THE VIRTUES OF SIMPLICITY

Published March 26, 2017 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman takes us to Nassau, Bahamas

How I wish this trip could be made in person. A virtual trip will have to suffice for now. The photo below is my choice from the Pegman Buffet. 😉

To enjoy stories inspired by the What Pegman Saw prompt or to submit your own 150-word story, visit the inLinkz button:

For guidelines and rules for the What Pegman Saw weekly writing prompt, visit the home page.

Thanks to K Rawson and J Hardy Carroll

Genre: Fiction

Word Count: 150

THE VIRTUES OF SIMPLICITY

“I’m tired of cartoons,” said the little girl with round eyes the color of ripe cocoa plums. “Tell me a story, Great-Grandpa.”

He clicked off the television. “Soul-destroying nonsense. Shall I tell you about Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Tell me what it was like when you were a boy in the Bahamas.”

He gathered her onto his lap. “We were so poor we didn’t have a telephone or electricity or even indoor plumbing. But we had the bluest skies at our temples and the ocean at our feet.”

“What did you do for fun?”

“I climbed trees, ate wild bananas and went swimming almost every day.”

“You were lucky! Did you ever go to the movies?”

“I didn’t even see a movie until I was twelve.”

“And now you’re a movie star like Denzel Washington.”

Sidney Poitier kissed his great-granddaughter. “Nah, I’m just an ordinary guy.”

*

Sidney Poitier in one of my favorite films, “To Sir with Love”in 1967

Sidney Poitier receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009

LORD OF ALL BEASTS

Published March 20, 2017 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman takes us to Kampala, Uganda .

Feel free to stroll around the area using the Google street view and grab any picture you choose to include in your post.

To enjoy stories inspired by the What Pegman Saw prompt or to submit your own 150-word story, visit the inLinkz button:

For guidelines and rules for the What Pegman Saw weekly writing prompt, visit the home page.

Many thanks to J Hardy Carroll and K Rawson for hosting this challenge that I can’t seem to resist.

Due to another insanely busy weekend and no extra head space, I’m a bit late for the party. This was a learning experience for me.

My prompt selection from the Pegman Buffet

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 150

LORD OF ALL BEASTS

Assa handed the young woman a package filled with herbs. “Put these in your tea and, in less than a year, you will hold your little one in your arms, Dembe.”

Dembe’s full lips spread into a smile and her dark cheeks shone with tears. “Thank you, I hope he will be a strong, handsome boy like yours, Mrs. Dada.”

“Call me Mzazi, for I am not longer a wife, only a mother.”

Gazing out the window, Assa watched her ten-year-old son trudge up the dusty road. His slow pace and stooped shoulders told her he was weary from a day of working in the fields. This would not be so had Andreas not cast them out, swearing the child was not his. Her anger burned white-hot.

“Jambo, Miss Dembe.” He bowed as he entered the house.

Hugging her package to her chest, Dembe nodded. “Jambo yourself, Bwana Idi Amin.”

.

17 March 2017

Published March 15, 2017 by rochellewisoff

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast

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Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 100

VANISHING ACT

I raise my head and glare at my reflection. Tears make trails through the foaming skin cleanser.

Tomorrow I’ll walk down the aisle to my faithful Pavel.

I rinse my face and blot it dry.

Time heals all wounds they say.

Pavel’s diamond sparkles next to the pinky ring Enan gave me two years ago. I slip it off and read the engraving. “ILY Forever.”

“Forever didn’t last long, did it, Enan?”

Poof!

Now you see him, now you don’t.

The bastard.

Dropping Enan’s ring down the drain I bleed afresh.

I wish I could hate him, but I don’t.

10 March 2017

Published March 8, 2017 by rochellewisoff

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PHOTO PROMPT © Shaktiki Sharma

Please be considerate and try to keep your stories to 100 words. Thank you.

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME

“No, Poppa, don’t fence me-e-e-e i-i-in,” sang Ellen Cohen, her pudgy hands on her swaying hips.

Bess marveled at her seven-year-old daughter who looked at home under the bright lights. “Imagine, Phillip, our little girl at the Hippodrome.”

“Kate Smith couldn’t sing it better.” He grinned. “Today Baltimore, tomorrow Hollywood.”

After the show, anger drilled Bess when a stranger pinched Ellen’s cheek and said, “What a voice. Too bad she’s,” the woman lowered her voice, “on the zoftig side.”

The future Cass Elliot stuck out her tongue. “Someday I’m going to be the most famous fat girl in the world.”

*

Ellen Naomi Cohen aka Cass Elliot

September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974

3 March 2017

Published March 1, 2017 by rochellewisoff

* Check out this link to the writer formerly known as Madison Woods, the creator of Friday Fictioneers.

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Please be considerate and try to keep your story to 100 words. Thank you.

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Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

CLASS CLOWN

Esther fidgeted in her chair as the seventh grade English teacher, Miss Foley, leaned forward with an authoritative air and cleared her throat. “Your son—”

“He’s disruptive, isn’t he? Either he talks out of turn or has his head in the clouds.”

“He does enjoy center stage,” said Miss Foley with a fond smile. “One of my classroom’s brightest stars.”

“You mean he’s not in trouble?”

“Oh my, no.”

“Then why did you ask me here?”

