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.
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, and mixing and matching is encouraged.
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.
Huge thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh who challenged us last month. This month Wisewebwoman is providing the prompts and they will appear here. Charlotte (MotherOwl) has selected fawn brown as the colour of the month.
This week's prompts are:
- Smithereens
- Arch
- Magazine
- Outcome
- Income
and/or
- Primrose
- Cormorant
- Boreen
- Lucidity
- Antagonism
I can't believe I'm first on here. Just finished final episode of Dahlia and Edward and here it it!
ReplyDelete------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dahlia watched as Edward threw her a look of intense antagonism and then said, “You had better watch your step, the outcome of this will be….” and his next words were swallowed by the door as he slammed out.
Dahlia, shaken, greeted a woman and a child walking in, the woman turning to look at Edward with lucidity in her eyes.
“I know him,” she said quietly to Dahlia, “he must be on probation now,” she pointed at ‘Smithereens,’ the children’s art area under the rainbow arch in the corner and the child obediently went to play.
Dahlia shepherded her to the small fawn brown wooden table and chairs behind the counter.
“Tell me,” she said quietly.
“He said he was an art magazine editor out of New York and would feature my paintings. He fell in love with me very quickly and needed a temporary place to stay and moved in with me. In no time he had scammed me of my credit cards and my bank account was drained. I had no income. I think of him as an avaricious cormorant. But I got him in court and he was put away for a few years. And now he’s out. And hasn’t paid me a penny in court ordered restitution.” Tears rolled down her face.
Dahlia leaned forward and then reached across the table to hold the woman’s hand.
“I’m going to call the police and tell them he’s been harassing me and just about threatening me. And I can’t thank you enough! I’d like to help you showcase your work here if I can?”
The woman, whose name turned out to be Primrose, wiped her eyes and smiled tentatively.
Dahlia reflected she had lost what she thought was a dreamy romance but the meandering boreen of life had given her what looked like a wonderful new friendship.
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Good luck to everyone!
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman: I love this and hope that Edward gets his just desserts and that Dahlia and Primrose's friendship thrives.
DeleteHi WWW - wonderful ... excellent continuation of Dahlia and Edward's stories ... two tale rapidly becoming separated ... cheers Hilary
DeleteIf that's his scam, I do hope he gets put back in jail, and has to make restitution.
DeleteWith no income for the St. Louis Arch Magazine it's outcome was smashed to smithereens. (Not true)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gatewayarch.com/
Mike: Short and sweet as always. Thanks for the link to that spectacular arch.
DeleteYes - well done Mike ... cheers Hilary
DeleteI'm most glad it is not true, I've seen the Arch and it's amazing.
DeletePrimrose’s arch smile and beady little eyes filled Colleen with rage. Those eyes saw more than a cormorant when it came to Primrose’s advantage. Yes, she knew that Primrose was doing well and had a six figure income, but that smile rubbed it right in. If Colleen had to hear just one more time that she was going to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine she wouldn’t answer for the consequences. And if someone forced her to look at it she would rip the damd thing into smithereens. In a moment of lucidity Colleen realised that the outcome of expressing her antagonism so openly wouldn’t be good.
ReplyDeleteShe put it to one side and started to walk down the boreen to the sea. On a soft Irish day the twinned fawn brown paths, set off by the ridge of green grass in the centre would soothe her mind. The scent and the sound of the sea would complete the cure.
Hi EC - clever use of discouraging envy in oneself ... good for Primrose - better be true to self ... and if she lives in such a beautiful place she's 'better off' ... cheers Hilary
DeleteBeautiful take on the words EC, anger and jealousy can be a killer and does not serve the partaker well. You describe her healing so well.
DeleteXO
WWW
Well done, EC! And I learned another new word: boreen. What fun! :-)
DeleteExcellent story. Some people live to look down their noses, and not giving them the satisfaction of letting it get to you is wise.
DeleteAhhh, intriguing and I loved the use of your fawn brown.
DeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Well done to both you and Colleen.
DeleteHi EC and WWW ... all ten with the colour included:
ReplyDeleteThe Primrose had gone fawn brown and obviously wasn't very healthy … perhaps if they walked the boreen they'd find some fresh ones. He was having one of his hissy fits showing antagonism to any suggestion she might have. Perhaps she could go on her own and leave him to the lucidity of his paintings …
She might find the cormorant down by the river, it was near the seaside, where she could read her magazine under the bridge's arch, and forget about the outcome of her recent income loss.
Thanks - now to read the entries posted ... cheers to one and all and a very happy festive season - Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: Reading a magazine down by the water's edge sounds MUCH more pleasant than enduring his hissy fit. And certainly better than thinking about income (or lack thereof).
DeleteWell done Hilary, a wonderful wee story and taking time out takes time off life's challenges.
DeleteXO
WWW
Nicely done! Enduring a hissy fit is not pleasant, better the walk and the magazine.
DeleteOh I think I missed out smithereens ... when she got home perhaps her husband would be pacified by listening to The Smithereens ... the 1980s rock band he loved.
ReplyDeleteCheers H
Hilary Melton-Butcher: Unsurprisingly that is a group I don't know. Off to talk to Captain Google.
