mouse

Doug-- Sounds like a real life move to me-- hang in there.

giraffe

Good point, Mouse. It's not like changing shirts.

Doug

oh too real....

mouse

Once I moved with 2 little ones in tow, One was 2 the other 6 weeks. Moved from Calif to Pa.in a broken down car. Took 2 weeks. We looked like vagabonds, That in itself would make a good story LOL

mouse

This is a last minute entry. I decided to follow through on one of my many "moves". This is actually a true story from my youth. The time was 1966, before disposable diapers, when baby bottles need sterilized every day and formula made with boiled water. So fill in between the lines. Actually the story is so much longer. I still chuckle at that trip-- Enjoy

350 counting title

The Trip

Well, it is yet another smoldering, hot, day in sunny California. I cannot stand it here another minute. Neighbors are not at all friendly and the heat is unbearable. .

We have finally decided to head back to Pa, where one can enjoy “seasons”. Heavens, I never thought I would miss the cold winters, but I do. I want my 2 little ones to be able to play in the snow and run in the rain.

Our life here was not what we thought it would be at all. Jobs are scarce and the cost of living is sky high. We are making a marginal living at best. We need to go back were we can expand our opportunities in a less congested and friendlier atmosphere.


We have an old, beat up, Pontiac, a dinosaur of a car, guzzles gas like a drunk guzzles beer. But, at least it isn’t a V.W. Beetle, an insect of a car. We have so much stuff to haul a little car just won’t do.

If it were not for the benevolence of our relatives who live along the route we will take, I doubt we could make this trip. They have invited us to stop, spend a few days and refresh ourselves.

The trip itself is a real challenge. The car broke down not a 100 miles into the trip. It took 3 hrs to get it running. The first & Last nights on the road we spent at a motel.. Now, when you pull into a nice place, with a crib on top and a mattress on the back sea, you feel very conspicuous.

We made it as far as Texas when we needed brakes. Next stop, Oklahoma, and tires were needed.

By this time it was 10 days into the trip. I was feeling a little gross from all the dust and sweat ( no A/C) . But, a cool, refreshing shower and I was feeling lovely once more.

There were times I know our 2 yr old felt restrictive but all in all she made the trip nicely..

giraffe

275 with title

HORROR HUMOR

The giant insect was hovering over me. Her breath was hot and then cold. I thought I was going to die on the spot. But she let go of her restrictive grip on my legs and looked at me benevolently. Her eyes were actually quite lovely. Multi-faceted, orange colored orbs that looked right through me. Still I got up and ran to the corner of the room.

She crept up on me slowly. I'd already gotten used to her gross odor, but the movement of all those legs still scared me. I'm marginally in love with my captor - this ...... thing. She seems to know it.

"Which came first - the dinosaur or the bug?" she asked me with those eyes.

"Definitely the bug!" I was pleading for my life. She looked at me for a few moments and then turned around. This expansive thing came out of her back and planted itself on my belly. I didn't know it then, but she was planting eggs.

Then she went away. Never to be seen again. My stomach is growing and I don't know how many insects I will have or how the birth will happen. I just know I will love them all. If it's 100, I'll name them 1 through 100. If it's 2, I'll name them Brittney and Kimberly or Sean and Jacob. You never know until you spread their little legs apart.

They'll all look at me with those adoring orange eyes. They'll probably crawl all over me out of affection. I call it 'unconditional love'. I loved their mother even though it was a momentary affair. I rock in my chair and await whatever the future brings.

giraffe

Mouse. Congrats on making it through that journey. I don't honestly know if I could do that. It takes a lot of chutzpah and sincerity. I'm glad you can look back and chuckle.

And tomorrow is the last day to submit. Where did everybody go? Did I kill TW again?

mrsjesus

Canyons (no rules)

Through the years she'd watched him change. The lines on his face becoming more prominent. Defining the pain, disappointment, and ultimate anger that made him the man he'd become. His once well defined abdominal muscles had now slumped into a comfortable paunch. His step a little slower.

She could feel the chasm between them growing. The last years had been a gradual deterioration of what she had once believed to be rock solid.... and it wasn't coming back. She knew this day would come.... Standing at a divide.... together, yet with a canyon of disappointment separating them.

She didn't love him. He was a good father, but cold and distant to her. They rarely slept together anymore and when they had, that too was nothing but a physical act. He would finish, she would roll over and crawl into herself. The emptiness was her prison cell and he had been the warden.

She laughed aloud, "Time to break out" she said with wet eyes and no regrets. She zipped her suitcase, took one last look around the bedroom she'd spent so many nights in.... mostly alone. GO she told herself. The kids were packed and waiting when she went downstairs. He was there, as always. Motionless and emotionless....

"I'm going now". Nothing. "Come on, kids". Sara put her arms around her father. He kissed her gently and then, a rare tear showing in the corner of his eye. Nick, just 4 years now, rushed into his dad's arms and began to cry. Her heart shattered. I can't do this, she thought. He rocked Nick in his arms as he cried. This was the man she had married a million years ago. The handsome, gentle, caring man that was now trying to comfort the son they both had hurt so deeply.

Sara, barely 8 years old, took her mother's hand in hers, looked up at her and said, "Come on, Mom. You know what Grandma says... If you keep looking back, you can't see where you're going".

John looked at her directly, an entire lifetime passing through a single stare. Still holding her mother by the hand, Sara led her and Nick out of a house that used to be their home, and closed the door.

giraffe

Mrsjesus. Sounds like a final recognition of loss. Mouse's story is similar. Very well written without any rules applying. Hope to get more stories from you. Try to use some of the words, though. Stick to some format.

marius

Wow to Mrsjesus, mouse and giraffe. Like all three stories, much.

Mrsjesus, I do not think you can be fired for not following TW rules. It might eliminate you from getting chosen to carry the torch, but not sure about that. I say, break the rules, follow your own format and send giraffe to his room. (tee hee and a little lol!) : )

giraffe, I don't know where some of the TW folks have gone but I'd blame the pixies. They never do let up for long - purple water or not. But then, um, didn't you use grape juice and margarine? THAT might explain a lot! : )

Doug, hope you get settled in your new abode and that things smooth out. It really is taxing to the nervous system to sign one's name 5,862 times! But, that part is over now and the country air is sure to invigorate the body, mind and soul!

goodnight all!

anotherronism

Holy shit! Giraffe's "SUNDAY FUNNIES" is actually f-ing good. And funny too...

Qsilv

Holy shit.... you live! (smiles) we've missed you, dude

anotherronism

Guys... and gals if I must... Do you realize how bad this stuff is?

I am so proud that this thing has sustained... But OMFG! I couldn't read past the first line of anything other than Giraffe's.

My homecoming has been stalled by misery.

Step it up. Bring your a-game. Come on! This thing was supposed to be about creativity - not schmaltz. Stop it!

anotherronism

QSilv - I'll write about it all one day - it's been one of those life experiences which are actually "worth" writing about... Smiles...

Qsilv

...eyebrow rising ..........

anotherronism

You tempt me babe.

Qsilv

good. QsilvW@gmail.com (we've been talking 'bout you behind your back)

anotherronism

Can anyone summarize briefly the new rules so I can write something?

anotherronism

Check your inbox Qs!

Qsilv

Did.

New are similar to your old --with mutiny allowed of course.

Coupla hundred words or so on average, 10 words chosen by new leader, variations on those are fine.