When I thought I'd seen as much cuteness as I could handle for one day, I turned the card over and found this precious photo.  I fear I'll wear the announcement out as I view both sides, over and over again.

Congratulations to Leah and Jayson, Carter and Tyler's awesome parents!    

Happy 90th Birthday, Uncle Allen

We surprised Allen this afternoon with a family gathering in honor of his 90th birthday.

Allen's face lit up at the sight of all of us.

Here we have Jenny (Allen and Babe's granddaughter), the birthday boy and Aunt Dorothy (better known to many of us as Aunt Babe).

Greg and Kathy (Allen and Babe's daughter) hammed it up with this cute pose.

I got this cute photo of Dawn and Dick (Babe and Allen's son).   

Jenny, her husband, Mike and Brie (Jenny's stepdaughter) make an awesome trio.

Ron (Allen and Babe's nephew) and Dee sat at the same table as Lon and I so we talked with them quite a bit.

Greg and Dick (Allen's brother) shooting the breeze.

Bonnie and Bob (also a nephew) were also happy to be a part of the celebration.

John (also a nephew) rode to Janesville with Lon and I since Phyllis was out of town for the weekend.

Jenny is showing Aunt Babe photos on her phone.  She had a great picture of herself in her Halloween getup.

Uncle Allen is a great guy.  I thank Kathy for planning and organizing this birthday celebration for him and for inviting us.

Hey, Dick.  I like this picture of you.  

Since Leah isn't here, I took extra pictures of Jenny.  She's a doll, isn't she?  By the way, Leah is beautiful as well.

Uncle Allen and Aunt Babe, two very special people.

Big Hill Park Sights in October