This meme was started by Delores a long time ago. Computer issues led her to bow out for a while. The meme was too much fun to let go, and now Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a movable feast. I am very, very sad (and angry) to write that a troll has led Delores to leave the internet completely. She will be missed and I hope her meme continues.
Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write. Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image. What we do with those prompts is up to us: a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore... We can use some or all of the prompts.
Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
The prompts will be here this month (Margaret Adamson and her friends were to provide them, but she is travelling so we have swopped).
This week's prompts are:
- curse
- petrified
- pogo stick
- little
- Paris
- assistant
And/or
- rooster
- happiness
- immortal
- dark
- stormy
- knights
Have fun.
How i wish she could come back, even if it had to be under a new moniker.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, i enjoyed providing the prompts last April and if you ever need a substitute, let me know.
My thinking cap is on, i am hopeful a story will be forthcoming in a few hours.
messymimi: I think we all wish she could return.
DeleteThank you for offering to provide the prompts again. Later this month I will be asking for support again, and you can nominate which ever month suits you best.
I am looking forward to your take this week too.
laurie: It is a heap of fun, and I hope you will join us some time. And we are all sorry to lose Delores. Very sorry.
ReplyDeleteNathan wasn't a little bit afraid, he was petrified.
ReplyDelete'You stupid #$$%%%$X. What were you thinking? Oh that's right, you weren't thinking, you left your brain alone in the dark, and let your bloody mouth take over. You were crowing like a rampant rooster to impress the assistant at the gym. She looks good, and that Paris accent is hot, but you won't find happiness if you start by lying to her. You are a complete and utter XXXing idiot.' He didn't usually curse, but since it was himself he was storming at he made an exception.
'There are no dragons so you can't offer to be her knight in shining armour. When you were ten you were pretty good with a pogo stick. So now you have entered the Xpogo championship? Get real. Extreme pogo sticks can go up over ten feet in the air AND you are expected to do tricks on them. You are not effing immortal. How in hell are you going to get out of this one? Or are you just going to have to find a new gym...'
Very creative!
DeleteNice. You used both sets.
DeleteI have rarely tried to write a short story. I am a XXXing idiot.
DeleteMost Times
I Think in Rhymes
I have zeroed in on one word for my entry. Will return before the day is done.
nothoughtnoprayernonothing: Not an idiot at all. Poetry is often beyond me, and I really admire those who can master the artform. I am looking forward to seeing which word you picked, and where it has taken you.
DeleteMy brother has tried to impress by signing on for things like he's 20 not 60, then his wife having to get him out of it so he doesn't kill himself. Your words use made me think of that and how many times he's tried to do that.
DeleteExcellent EC!!!
DeleteThe one person we learn from the most is ourself and our mistakes. We have all been fools at one time and ohh, that humiliation stays with us for a long time.
DeleteStarting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: You are so right. There are incidents from my past which make me blush thinking about them (decades later).
DeleteSometimes foot-in-mouth disease can sneak up and catch us off guard. Poor guy, he's smitten.
Deletea very realistic mental conversation of most young men, I imagine.
DeleteFoot-in-mouth disease describes this in few words. Well written. And EC, know what? In Danish a Pogo stick is called a kangaroo stilt ;)
DeleteUglemor: It seems I snuck in yet another kangaroo for you. I really like the phrase kangaroo stilt too.
DeleteI love your story, and 'kangaroo stilt' made me giggle! That's a phrase that will get filed away in my memory for future reference. ;-)
DeleteDiane Henders: Isn't kangaroo stilt a wonderful term and image.
DeleteI too am very sad to learn that a troll has led Delores to leave the internet completely, she will be missed.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not take part in this meme many do, and I thank them for it, because I often come across and read the stories.
Good luck to all and a happy October.
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member: Thank you for your support. Some day I hope to tempt you to join us.
DeleteI hope that Delores gets her computer problems fixed soon. That would drive me nuts.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Aguirre: Sadly it is not computer problems but a troll which has caused Delores to leave us. Which has me almost ballistic with rage.
DeleteSomeone writes about a cursed pogo stick, I want to read it!
