Welcome to FRIDAY FICTIONEERS, a growing global family of blogging writers founded by Madison Woods.
We have some December Fictioneer birthdays. I apologize if I’ve missed any. My sources are limited.
Ted Strutz-Dec. 4
Sandra Crook-Dec. 15
Kent Bonham-Dec. 21
Mary Shipman (Oldentimes)-Dec. 22
Jennifer Pendergast (elmowrites)-Dec. 31
************
The rules that follow are simple:
- Please copy your URL to the Linkz collection. You’ll find the tab following the photo prompt. It’s the little white box to the left with the blue froggy guy. Click on it and follow directions.
- Please make sure your link works. If you find that you’ve made an error you can delete by clicking the little red ‘x’ that should appear under your icon. Then re-enter your URL. (If there’s no red x email me at Runtshell@aol.com. I can delete the wrong link for you).
- If your blog requires multiple steps for visitors to leave comments, see if you can simplify it. Please, for the sake or our writerly nerves, disable CAPTCHA –that wavy line of unreadable letters and numbers. It’s frustrating to have to leave a DNA sample, your blood type and your shoe size just to make a comment. (So I exaggerate. But hopefully you get the picture).
- Challenge yourself to keep stories to 100 words. (There’s no penalty for going over or under).
- Make note in your blog if you’d prefer not to have constructive criticism.
- Be kind in your comments to others. Please, exercise discretion.
- My story follows the photo prompt for those who would rather write before reading other stories. I appreciate your comments and critiques. 😉
- *NOTE-If you’re not posting a flash fiction, please DO NOT use this site or anyone else’s page for political platforms or advertisements.
***Click here to see what others are saying about blog challenges and us.***
THIS WEEK’S PHOTO PROMPT
from Rich Voza
Copyright-Rich Voza
Here’s my own story for this week.
PRELUDE TO SUCCESS
“Failure.”
The sterile walls echoed the word as he shuffled down the long corridor and ruminated over the loss of his day job. It was the first morning in five he’d showered or dressed.
“Why me?”
He wanted to turn back but he couldn’t renege on a promise.
Stopping at room 223, he pushed open the door and then tiptoed to the bed. Feeding tubes and IV’s snaked around the tiny girl.
His heart raged with more why’s.
“Marissa?” He caressed her chemo-bald head.
Her chocolate-brown eyes fluttered open and shone with innocent faith.
“Santa, I knew you’d come!”
****
Final Note: This story is dedicated to a couple of genuine Santas, John Schuech and Allan Buford. (Yes, the beards are real).
John Schuech
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/03/3947216/santa-brings-holiday-cheer-to.html
Allan Buford
*Epilogue: Months after the posting of this blog, the much commented on word, “glabrous” meaning bald still bugged me. So I’ve returned and changed the word to “chemo-bald”. I think it works better and is more understandable. So for those who might happen by and wonder at the comments, there’s the explanation.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Dear Rochelle,
What is important to one is a trifle to another. What is a trial to some is a walk in the park to others. For every person out there with a challenge or a problem, there is someone else who would gladly trade with them.
I will be Santa for the Keck Observatory children in ten days. Talk about responsibility. You should see the look in the eyes of a child who believes.
Thank you for a great reminder that life is the most precious gift of all and that love is the answer.
Aloha,
Doug
LikeLike
Good for you, Doug. I put on a Santa suit and visited a nursing home one year. My wife wore and elf constume and our kids handed our candy canes. They may not have believed in Santa, but the joy in their eyes was the most precious gift I have ever received.
LikeLike
Good for you, Doug!
LikeLike
I know you will make a fine Santa… I’ve met you.
LikeLike
i got excited! i thought ted’s photo was the prompt! lol ^^
LikeLike
KZ… let’s hope not.
LikeLike
Me too!
LikeLike
Oh that one was superlative…thank goodness I didn’t look before posting mine! Really that was a nice piece I just read.
LikeLike
me and pirate had a little race haha awesome! i did get inspiration from your wonderful hospital story if you don’t mind ^^ http://theeclecticeccentricshopaholic.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/friday-fictioneers-100-words-story-challenge-v/ thank you for this challenge! ^^
LikeLike
Happy to inspire, KZ.