“To discuss his special talents, Mrs. Serling. Someday, I predict Roddy will be a great orator for he has so much to say.”

.

Helen Foley

Sam, Roddy and Esther Serling

THE MEASURE OF CIVILIZATION

Published February 25, 2017 by rochellewisoff

This week Pegman takes us to the Amazon…not Amazon.com…but the original one in Brazil.

To enjoy stories inspired by the What Pegman Saw prompt or to submit your own 150-word story, visit the inLinkz button:

For guidelines and rules for the What Pegman Saw weekly writing prompt, visit the home page.

Here’s the photo I chose from the Google Buffet.

Thanks to K Rawson for hosting this challenge!

Ah the joy of 50 extra words! I’ve taken one of my older Friday Fictioneers pieces and given it a make-over.

Genre: Fiction

Word Count: 150

THE MEASURE OF CIVILIZATION

Half naked Himba people in Nambia, a sweaty camera crew and millions of TV viewers witnessed our marriage vows.

I followed Trevor up the Himalayas and drank sun-scorched canteen water instead of Cabernet.

In Nepal he slipped on animal feces and narrowly escaped being trampled by a choleric elephant.

After Trevor’s ankle mended, his next assignment was the Amazon. There we lived in a grass hut. Mosquitos and humidity made it impossible to sleep.

Trevor kissed my eight-month belly. “You should go home.”

“You are my home.”

Before the words left my mouth, my water broke.

Twelve hours of spine-crunching labor later, a Waurá midwife helped deliver our daughter. We named her Kauné in her honor.

_______

Back in the states, safe from cheetah attacks and hippo stampedes, Trevor’s mangled body lies on a cold steel table. The driver, texting on her cell phone, never saw him cross the street.

*

24 February 2017

Published February 22, 2017 by rochellewisoff

Phriday Phictioneers Phone

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PHOTO PROMPT © Sarah Potter

Please be considerate and try to keep your stories at 100 words. Thank you.

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Genre: Historical Fiction

A tweaked excerpt from my first novel PLEASE SAY KADDISH FOR ME.

Word Count: 100

CHARNEL HOUSE

Havah gazed out the window. Snowflakes like milk-white dove wings glimmered past the streetlamp and floated to the sidewalk.

“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful, Arel?”

“We had snow in the old country. It’s all the same.”

She grasped Arel’s hand and held it to her belly. Their unborn child kicked against his palm with such force Havah flinched. Brushing her lips across her husband’s disfigured cheek she fought the stone forming in her throat. One by one, faces of those who had perished before her eyes drifted through her memory.

“No, Arel, nothing will ever be the same.”

***

*Reviews do help sell books. If you’ve read any of the three, would you do this author a favor and leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads or both? Thank you.

Original Artwork © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Look who I visited with at the Ozarks Writers League Conference.

Russell Gayer and the Purple Obsessed Princess

FLOWER AND WILLOW WORLD

Published February 19, 2017 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman visits Tokyo.

ありがとうございました

Arigatōgozaimashita, 
thank you to Karen Rawson for hosting this unique challenge.

To enjoy other stories inspired by the What Pegman Saw prompt or to submit your own 150-word story, visit the inLinkz button:

For guidelines and rules for the What Pegman Saw weekly writing prompt, visit the home page.

My photo choice from stroll through Google

Again, I’m late for the party, but couldn’t resist the challenge. Maybe it’s the extra 50 words or the fact that I’m merely a participant.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Word Count: 150

FLOWER AND WILLOW WORLD

A thousand butterflies swirl in my stomach as I peer out the window, watching for the car that will bring my Hoshi-chan, my shining star, for a brief visit.

After we left her at the Okiya in Kyoto, six months ago, I cried for a week.

“It’s all for the best, Fumiko-chan,” said my husband Ichiro. “She’s following her life’s path.”

“What does she know of life? She’s only fifteen.”

“We’ve five more children and can hardly feed them.”

I cannot argue, but Hoshi is our only daughter, my ally in this man’s house.

At her Misedashi—formal presentation ceremony—my heart swelled with pride. In exquisite silk kimono, painted face and jeweled hair, Hoshi, renamed Kikuyu, was welcomed into the secret society of Geisha.

She glided to me on lacquered getas and uttered those words I will forever cherish. “Okaasan, when I come home, please cook me a hamburger.”

.

17 February 2017

Published February 15, 2017 by rochellewisoff

Condolences to Suzanne Joshi on the loss of her husband. https://patriciaruthsusan.wordpress.com/2017/02/13/break-from-blogging

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The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.

Please be considerate and do your best to keep your stories to 100 words.

get the InLinkz code

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 100

SWEET LITTLE ALICE BLUE GOWN

He bowed. “Shall we dance, my dear gadfly?”

Alice took a final puff from her cigarette. “Certainly, Father.”

“Despicable, unladylike habit.” He waltzed her across the ballroom. “Mother asked me to speak with you.”

“Stepmother. Did Emily Spinach sneak into mumsy’s boudoir again?”

“It’s not about your snake. We’re disturbed by your public escapades such as gambling and jumping into swimming pools fully clothed. Must you insist on being the center of attention?”

“Moi?” Alice Roosevelt bristled. “You’re the one who wants to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral, and the baby at every christening.”

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