PENANCE

Published August 18, 2019 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman travels to the Florida Keys at the bottom of the United States. Like the other Torch Keys, it was probably named for the native Torchwood tree.

Stroll and around and see if you can find something that interests you. When you’re done, write 150 words and link to the prompt using the frog below. Remember, reading and commenting is part of the fun!

Thanks to Josh and Karen for hosting this weekly challenge.

To play add your story click the frog.

Sunset Siesta Florida Key

This week I revisited an oldie posted for Friday Fictioneers in January of 2013. It seems to fit the prompt so I added 50 more words. 😀

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 150

PENANCE

Jonathan gazed at his reflection in the cracked mirror. Self-loathing flooded him. He took pen in hand, the hand that only an hour before had closed the eyes of a deceased child, still hot with fever. Imagining his beloved’s sweet countenance, Jonathan wrote:

3 December in the year of our Lord 1765

Dearest Catherine,

It is with deep regret I write that I shan’t return to England. I cannot for I would not have you plight your troth to a murderer.

Now I must remain to make amends.

At the first the savage misliked me and I feared him. But over time we became friends. Together we laughed and fished the Seminole way in this Florida paradise.

Surely these people threaten us with war. Yet it was neither my musket nor my dagger that felled my warrior brother and his son, but my white man’s curse—smallpox.

Penitently yours,

Jonathan

WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET

Published August 11, 2019 by rochellewisoff

Karen’s directive: This week Pegman takes us to Manitoba, Canada. Feel free to use the location/picture supplied with the prompt, our take your own tour of Manitoba via Google Maps and find a view to inspire you.

Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the week’s location. You may write poetry, prose, or essay. Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ stories is part of the fun!

Thank you, Karen and Josh for hosting this weekly challenge.

CLICK THE FROG TO JOIN THE FUN

Here is the photo I chose from Google Maps. I hope one day to see the Northern Lights in person.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 150

WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET

Blue, purple and green snaked across the night sky. Stars twinkled through the brilliant colours.

Full and drowsy after the evening meal, warmed by the fire, Tantoo laid her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Tell me about the lights, Nikawi. Where do they come from?”

Nikawi stroked Tantoo’s hair. “They are the spirits dancing. See how they move in circles?”

“Nohkum says they are our beloved ancestors visiting us and we should respect them.”

“Your grandmother is a wise woman.” Nikawi’s eyes glittered. “One day we will dance with them.”

“I can hardly wait.” Tantoo yawned, her eyelids heavy with sleep. “I heard the elders say our way of life will end soon. Is this true?”

Nikawi did not reply.

The girl could not imagine it. The Nisichawayasihk had always hunted, fished and tended the land. In return Mother Earth rewarded their reverence. How could it not always be so?

SABBATICAL

Published August 3, 2019 by rochellewisoff

This week Pegman takes us to the Black Hills in South Dakota in the West-Midwest, United States. Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the prompt. Once your piece is polished, share it with others using the linkup below. Reading and commenting on others’ work is part of the fun!

It has been a while since I’ve participated in What Pegman Saw. Busy times lately and not a lot of extra headspace. However the location is hard to avoid since my husband is currently in South Dakota for Bike Week in Sturgis.

Thanks to Karen and Josh for facilitating the challenge. 😀

Spearfish Canyon SD Copyright Jan Wayne Fields

Genre: Personal Musing

Word Count: 150

SABBATICAL

He spent months plotting and planning his annual trip to Sturgis, the Mecca of motorcycle enthusiasts. He hadn’t missed Bike Week in years.

“Should I take my big tent? Where are the sheets to fit my cot?”

She peered at him around her easel. “Linen closet.”

Silence ensued until…

“Hey Honey?”

She rinsed out her brush. “Hey what-y”

The daily exchange continued until departure time arrived. He’d repacked his trailer no less than three times, arranging necessary items.

Clad in leathers and helmet, he struck a pose. “Take my picture.”

After mounting his two-wheeled stallion, he kissed her goodbye. She stood in the driveway and waved as he motored down the street. He would return refreshed in two weeks with stories and photos of South Dakota.

Friends often asked her, “Why don’t you go with him?”

She typed a new chapter to her latest work-in-progress. “To each their own vacation.”

All things considered I’d rather be swimming.

THUMBNAIL SKETCH

Published June 8, 2019 by rochellewisoff

This week Pegman takes us to the capital of England, a modern city with a history going back to Roman times.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to write up to 150 words inspired by the week’s location. You can use the photo supplied with the prompt, or find your own view from the virtually endless supply of streetview or photospheres throughout the city.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others at the link up below. Reading and commenting is part of the fun!

Thanks to Karen and Josh for facilitating the challenge.

Click the Frog to Join the Fun!

The following is an excerpt from two of my books FROM SILT AND ASHES, the second novel in my Havah Cohen Trilogy and from A STONE FOR THE JOURNEY, the coffee table companion book. The art store was established in London in 1855 and still is a successful business today.

I couldn’t decide between the two photos so I’m including them both. 😉 The second is lifted from a film shot in 1903. I used it as a visual to write the scene.