DeleteHi EC - nor did I ... but a quick Wiki look gave me the answer - it'll satisfy Alex, hopefully ... thanks for the thumbs up ... cheers Hilary
DeleteMy son is about to learn the outcome of playing ball in the house. I told him, and told him, and told him, not to throw that ball indoors. But does he listen? Of course not. As I sat with my feet up, reading my magazine, he threw that darn ball and smashed my ceramic fairy arch to smithereens. His income, i.e. allowance, just dropped from five dollars a week to zero.
ReplyDeleteWhy do i doubt that will even phase him?
"Ryan, stop throwing that ball!"
Sandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Sandra Cox: I suspect that this strikes a chord with many parents. And always will.
DeleteWell done Sandra, as if kids listen, lol.
DeleteXO
WWW
Confiscate the ball as well and he'll sit up and listen.
DeleteMimis suggestion is what - maybe - works ;) Well done
DeleteHi Sandra - no of course not ... kids don't listen! - nor often do adults. Interesting change of thoughts here - thank you - Hilary
ReplyDeleteAt one point in my life, I had two elderly widowed sisters as neighbors. Their LUCIDITY was unbelievable, but they were different in appearance and character. One of them had a long neck and a great appetite like that of a CORMORAN, but she was friendly and helpful. She introduced me to Burda MAGAZINE which taught me sewing. She also suggested to me the use of Evening PRIMROSE oil and cream to slow ageing. She was generous with gifts for me; she could afford it as she had a solid INCOME.
ReplyDeleteThe other one was small of stature, thin, and usually dressed in a FAWN BROWN color dress. She expressed nothing but feelings of ANTAGONISM towards me, especially after I turned her precious vase (by accident) to SMITHEREENS.
One day, the two of them wanted to visit a church famous for its doors with ARCH format. The travel was on a road resembling a BOREEN, and the OUTCOME was rather tragic.
DUTA: This is intriguing. I am fascinated by how different the sisters are, and that they like together in apparently perfect amity. You have me a little worried for them in your final sentence though. As always this snippet is very well done.
DeleteTe felicito, Duta, por este relato donde has aplicado las palabras exigidas, con mucho sentido, aunque nos dejas con ese final un poco intrigados.
DeleteY aprovecho para desearos a las dos y a vuestros seres queridos que disfrutéis de una Feliz Navidad.
Un abrazo.
Sometimes a person takes a dislike to you and there's nothing you can do but leave them alone. Or kill them with kindness.
DeleteNicely told story!
Well written, I think we all know such dislike from real life.
DeleteSending her well wishes and a quick recovery.
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Whisk: Her operation has been postponed but I am sure that your wishes are still needed. I echo them.
DeleteI'll be working on it and come back to link and read.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: I have read and thoroughly enjoyed your take on the prompts.
DeleteIf anyone else wishes to read, it is over here.
DeleteSome really good entries above me here, I'll have to look up boreen (road? track? path? way?) but I'll have a story up on Friday.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I am really looking forward to reading it tomorrow morning.
DeleteDigital Magazine or Printed Magazine? I try to follow both but online ones followed more than the Printed one.
ReplyDeletebread&salt: I don't think it matters, but you do better than I do. I don't follow any magazine consistently.
DeleteSmithereens made me laugh. I've not heard that word used in such a long time. Sorry to hear about GB surgery, hope all goes well for her.
ReplyDeleteSandy: You are right. It is a long time since I have heard that word too.
DeleteThis week I asked Google's AI named Bard to write a few paragraphs using the words. Here is what Bard created:
ReplyDeleteThe old architect’s fingers grazed the magazine article, worn soft by countless rereads. "Smithereens," it declared, the headline stark against the glossy page. His latest masterpiece, a cathedral bathed in natural light, lay in ruins; a victim of a freak storm. His life's work, shattered into a million glistening shards. Yet, amidst the debris, there bloomed a strange outcome. The devastation drew an army of volunteers, captivated by the fallen arch's ethereal beauty. Donations flooded in, exceeding the cost of reconstruction. The outcome, initially a desolate picture of lost income, morphed into an unexpected windfall, fueled by the public's newfound love for the broken monument. And so, the architect returned to his drawing board, a faint smile tracing his lips. The storm had reduced his masterpiece to smithereens, but from those fragments, a new, richer legacy would rise.
Cloudia: I haven't experimented with AI - which bothers me. This piece tells me I should. Thank you (and Bard).
DeleteAn interesting take.
DeleteWow, good stories EC.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and your family - and a Happy New Year.
Margaret D: Thank you - and to you and yours.
DeleteI too am so sorry to be so close and yet unable to meet. I wish I could say there will be another time, but at my age there isn't much hope of that. My phone has "WhatsApp" I could call you from Melbourne and we could talk if your phone has WhatApp. So, I wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Year, Sue.
ReplyDeleteAndrea @ From the Sol
Andrea @ From The Sol: I don't have WhatsApp. Do we need it - as I am sure I could get it if necessary. Let me know please.
DeleteYou and your followers are all so brilliant, EC. I have a couple of words to look up from that second list.
ReplyDeleteA merry, peaceful, blessed season to you.
Much love.
Rawknrobyn: Thank you. I am blown away each and every week by the very different directions the prompts take us. And a merry, peaceful, blessed season to you too dear friend.
DeleteI'm am always amazed at the creativity of the people who participate, Sue! Merry Christmas to you!
ReplyDeleteFundy Blue: It amazes, and delights me too. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Delete