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: Or perhaps you could write it...
DeleteYes Alex, you should write about it!
DeleteI miss Dorothy. I hope she is well.
ReplyDeleteA garage sale was not high on Brenda’s list but when Bob took off with his blonde assistant, Brenda was petrified of her future. As she sorted through Bob’s crap, she cursed him and his boobie blonde. Brenda reached Bob’s box of memorabilia, all valuable stuff. Rage came over her and she grabbed his precious pogo stick and beat the hell out of it. But she had kept some precious items. “Well, Paris! Chill the champagne for me, ‘cause I’m coming.” With one wild swing, Brenda shattered his dear PGA trophy. It felt good.
Susan Kane: We all miss Delores. Love Brenda's backbone development. I hope that she thrives in Bob's absence.
DeleteMay she have a wonderful life, and may he find out he got more than he bargained for.
DeleteServes him right!!!!
Deletewonderful! I may have resembled parts of your story at some time in my past.
DeleteI'll have fun, but it might not make much sense. My brain is firing in all directions with these words.
ReplyDeleteRiver: As mine did. I look forward to seeing where they take you.
DeleteI only used one set of words, the second one:
ReplyDelete~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One DARK and STORMY morning, a KNIGHT woke up in his bed to his rooster’s wakeup call.
“It’s dark and rainy,” the knight mumbled. “No quest has ever started on a dark and rainy morning. Stupid ROOSTER. I’m going back to sleep.”
But the rooster was insistent the knight should get up.
Eventually, grumbling and aching in each one of his old joints, the knight climbed out of bed and dressed in his ancient chainmail. The rain pounded even harder, as he limped out of his small yard.
“I’m going for HAPPINESS,” he informed the rooster. “I’m not going to search for IMMORTALITY anymore.”
When Maggie, a local tavern wench, put a mug of hot cider and a plate of soft, fluffy scrambled eggs in front of him, the knight sighed in bliss and dug in. “This is happiness,” he informed Maggie and stuffed his mouth full of eggs. The words came out garbled, with so much eggs and so few teeth, but he didn’t care. “Much better than the secrets of immortality,” he insisted.
“Of course,” Maggie replied cheerfully. “Three coins for your breakfast, sir knight.”
Olga Godim: I really like this. I suspect chainmail is very hard on aging joints and wonder whether it encourages arthritis. And yes, I would take an excellent breakfast in preference to immortality any day.
DeleteHappiness and contentment are much easier to find than the Fountain of Youth.
DeleteYes, gosh darn rooster alarm clock, put that rooster on snooze, sir knight, and just go back to bed. Let your quest be found in your dreams. I like this story. Who wants to be a knight in all that gear in the rain? Not I.
DeleteOh my, I love this so much! and love that his happiness was found not as far away as a search for immortality might have taken
DeleteHi EC - the 2nd set:
ReplyDeleteImmortal knights on their chargers had breathed their last into the dark stormy skies … morning brought happiness, after the nightmares, as the rooster crowed us awake.
Cheers Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: Hooray for the end of nightmares, and a fresh start.
DeleteIt's always lovely to wake from a bad dream.
Deletea lovely morning vision!
DeleteSuch fun!
ReplyDelete..It was in Paris that the little assistant in the café overcame my curse. A witch doctor, during my recent trip to Africa, had convinced me that if I walked anywhere something foul would befall me. I had crawled into her establishment on my hands and knees, and taking pity on me, she offered me a pogo stick, left behind by one of her customers. This having solved the problem, I often pogoed to her café for a chat and one of her delicious coffees, and it wasn’t many months before we were married and together pogoed down the aisle....
lostinimaginaryworlds: Love this. You are right about the fun, and the image of a pogoing bride and groom has me smiling broadly.
DeleteThat's great! There's a way around almost anything if you look for it.
Deletewhat a wonderfully romantic meeting!
DeleteThe results from just a few words is always so much fun. It's interesting to see how people's thoughts and ideas take them in such different directions.
ReplyDeleteMason Canyon: The very different slants fascinate me every time.