LikeLike
Oh, this was just so, so good. The tale is moving along nicely but when I hit the end, I was transported the child I once was. You snapped belief back into place with 100 words!
LikeLike
Very sweet, Rochelle.
LikeLike
for anyone interested, this picture was taken at a very new – opened in august – all-inclusive hotel in cancun, mexico. my daughter is a travel agent and recommended i go there, and she also wanted some info so she could know how and to whom she could recommend the place. although the rooms were amazingly beautiful, the hallway seemed rather oddly geometric and sterile. i’m trying to write a post about my week there, but i haven’t gotten around to it yet. perhaps i’ll just post the pictures and let them speak for themselves.
LikeLike
Hotel, shmotel. I’m calling it a hospital. Never mind that hospital room doors don’t generally come with peepholes.
LikeLike
naturally you’re free to do whatever you want. and that’s a good thing.
LikeLike
It’s the home of overactive imaginations.
LikeLike
It’s a stunning photo, Rich and it was begging to be prompt. Thanks for sharing it with us. Of course you know some of us use the prompt as a hint or impressionn not an illustration. 😉
LikeLike
no need to thank me. i was happy to be in such a place to take such a picture, regardless of how it is interpreted. or thought of.
LikeLike
Which brings me to something I wanted to say, Great Leader. It’s a little bit more work for you, but when sending out the prompt, could you include a link to the photo owner’s site or blog so that those who want to can add the link when uploading?
I think it is a good thing for the photo owner.
LikeLike
Ahhh, you’re the Rich whose picture it is. Didn’t know your last name. 🙂
LikeLike
oh crap. busted.
LikeLike
Ha! Don’t go by that Pic!
LikeLike
Rich”s picture was the prompt but yours was…hmmmm….amazing?!! 🙂
LikeLike
Do you think alcohol was involved?
LikeLike
Of course not!!
LikeLike
I found the alley a little odd at first, but the more I stared at the picture the more I liked it.
I like the floor specially, the way everything reflects there.
Nice photo.
LikeLike
thanks a bunch.
LikeLike
That is a beautiful story, Rochelle. Here’s to Santas everywhere. Hip. Hip. Hooray! 🙂 It is they’re way to give back in ways and bring joy to those little, big and in-between some joy and fun at Christmas. I remember a very special and wonderful Santa too growing up in Colorado Springs (Co.) of a Santa with a natural white beard that worked at the North Pole in Manitou Springs. I loved him. And even saw him downtown one day walking around in his ‘street’ clothes. He was a special Santa to me and all the other boys and girls. That was a very long time ago, but the memory is there.
LikeLike
that was a very unexpected ending. well done. i guess the loss of day job refers to christmas being over, but the 5 days without a shower surprised me. of course, one could always interpret the story in that the girl was having trouble focusing or even possibly mentally altered from medication – but i have a feeling that it was something more “unreal” instead of “real.” oh – glabrous?
LikeLike
As I’ve gone onto say. I could’ve used a few more words but am anal about the 100 word challenge. His Santa gig is not his day job. The girl does indeed see a man with a white beard in a red suit.
LikeLike
As for glabrous. Great word…look it up.
LikeLike
I did … great new word to describe a little girl’s condition – as opposed to a self pitying elder.
LikeLike
I read the loss of job and five days without a shower to mean a struggling, unemployed man was keeping a promise made during a recent, abruptly ended stint as Santa.
LikeLike
Ah for 50 more words! Being Santa is a volunteer position. His day job was something else.
LikeLike
And all this time I thought the man in the red suit got a paycheck… Paid or not, I liked your story!
LikeLike
I don’t know if my Santa friends pictured are paid for what they do. I do know that they put their hearts into the role. (They do both have “regular day jobs” and, as far as I know, are still employed.) I’ve posted a link under John’s picture. The article appeared in the KC Star.
LikeLike
I bet it would make all the bald people in the world feel better if we called them glabrous. You know, I never really considered Santa’s hygiene habits. Now, when I get up Christmas morning I’ll sniff around the fireplace instead of checking under the tree.
