Author Topic: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!  (Read 1184425 times)

Offline stonebiscuit

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2880 on: July 18, 2008, 05:41:31 am »
Hands that knocked his hat to the ground when a kiss was worth more than fear.

Thats punchy prose fernly!

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2881 on: July 18, 2008, 01:39:10 pm »
Freedom from Fear

The calendar was tacked on the bulletin board behind the cash register, a different Norman Rockwell painting displayed each month.  He understood they were supposed to represent "average" Americans, but also understood they'd never represented him or his life.   His mama had tucked him in when he was little, but his daddy?  No way.  The idea of a benevolent father in business clothes, newspaper in hand, was as foreign to him as the man on the moon.

His eyes went to the title, "Freedom from Fear," as he tried, and failed, to imagine a father who gave that particular gift. 

~~~~~~~
100 Words

The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2882 on: July 18, 2008, 02:03:41 pm »
Let's see what these Friday prompts can do:

  • water cooler
  • psychic
  • highlight

Marie
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline stonebiscuit

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2883 on: July 18, 2008, 11:26:57 pm »
(Thursday prompts)
Wanted

A lone figure, stood silently on a grassy mound, fingers flicking his hefty belt buckle. The open air teased him, carrying the fragmented hoots and cheers of the small crowd gathered at the rodeo ring. He was between rides, groin aching, but he would get back on, one more time.
Sitting atop a bucking bronc, the world slowed for a brief second, the crowd blurring.....and then the clang of the blot releasing the gate and motion returned. Circling, heaving, his concentration was poor this time and in seconds he was biting dust, scrambling to the gate, to safety.
He walked swiftly away from the ring, avoiding stares. Taking off his boots in the stalls a piece of newsprint loosely tacked to a flaky bulletin board caught his eye.

Sheep Herders req. immediate start - Brokeback Mountain.

The battered black tow-truck skidded away from the frail farmhouse. A tear in the old woman's eye. Dad took another sip of coffee and turned back to his paper.
The boy disappeared into the distance.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2008, 08:23:06 am by stonebiscuit »

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2884 on: July 24, 2008, 02:51:11 pm »
(Thursday prompts)
Wanted

A lone figure, stood silently on a grassy mound, fingers flicking his hefty belt buckle. The open air teased him, carrying the fragmented hoots and cheers of the small crowd gathered at the rodeo ring. He was between rides, groin aching, but he would get back on, one more time.
Sitting atop a bucking bronc, the world slowed for a brief second, the crowd blurring.....and then the clang of the blot releasing the gate and motion returned. Circling, heaving, his concentration was poor this time and in seconds he was biting dust, scrambling to the gate, to safety.
He walked swiftly away from the ring, avoiding stares. Taking off his boots in the stalls a piece of newsprint loosely tacked to a flaky bulletin board caught his eye.

Sheep Herders req. immediate start - Brokeback Mountain.

The battered black tow-truck skidded away from the frail farmhouse. A tear in the old woman's eye. Dad took another sip of coffee and turned back to his paper.
The boy disappeared into the distance.

Beautifully done, stonebiscuit!  I love getting these "missing moments"  - in this case a prequel of sorts, and very believable. Thanks!

Marie
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2885 on: July 24, 2008, 02:55:03 pm »
From last Friday's prompts:

It's 11 O'clock. Do You Know Where Your Husband Is?

She glanced at her wristwatch   Yep, there they were.  Just like clockwork, the ladies from accounts receivable gathered around the water cooler for their daily dose of gossip – who kept running down to make calls at the corner pay phone, who took their lunch every Friday in Room 9 of the Motel 6 on Highway 287, who was seen in the back booth of a bar down in Quanah.

She smiled to herself as she returned to her adding machine, secure in the knowledge that her husband was on one of his fishing trips with that friend up in Wyoming.   

~~~~~~~
100 Words
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline stonebiscuit

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2886 on: July 24, 2008, 11:37:27 pm »
From last Friday's prompts:

It's 11 O'clock. Do You Know Where Your Husband Is?

She glanced at her wristwatch   Yep, there they were.  Just like clockwork, the ladies from accounts receivable gathered around the water cooler for their daily dose of gossip – who kept running down to make calls at the corner pay phone, who took their lunch every Friday in Room 9 of the Motel 6 on Highway 287, who was seen in the back booth of a bar down in Quanah.

She smiled to herself as she returned to her adding machine, secure in the knowledge that her husband was on one of his fishing trips with that friend up in Wyoming.   

~~~~~~~
100 Words


I love it Marie - Lureen's journey could fill a movie all of its own.

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2887 on: July 25, 2008, 12:43:55 pm »
..... Lureen's journey could fill a movie all of its own.

Yes, so true!  It's fascinating to turn the story a bit and see it from all the different perspectives. 

And on that note, some prompts for today:

  • "It seemed like only yesterday ...."
  • blush
  • bathtub

Marie
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain

Offline stonebiscuit

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2888 on: July 27, 2008, 05:37:17 am »
A girl

Sinking down into the frothy tub, the warm water lapping her tired skin like waves over dry sand. Red feet poking through the puffy white clouds at the other end. Water cooling, she pulled herself up and reached for a fraying pink towel. Caught a glimpse of her unmade-up face in the bathroom mirror. Shaking off her wet hair, dripping on the burnt orange carpet. Phone ringing as she tidied crumpled, faded cerulean sheets.
“Cassie speaking”, her voice betraying long hours of empty flirtations.
“So has he called you?”, her friends voice eager, mouth full of something.
Blushing to the empty room “Sure, I mean, I’m sure he will” voice trailing. She continued uttering vacant responses until her friend decided it was time to sign off.
She put out the light, hoped he was thinking of her. Knew he wasn’t.

Offline mariez

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Re: The Bettermost Drabblefest: Please Join In!
« Reply #2889 on: July 28, 2008, 06:21:54 pm »
A girl

Sinking down into the frothy tub, the warm water lapping her tired skin like waves over dry sand. Red feet poking through the puffy white clouds at the other end. Water cooling, she pulled herself up and reached for a fraying pink towel. Caught a glimpse of her unmade-up face in the bathroom mirror. Shaking off her wet hair, dripping on the burnt orange carpet. Phone ringing as she tidied crumpled, faded cerulean sheets.
“Cassie speaking”, her voice betraying long hours of empty flirtations.
“So has he called you?”, her friends voice eager, mouth full of something.
Blushing to the empty room “Sure, I mean, I’m sure he will” voice trailing. She continued uttering vacant responses until her friend decided it was time to sign off.
She put out the light, hoped he was thinking of her. Knew he wasn’t.

Talk about turning the story a bit.  This is excellent, stonebiscuit - and your descriptions are wonderful, as always.

Thanks,
Marie
The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in times of crisis         ~~~~~~~~~Thurgood Marshall

The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.    ~~~~~~~~~ Mark Twain