DeleteOff the cuff, not the best, but here it tis: I curse at my half-blind, petrified assistant who brought a little snake back from Paris thinking it was a pogo stick.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Funny Sandra!
DeleteSandra Cox: I would be petrified carrying a snake, and love your twist to these words.
DeleteHeeheehee! If it's a small, black snake, and not a black mamba, it's probably harmless and i should like to make its aquaintance. (We kept non-venomous snakes as pets when i was young, as did my #2 Son.)
DeleteI think more blind than not!
DeleteJimmy was a dark, stormy knight by anyone’s account. Determined, jaw set hard, eyes of steel, water dripping down his nose. Because it was raining. Raining hard. Formidable! Immortal, he told himself. Nothing could touch him! He was on a mission and nothing would stop this knight.
ReplyDeleteJimmy was out to impress the girl of his dreams. Her pigtails bounced in his memory as he bounced along. His faithful steed, his bike, lay, with two flat tires, back in his parents overgrown yard. One rim twisted beyond repair. He shouldn’t have tried to jump that ditch two months ago. What was he thinking. He needed that bike now. Instead…..
Paris’ petrified beautiful brown eyes floated dreamily in his mind. “Henrietta,” she’d sobbed, "they took him away! I LOVE him! He’ll die on that farm!” “Don’t worry,” he’d soothed, as he pulled her into his arms. “I’ll get him back.” He was going to be the hero in this. He had to be. Then he’d win her over forever. He got all warm inside thinking about that moment, even though the rain was pounding even harder.
Henrietta was supposed to lay eggs and never wake the neighbors crowing loudly before the sun even broke the horizon. That’s what the free ad had said. But Henrietta turned out to be a Henry and Henry had not endeared himself, with his early morning vocals, to Paris’s neighbors. Her dad said he had to go. A friend of his had a farm and yesterday, he’d come, in his big farm truck and took Henry away.
Jimmy dismounted and eyed the farm. There were chickens everywhere. All over the yard around the house and out to the barn. A field of them. The rain had stopped but Jimmy cursed softly and shook his head. He couldn’t tell Henry from any of the rest of them. Henry wasn’t a full grown rooster and didn’t even have a comb yet.
With no plan, Jimmy removed his daypack, crossed his arms and tried to think. “Can I be of assistance?” Jimmy jumped, startled. It was Ben, the farmer, he hadn’t even noticed him approach along the fence. “You’re Paris’s friend, aren’t ya? What you doing here in the rain?”
Like a bad knight, Jimmy broke down instantly and told Ben the whole story. “I have to get Henry back! Paris’s happiness depends on it!” “More like your happiness depends on it,” Ben laughed. “You’re trying to win her over.” Then he grinned.
“Wait here,” Ben said. He came back ten minutes later with a pillow case, that was moving. This isn’t Henry but looks just like Henry. This one will lay eggs one day. She’s littler than Henry, be easy with her riding that thing home. Put her in your pack.”
Jimmy’s eyes lit up! “Thanks Ben!” Ben laughed again. “Now don’t fall off that thing in the mud.”
Jimmy threaded his arms through his now wiggling daypack. The rain had stopped and the sky cleared. He was the shining knight again, the hero headed home, mission accomplished.
He mounted his black pogo stick proudly. And hopped off into the sunset.
Strayer: Ben is the knight in shining armour here - and I do like the thought of pogoing into the sunset. Great story.
DeleteHooray for Jimmy and Ben, conspiring to save the day.
DeleteYay!!!
DeleteYay for shinig knights on pogo sticks. I love pogo sticks.
DeleteMy word for Wednesday is Rooster
ReplyDeletehttps://nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing.blogspot.com/2019/10/words-for-wednesday.html
nothoughtsnoprayersnonothing: I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed your rooster poem. Thank you for joining us.
DeleteWell done!!
DeleteSounds like an interesting meme. Sorry your blog friend was forced to quit blogging because of that troll.
ReplyDeletegigihawaii: It is fun, and hopefully you will play some week. We are all sad to lose Delores. And angry.