Great story, Rochelle. Thanks for sharing some Christmas magic.
LikeLike
Oh Rochelle… you will pay.
LikeLike
p.s. thanks for the birthday wish…
LikeLike
He he. You’re welcome, Ted.
LikeLike
Dear Ted,
It’s no fun punishing someone who’s on the verge of laughing to death at what she’s done. (But try anyway:)
Aloha,
Doug
LikeLike
Pay? Me? Shall we talk wedding pictures and toilet bowls, Teddy?
Yes, Doug…I am LAUGHING!!!!!
LikeLike
Very funny, Doug.
LikeLike
Nice touching story, Rochelle.
Randy
LikeLike
This type of action shows the true spirit of Christmas! Can anyone tell we’re getting closer? Thanks for this story, Rochelle, and I love the pictures of the real Santas.
LikeLike
That story is so touching!
(Let me look up glabrous) 🙂
LikeLike
Very sad, very touching. And a new word there – never came across that before. This was a sobering story Rochelle, beautifully written.
LikeLike
A lovely story Rochelle and a new word for me too. I’m never too sure about using a broad vocabulary in writing. Great online where you can look the word up, but as a reader I’m not keen on coming across words I don’t know. Still, looking back, it’s how I learned a lot of new words as a kid, coming across them in books and gradually figuring out what they meant (too bone idel to go find a dictionary).
LikeLike
Thanks, Anne, I’m glad you liked it. Loved your story, too.
As for the new word. I’m a raving logophile, I love words and learning new ones is a passion. Admittedly I don’t care to read something that’s so littered with $100 (£100) words I have to run to the dictionary every other one, but a new one here and there inspires me.
In this story, bald just didn’t do it for me so I ran for the thesaurus (I have one on each computer, in hardback and on my iPhone…I’m not just addicted to purple)
.
LikeLike
Very inspirational Rochelle. This a very different take on the Christmas spirit. Beautiful.
LikeLike
I loved this story, Rochelle. A man lost in deep depression, but fulfilling his promise to play Santa, because he had a big white beard (and maybe a Santa heart). It might not even be December, but he goes. I think he finds promise in the form of a little girl.
LikeLike
Happy “belated” Birthday, Ted. Hope it was a great one.
LikeLike
Thank you, Lora.
LikeLike
You’re spot on, Ted.
LikeLike
A touching story, Rochelle. I have a feeling that little girl’s smile and happy reaction is going to lift his depression and…who knows…may even be a turning point in his sad life. Loved the charming Santa photos at the end. Not written mine yet.
LikeLike
I wasn’t expecting Santa at the end of that one. Hopefully, the tiny girl will bring a smile to the man’s face. Wow, those Santas look very authentic. Thanks for sharing. Nice one!
LikeLike
I liked this. It reminds us that even though we feel like we are worthless nobodies there’s always someone out there who thinks the world of us.
LikeLike
Hi Rochelle,
A great Santa story, though the realization was saved for the end. You made Santa seem very human! Ron
LikeLike
Rochelle,
A sweet piece.
Tom
LikeLike
I had tears in my eyes, then that little pic at the end did it. Wonderful story.
LikeLike
Terrific story, and I don’t give out “terrific’s” lightly! Touching, inspiring, and multi-layered, it works beautifully …
LikeLike
Then I shan’t take your “terrific” lightly either, Perry. I’m humbled by such high praise.
LikeLike
Hi! I just found You!! So happy to be part of the 100 word Flash Fictioneers! 🙂
Really excited and really enjoying writing – well it’s my 1st one 😉
I am touched by your story. The last line just took it for me. Sensitive.
Great to be part of this….. Off to grab the badge for my Blog with a link back to here – hoping that’s Ok? Plus I’ll let you know if I had any trouble linking my story – I am pretty sure that it worked, but I’ll check.
Great fun!! 😀
LikeLike
Yep, all is well with the link! (so enjoying this!) 😀
LikeLike
That’s a great, uplifting story, especially considering the season. Even if we can only do a little, it can make a huge impact on someone else’s life.
LikeLike
What an unexpected and truly delightful surprise. Well done, Rochelle, you should be very proud of this story.
