Friday Fictioneers: Dawn Landau and Amy Reese. Cheers!
The following photograph is the PHOTO PROMPT. What does it say to you?
PHOTO PROMPT- Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Word Count: 100
LIFE FLIGHT
“Are you sure we’re doing the right thing, Gerald?”
“I’d say it’s kinda late to be asking that question.”
Vanessa looked out the oval airplane window and then at the Asian infant in her arms. Her dream come true. She’d traveled ten-thousand miles through tangled red tape to realize it.
“Do you think it will bug him that he doesn’t look like us?”
With an impish grin Gerald scrolled through his iPad until he came to a recent snapshot of the two of them. His blond hair and freckles contrasted her tight curls and chocolate complexion.
“What do you think?”
.
.
.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
Adoption is tough, Rochelle! And now after travelling for so many miles, it’s too late to contemplate their action… But, all will be fine! Gerald is such a sweet hubby 🙂
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Dear Anita,
I have some dear friends and cousins who have adopted from overseas. I know it’s not always the case, but all has gone well for them. I think Gerald and Vanessa will do just fine. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Totally love, ‘She’d traveled ten thousand miles through tangled red tape…’. Such a creative way of expressing the challenges of the adoption journey. Beautifully conveyed.
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Dear Diana,
I have a great admiration for people who adopt.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Adoption is a wonderful gift that people can give. To take on someone who needs it as if they are their own, that is selflessness in the extreme.
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Dear Al,
I have nothing but admiration for people who adopt.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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As do I.
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Not even home yet and already worrying..you don’t have to give birth to be a mother…or a worrier! I am sure they will do fine.
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Dear Pat,
We mothers are worriers, aren’t we? I’m pretty sure they’re going to be okay with their new family. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Elegant as ever.
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Thank you, Elephant. Nice of you to say so.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle, Wonderful story! I love that they are already a mixed family which doesn’t mean anything – only that they love and respect each other. Great! Nan 🙂
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Dear Nan,
More and more, mixed families are becoming a norm rather than an exception. Personally I like it.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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I loved the way you put it all together. Love and respect like Nan said is what’s important 🙂
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Dear Amanda,
It was one of those stories I really enjoyed writing. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Another beautiful story Rochelle! A lovely way to show how looking different means nothing at all in the end.
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Dear Jessie,
I see more and more racially blended families these days and I love it.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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An excellent story; very much relevant and with the times.
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I also find your writing style very easy to read
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Rochelle, This was a great story of a family formed by love. In today’s world, differences in color and ethnic roots fit together easily when there’s love. I’m sure they’ll do just fine. Well written as always. 🙂 —Susan
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Dear Susan,
I love the fact that people seem to be forgetting that this is fiction and have sent their well wishes to Gerald and Vanessa.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Beautiful story. Lucky baby to be chosen by these parents.
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Dear FF,
I think they’ll make a lovely family, too.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Bingo! Perfect.
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Funny … they didn’t look Jewish. 😀
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Dear Kent,
Shalom Y’all. Should be one helluva bris dontcha think?
Live long and prosper,
Cuzzin Rocky
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Sounds to me like everything will turn out just fine. Wonderful story, Rochelle.
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Dear Adam,
Fortunately I see more and more mixed couples being successful in their marriages. I know of a few personally.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Beautiful story Rochelle. Enjoyed reading it. I respect those who adopt and take good care.
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Dear Indira,
I too have a great deal of respect for parents who adopt. I have a cousin who adopted two children, one from Columbia, South America and the other from Korea. She, too traveled overseas to retrieve them.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You inspire me. It is teaching me how to see with expanded vision
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Dear Teresa,
Are you the one I know in person? You encourage me greatly.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Lovely story Rochelle. And I don’t think the child will notice the difference, lucky as he is to have found two people who really love him. Well done.
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Dear Sandra,
I’m inclined to agree with you. It was a fun story to write.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh, that’s just beautiful, With such open-minded parents, I think their new daughter will learn the lesson, and grow up to appreciate the “important” things in life. This is a lovely and heart-warming story, Rochelle. You’ve left me with a smile. 🙂
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Dear Eric,
We’d do well to remember that the true race is the human one. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have friends who wanted more children but because any more children could be born with the same genetic birth defect their first born had, they adopted their Little China Girl. She made their family complete. Lovely story.
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Dear Alicia,
I had a friend sort of in mind when I wrote this. Although he and his wife are both as blonde as they can be. They adopted to Asian girls who are adults now. One of the girls is married to a Caucasian man with whom she has two children. You can just see what a loving family this is.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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What a beautiful story! It moved me, and made me smile at the same time. Thank you!
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Dear Vijaya,
What a beautiful compliment. Thank you for that.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Like this a lot, Rochelle.
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Thank you, Kate.
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Oh, and Rochelle, these are my favorite lines: “Her dream come true. She’d traveled ten-thousand miles through tangled red tape to realize it.”
Perfectly worded.
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😀
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I love that ending, Rochelle! Reminds me of my family in so many ways. Thanks for sharing such a precious story about life this week.
Shalom, my friend.
Marie Gail
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Dear Marie Gail,
Thank you for being a precious friend.