DeleteThanks Ec! Thanks everyone for their writes! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteMagic Love Crow: Thank you so much. Big hugs gratefully received, and reciprocated.
DeleteAwesome reading through everyone's write ups! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteRomance Book Haven: Thank you for reading and for your encouraging words.
DeleteFun ideas. Here's mine ...
ReplyDeleteMy poor memory was a curse. If it weren’t for my digital assistant, I’d never be anywhere on time. The only reason I’d made the Paris plane was because it was late. The traffic had been hideous and I’d been petrified I wouldn’t make it. And I had to make it. My little kid only turned 8 once and I was going to be there, pogo stick and all.
Jemi Fraser: Thank you for joining us - and I am so glad your protagonist made the plane.
DeleteI'm so glad they caught the flight!
DeleteA pogo stick as a gift. Nice one!
DeleteAh, the almost missed plane. Glad to know the birthday party wasn't short any participants.
ReplyDeleteFun prompts. Good luck friends 👍
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Some day you will join us I hope. And thanks for your good wishes.
DeleteI'm running late...and I have been slack of late...but here's my effort for this week..
ReplyDelete"When I was a little girl, to use a curse word was banned. The threat a bar of soap always on hand to be used to wash out my mouth was a threat not to be treated lightly. I wasn’t so petrified of the soap threat, as I was of the severe reprimand I’d receive from my mother and/or grandmother. That was enough to shatter any thoughts of happiness for a quite a lengthy while.
Trying my best not to get into trouble, or utter words I soon regret, I found comfort and enjoyment in reading books. I immersed myself in many adventurous tales.
The immortal Paris (who was a bit of a cocky rooster, let’s be honest), and his love for Helen of Troy was one of my favourite stories when I was a child, as were the tales of bold knights who never feared to face battle during the days, or in dark, stormy nights.
One day after re-reading my much-loved story of Don Quixote, and his loyal squire - his assistant - Sancho Panchez, I grabbed my pogo stick and began galloping around our yard on my imaginary horse, Rocinate, pretending I was the noble Man of La Mancha swiping at imaginary windmills.
Such fun it was..."
Lee: I suspect a LOT of this tale is true, and love it.
DeleteHahahaha! Yes, EC. I had a wild imagination...and to be honest, the first time I said the "s" word...aka "manure" I was 31 years old! I was travelling on the Currumbin Valley chairlift and we went over a bump in the line...and my words echoed throughout the valley below!
DeleteSince then I've expanded both my vocabulary and frequency of use of the added words! :)
We were threatened as kids with that bar of soap! But it never happened. Just a threat.
DeleteNice story. I bet many kids escaped their parents in books, back before there was much else, like smart phones. I did.
I love how books can create so many new worlds for an imagination!
DeleteThis sounds so like something I have done. The soap threath also never materialized in my home. Books live forever in your mind.
DeleteI have posted mine here: the curse
ReplyDeleteCindi Summerlin: I read it, and am thankful that I did so in bright sunshine. I would not like to read this one on a dark night...
DeleteHigher. Higher. Higher. She knew she could jump higher than her sister even if she was littler. Little, she mentally corrected herself. Littler wasn't a word. She watched her reflection in the window. Higher. Higher. Higher. The pogo stick bounced on the tiled floor. She felt like she was flying. Like a bird in the sky. Out the window she saw the big antenna. That's what her mommy said it was. A tower in Paris. Higher. Higher. Higher.
ReplyDelete"Boo!" Her sister, Stella, screamed from behind her.
The pogo stick slipped and down she went on the tiled floor. A curse let loose from her lips. Petrified her mommy heard the bad word, she began to cry. Stella let out her own curse then screamed for her mommy's assistant. Mommy was at work. Again. Back on the pogo stick. Higher. Higher. Higher.
Elsie
Elsie Amata: So many emotions tied up in this very short piece. Amazing. And calling for mommy's assistant rather than for mommy is so very sad.
DeleteSisters! Well done.
DeleteMaybe I will join it someday, sounds fun☺
ReplyDeletenatalia20041989: I hope you will - it is a heap of fun.
Delete