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Based on a true story, or real-world

JusJoJan26 Day 4-Arms

/ Liz H-H / Leave a comment

January 4 – “Arms”. Many Thanks to  Cheryl for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

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I wake up in heavy darkness this morning to what sounds like airplanes flying low in the sky. Steady drone in multivoice, for what seems like a long time. Swimming upwards out of sleep, I remember the old munitions site a few miles away, and that this thought crosses the deeper pools of my consciousness whenever the U.S. is mired in things that they shouldn’t. Or shouldn’t be, in the way that we do. The old munitions plant, long dismantled, but still haunted, and undeveloped into something more hopeful, is a few miles and a quarter of a century away.

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JusJoJan26 Day 2-Magnify

/ Liz H-H / 4 Comments

January 2 – “Magnify”. Many thanks to Barbara for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

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Joseph stared at his beautifully plated entrée, the seasonal speciality at the high-end restaurant his wife had begged to visit to celebrate her birthday.

He’d expected and budgeted for what he knew would be a high-priced meal, assumed the food would be the chef-architect’s finest designs. He’d hoped for flavor and texture that would knock his socks off, even if he couldn’t quite identify what was placed before him by the wait-person with the Inspector Clouseau accent.

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JusJoJan Day 1-Mindfulness

/ Liz H-H / Leave a comment

January 1 – “Mindfulness”. Many thanks to Emily for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

It snowed this morning. Again. I know it was this morning, probably after 7 am, because I didn’t see fresh tracks from the twin does that cross my back yard and jump over the waist-high fence that keeps our human neighborliness neighborly. The deer regularly stroll through before everybody gets up to start the bustle of their day. Cars running, lights snapping on in the winter dark, thump of young children’s feet on the thin wood floors, the jingle and crunch of a dog or cat eating and making music with their bowl of kibble. Meanwhile, I’m mindful in my dreams as I remember how busy life was when the kids were young.

Now they’re grown and I’m a gramma.

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FlashNano Day 29: “Write a story that takes place on the edge.”

/ Liz H-H / 12 Comments
Photo of the author, bundled and ready to take on the snow.

An Almost-True Winter’s Tale

I should’ve known better. This was just history repeating itself. After dark, but just before sunrise. Heavy snows three days in a row. Had to get up that early to be on time for my morning gig, so I rolled out of bed and headed outside.

Tall snow boots, puffy jacket, Andes hat to cover the ears, leather choppers lined with woolen undergloves. Garage door opener in one pocket, phone in another, and a lightweight snow shovel slung over my shoulder; I thought I was fully prepared. The goal was to clear the driveway before the plows got through, hoping to make clearing the street-side end easier, once the plows came through and dumped the street’s payload on the end third of my drive.

And then they’d come along once more, just to neaten the streets and undo all my hard work.

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FlashNano Day 26: “Write a story that includes a celebrity.”

/ Liz H-H / 13 Comments

You know the routine, and I’m so sad this is the last year Nancy Stohlman is hosting it! So here’s a holiday story to help you digest the holiday weekend (A little corny, but I know nothing about celebrity life, so…)

Janie was an up-and-coming starlet, a nice girl, but a little naïve. Her latest movie had just come out, and though she had a small part, the critics mostly liked her, said she was one to watch. She had a certain je ne sais quoi (noted by an early fan, and grabbed up from her socials and integrated into her marketing and promotions sites). And it did fit. But she had plans of her own for growing a solid, positive public image.

Being polite, never losing her temper or trashing others, remembering where she came from, avoiding situations that might lead to accusations of excess—all of these things came naturally to her. But celebrity can breed jealousy, can breed contempt, and even she was unable to avoid the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

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