The beautiful thing about adoption is that these children are chosen. I’ve seen in some of my friends and relatives the best of adoptions. My cousin went to Colombia and then to Korea for her kids who are both grown up now.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Gentle and elegant prose, Rochelle. I liked the ten thousand miles line in particular. I have so much respect for people who have adopted children, and I love the love you have shown between the couple here too.
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Dear Jennifer,
I have a cousin who traveled to South America and then to Korea for her two children. I have to admire that.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Lovely – just the worry means that they will be fine. I think a family is not about blood but about love.
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Dear Björn,
I quite agree with your take on family. It is about love.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Ah…that last sentence clincher! Very touching tale, and beautiful couple.
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Daer Annie,
Thank you for your kind and glowing comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That’s “Annie” as in “Annie-nonymous.” 😉
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I and my husband we have always wanted to adopt a child. Hoping someday we will…
We have a couple of adopted kids in the family, It’s a best gift parents can give to any child in need of it.
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Dear Vidhya,
I hope that you and your husband will realize your dreams.
Thank you for dropping by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a warm and gentle story. Thank you for that very inspiring photo.
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Dear Loré,
I’m happy to supply the photo. I took it from the window as we were leaving Minneapolis. A rather turbulent take off.
Thank you,
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Loved this. Adoption is a tough choice and it sucks that people make an issue about something as silly as appearance. I just read a story about a fertility clinic in Calgary that REFUSES to inseminate a woman with interracial sperm. Ridiculous! So basically they want to have kids in the city all related to each other since there are limited ‘white donors’ and those donors have been used many times!
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Dear Carrie,
Inbreeding? Scarier than interracial sperm. Appearance really is skin deep. I find the difference in humans fascinating and is one of the things I love about Friday Fictioneers.
Thank you for dropping by.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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This was so cute….touching and meaningful. I loved that little snapshot at the end too…darling!
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Dear Claudia,
Happy you came by with your lovely comments.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The only reason people are bothered by families that don’t “match” is it is because of what we have grown accustomed to. One day the more open minded of us will influence the less so and we will think nothing of families who do not “match”. I love stories like these that encourage such open-mindedness. Bravo.
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Dear Dawn,
Happily I see more and more interracial families who are successful. The daughter of a close friend of mine has been married to a black man for twenty-five years. They have four lovely daughters. She’s not the only one I know but she’s the first one who comes to mind. I agree with you. Hopefully as this is more common people will be more accepting.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
I love this story and not just because I’m planning to adopt from overseas. I would love to adopt a Korean child, especially. This story is perfect from beginning to end.
-David
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Dear David,
Who better to adopt a Korean child? All my best to you and your wife.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I loved the picture at the end. And the story is beautiful Rochelle! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Ankita. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Nice one here Rochelle – how wonderful the world would be if we could just ignore the color of our skin.
However its too difficult to adopt for for a single male in India, as I saw it from my personal experience.
And its great to see fellow Fictioneers meeting again ! 🙂
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Dear Indrajit,
You have my undying respect for attempting to adopt.
As I have dear friends in many colors, I agree with you. Look beyond that and see the person.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a sweet story! I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t already been said — so I’ll just say “Brava!”
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Dear Jen,
And I say simply, “Thank you.”
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
What a delightful story and accompanying photo. We are all brothers and sisters under the skin. I wonder if we were all blind whether we’d still find a way to discriminate? “You don’t sound right!”. A great story, girl.
Aloha,
Doug
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Dear Doug,
What color is love? You raise a great question. Unfortunately, Sadly I believe the answer is “yes.”
In Loving Color
Shalom,
Rochelle
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loved the story – great thoughts – and great picture to underscore the story’s worry theme.
Puts it all in perspective.
Randy
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Dear Randy,
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all put things into perspective and get along?
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a lovely story! I think they’ll do fine though I’m sure they’ll have to put up with some narrow-minded people (as I expect the parents already do).
Great picture at the bottom to bring it home.
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Dear Ali,
There will always be narrow minded critical people butting their noses in where they don’t belong.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A wonderful story, beautifully told and very thought provoking. I loved the photo at the end of the story.
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Thank you, Maree. Glad you liked.
shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s a beautiful story (and I automatically thought of the first story in your book! I enjoyed that one, too.) And on a side, I love that little girl in those commercials. I love the one with the baby brother and the puppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuQrKeGe6g.
~Sarah
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Dear Sarah,
Your reference to my book makes me smile.
I almost inserted that particular commercial into my blog but decided to just go with the meme instead.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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That was clever. But a serious subject.
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Dear Patrick,
Indeed it is a serious subject. I’ve heard the pros and cons and I lean toward the pros.
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
Beautiful and sweet. So many happy days a head.
Blessings, Phyllis
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Dear Phyllis,
I think this story could be made into a longer work. Something to add to my writing bucket list of things to do after I retire.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
I have a few of those.
So many stories, to little time to write.
Blessings, Phyllis
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Good one. I love the picture on the bottom, too.
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Dear Audrey,
Thank you on both counts. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a wonderful family. Imagine all the people living life in peace.