LikeLike
I felt that little kid’s smile, Rochelle. Touching story and well-written. I liked the use of the word “glabrous”, brought a chill that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
LikeLike
Very sweet and moving. You evoked exactly the feeling any child would have but especially one so sick he or she might not celebrate Christmas. Good job.
Here’s mine: http://unexpectedpaths.com/friday-fictioneers/the-purge/
LikeLike
Nice little story, Rochelle. Although having to break off and look up ‘glabrous’ slowed me down a bit. I’m just a simple country boy! I admire your vocabulary, maybe I need to work on mine.
Whilst it’s good to stretch ourselves in that way, I personally prefer to keep it real. If I’m telling a story, then I would naturally tell it in my own voice. If ‘glabrous’ was a word I used everyday, then I’d use it in a story. In other words, it works for you, but I couldn’t pull it off.
Well done.
LikeLike
If it wasn’t before, glabrous is indelibly etched into my vocabulary. Has more charm than “bald” or “chrome dome”.
LikeLike
Ooh, Rochelle, I loved your story! Took me a while to work it out, but from the comments I see that I was right to assume the day job wasn’t the Santa job. You remind us to focus on the important things, however hard that can be. Big up all the Santas out there!
By the way, I’m another December birthday – 31st!
LikeLike
Thanks, Jen, your kind comments are much appreciated.
And an early happy birthday, I’ll add the date to the list. 😉
LikeLike
Great one Rochelle! I had a false start before I settled on my submission. I hope you guys enjoy. http://joeowensblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/friday-fictioneers-december-7th-echoes/
LikeLike
Beautiful story.
LikeLike
A story of faith and redemption, all in 100 words. Well done. Mine ish here: http://erinleary.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/flash-friday-fiction-16/ I can’t seem to find the Linkz icon on the page today….
LikeLike
To the bottom left of the prompt, Erin. Thanks for kind comment.
LikeLike
Good morning all. Here’s my post. 100 words exactly. 😉
http://rendezvouswithrenee.com/2012/12/07/friday-fictioneers-terminal/
LikeLike
Well written, Rochelle. It’s an interesting twist to have Santa struggle to do his job – but very human.
My story also touches on a character who feels like a failure – it will be interesting to see how many other people include something similar! http://newpillowbook.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/friday-fictioneers-entrance-exam/
LikeLike
LikeLike
An absolutely beautiful story. You’ve made me want those extra words you left out. I want to know what you’ve only hinted to.
LikeLike
Very cute story Rochelle. This compensates for som of the darker ones… A smile on my face.
LikeLike
Sweet, sad story. (I had to google ‘glabrous’ – I’ve learned a new word!). I’ve been following a few Friday Fictioneers for a while and have just plucked up the courage to join in. Thanks for hosting – I hope to become a regular!
LikeLike
Beautiful story.
I went in a different direction. http://zennjennc.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/friday-fictioneers-zombie-hospital/
LikeLike
That was a beautiful piece.
LikeLike
I enjoyed your heartwarming story. 🙂
LikeLike
A happy interlude for two people who face great adversity at Christmastime. Nicely done, Rochelle.
LikeLike
Ted, happy birthday. Doug, good luck with the Santa gig. Must be old hat by now! Rochelle, beautiful story. My hat’s off to you for an inspiring 100 words. True story: 2007, spent Christmas Eve at a bed and breakfast. The next morning I went downstairs and unexpectedly met Santa and his wife. They were heading back home to Colorado and told me he is always recognized wherever he goes. Even one summer in Japan while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts. Every year he plays Santa, often at a different venue. I have the hair, I can grow the beard, but the extra pounds I’m just not sure!
LikeLike
Dear Paul,
There are men out there who take on the Santa mantle. The two pictures after my story are two such men. John, in particular, lives the part all year long. If I were to believe in Santa Claus it would be him.
Glad you liked my story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
This is my first Friday Fictioneers writing response!! Check out my blog and leave some comments, I would love some constructive criticism.
LikeLike
Poor guy. Then heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. Pain and happiness within torture. A beautifully written piece 🙂
LikeLike