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Dear Subroto,
A great thing to imagine. Cruel irony that the singer/songwriter’s life ended with an act of violence, isn’t it?
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Blue Angel,
What an angelic tale of love and what a lucky kid. I’ve always heard that adopted kids were special because they were chosen.
I’ve been orphaned almost five years now, and even though I smile real cute and try to say all the right things in the interviews, no one wants to adopt me. Do you think it’s my deodorant, or my love for beans that’s hurting my chances?
– Captain Brooks
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Dear Captain Brooks,
I’ve been an orphan for thirty years now (really? that long?) I’d say our chances of adoption are limited. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Aw, I really liked this, Rochelle. And the pic-with-caption at the end – a lovely and sensible approach. 🙂 Great story 🙂
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Dear Joanna,
I’m pleased that you came by this week. Always nice to see you,
Thank you for your lovely comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a beautiful story! It sounds like a lovely little family, and that picture at the end was a great addition.
I’ve always thought the commercial it was from was one of the cuter ones.
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Dear Emilie,
I agree. It’s a great commercial…two great commercials actually.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have often wondered about the different skin colour thing. Maybe it is only skin deep. 🙂 I caught a ride with a young woman who had 2 very blonde boys of her own and a very black baby girl adopted from Ethiopia. The little girl would call out ‘I love you, mommy!’ throughout the ride. So sweet just like your story!
Lily
PS then there was me to add to the mix of colours in the car. 🙂
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Dear Lily,
Sounds like a colorful ride and I’m sure you made a lovely addition to the mix. It’s what I think of as the Creator’s palette.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Cheers to you too, Rochelle! Nice take on the prompt. I have one, I hope I can write it. As always, thanks for the inspiration.
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Dear Amy,
I love that photo of you and Dawn. I look forward to your take on the prompt.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Awww, thanks! It was so fun to have a glass of champagne with her!
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This reminded me of a video I watched some time ago, where children were shown an advert with mixed race parents in it, and they had no issue with it, and yet the advert was rejected because of the race issue.
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Dear Lauren,
They say you can’t fix stupid. Your story is a prime example.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Love the voices in this – Gerald’s ‘… it’s kinda late…’ He’s already allaying Vanessa’s fears in the best possible way. I think these three will do well together. Love is all any child needs and this one has it in spades.
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Dear Sarah Ann,
I have great hopes for this little family even if they don’t really exist. 😉
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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i felt the excitement coming from your characters as they begin a new life…a mini United Nations in the making. wonderful story and photo this week…again, thanks!
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Dear Sun,
Perhaps we could all learn something from them, eh
Thank you.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle you nailed it!
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Thank you, Riya.
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Your story was so beautiful…adoption is such a wonderful thing. Especially when there are so many parents who are desperate for children to love and children dying for parents to rock them to sleep at night. I hope everything turns out alright.
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Dear Preeti,
I’m a huge fan of adoption. I think everything will turn out well for this family.
Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a sweet and tender story, Rochelle. Each week, you tickle my creativity. Thanks! Shavua tov!
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Dear Dawn,
What a busy lady you are this week. Better late than never and two great stories to boot. 😉 Always happy to tickle.
Todah rabbah v’shavuah tov,
Shalom,
Rochelle
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It’s been a busy summer, for sure! I’ll be glad to quiet down a little in the fall– although we have a pretty fall schedule this year too! It’s been a very strange, busy year! Friday Fictioneers keeps me grounded. 🙂
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Good one, Rochelle. Gee you get a lot of comments. I’m jealous. Lucy
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Thank you, Lucy. 😀
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Dear Rochelle
This is a great story, loved it. I am a huge fan of adoption, I have an adopted cousin and it feels so right having him as part of our family.
Thanks for posting the photo of Dawn and Amy, really nice to see them.
Take care
Dee
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Dear Dee,
We had some good friends years ago who, after being told they couldn’t have children, adopted a boy and later had two of their own. Had they not told us the story we’d never known the difference.
Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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We should all be so lucky to be so loved.
Sorry still can’t deal with adding photos, but I did add your link. 🙂
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Thanks for coming by, Jules.
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Hi, I loved your story but gutted I missed linking mine up by just 20 minutes 😦 if you would like to read it anyway my link is http://westwoodwords.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/letter-home-friday-fictioneers/
Thanks 🙂 Liz
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Thanks for the comment and the link, Liz.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi! Mythwriter steered me here — I’m very new (had an account, did nothing with it) but she introduced me to this and I joined the Friday Fictioneers. Hope that’s okay. thank you for the opportunity — and the fun story above.
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PS I have no idea why it’s not showing my icon, but no doubt eventually I’ll figure out things like that.
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Dear Kestrel,
Welcome aboard! I think the problem with your link might have something to do with which link box. This was last week’s story and linkz list. Each week the link opens on Wednesday morning at 2:30 AM-CDT and closes the following Tuesday at 6:55 PM. So if you’re trying to link to the box on this post that’s why you’re unable to link.
You’ll find the current post here https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/8-august-2014/
There’s still time to link to that one as it has two more days.
Hope this helps.
shalom,
Rochelle
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