Genre: Historical Fiction Excerpt

Word Count: 150

THUMBNAIL SKETCH

With a leather portfolio under his arm and his medical bag in his hand, Nikolai wandered London’s streets. Since his chief errand was accomplished, he had no particular destination, so he seized the opportunity for an afternoon of sightseeing.

Passengers crowded themselves into square compartments atop coaches whose side and back banners advertised such necessities as Lipton’s Teas and Nestlé’s Milk. Above all else, London’s churches fascinated him with their clock towers. A man never needed to ask the time in Britain.

Now and then, he paused to read shop signs. One particular shop caught his interest with its display of paints and drawing papers. He read the sign aloud, “L. Cornelisson and Son. Artist Colourman.”

Suddenly, a flagrant dervish of henna hair and purple feathers in chartreuse skirts swirled past him. Curious to know what a woman of her ilk would want in an artist’s shop, he followed her.

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REDEMPTION

Published April 30, 2019 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman travels to Lod, Israel. The town takes its name from the biblical City of Lod, significant Judean town from the Maccabean Period to the early Christian period.

Click on the photo above and feel free to wander around. When you find inspiration, write 150 words on your blog and link it to the other entries via the blue frog below. Remember that reading and commenting is part of the fun!

Do your best and have a good time learning about a new place and the people who may live there.

I am ~~shamefully~~ shamelessly late for the party this week. It was a crazy busy weekend, but when I saw the location, of course, I couldn’t resist. As always…thanks to Karen and Josh for the challenge that takes us around the globe.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Word Count: 150

REDEMPTION

I’m Tirzah, a warrior beside Judah Maccabee, the Hammer. We resist the Greeks and we will prevail.

I’ll never forget the day Antiochus’ men defiled our sacred altar. They sacrificed a pig. Then they slaughtered my baby brother Ezra and forced my mother carry his body, tied around her neck. I still hear Abba’s tortured cries when they beat him. His blood splattered my face.

My feet turned to stone until a soldier cast his lethal glare on me. “Pretty little Judean creature.” My gorge rose when he stroked my cheek with his filthy paws. He licked his lips and reached for my breast.

I spit in his face and ran.

***

Tirzah Rabinovitz skimmed her fingertips across the rough stones of an ancient building in Lod. “1949 in the Promised Land.” She hugged her infant son Ezra. “Antiochus could not destroy us. Nor could that German pig. We will prevail.”

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

Published April 14, 2019 by rochellewisoff

This week Pegman is in Portland, Oregon. Your mission is to write up to 150 words inspired by the location. Feel free to use the image supplied with the prompt, or choose your own view of Portland in streetview or photosphere.

Once your piece is polished, share it with others at the link up below. Reading and commenting on others’ work is part of the fun.

Congratulations to Karen for passing her certification test. Did we have any doubts? Thanks to Josh for holding down the fort in her absence.

Below is the photo I chose from Google.

Click Mr. Froggie to join the fun!

Genre: Wishful Fantasy

Word Count: 150

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

“Portland is amazing.” Dale snapped a photo. “Especially at night.”

Rochelle breathed in the rain-soaked air, relishing the salty aroma. “What a fabulous way to celebrate Karen’s certification and Dale’s birthday.”

Lish ruffled her fingers through her auburn hair. “Let’s find a place to sit, shall we?”

The ladies found a table at a local tavern. Karen popped the cork of a bottle of champagne.

Rochelle raised her glass, shifting her gaze from face to face, etching the details of each one into her memory. “To writing challenges and great friends.”

Without warning, the floor rumbled beneath them. Glass shattered.

The bartender screamed. “Earthquake!”

Karen, Lish and Dale vanished amid the rubble.

“No!” Rochelle cried. “The party’s just starting.”

“Honey, wake up.”

Rochelle rolled over and looked up at her husband. “What day is it?”

“Sunday. Why?”

“Oh crap. It’s April 14^th. I forgot to send a card to Dale.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DALE!

SANCTUARY

Published April 7, 2019 by rochellewisoff

Today Pegman takes a trip to Tbilisi, Georgia

This ancient cobblestoned city has a complicated history of Persian and Russian rule. Its diverse architecture encompasses Eastern Orthodox churches, ornate art nouveau buildings, and Soviet Modernist structures. Walk around and see what strikes your fancy.

The purpose of this prompt is to inspire you to write 150 words about this place. You can use the Google link to stroll around until you see something that strikes your fancy. When you’re done, remember to link your story to the others using the InLinkz frog below. Reading and commenting is half the fun.

Enjoy yourself and do good work!

CLICK ME! PLEASE!

I considered not participating this week. But as it often happens I found an historical nugget that couldn’t be ignored. Thank Josh for the prompt this week.

The Great Synagogue in Tbilisi, Georgia

SANCTUARY

Aaron prepared his Torah reading for his special day. “Tell me about your Bar Mitzvah, Didi Babua. Wasn’t it during terrible times?”

“No.” Aaron’s great grandfather stroked his thick white beard. “It was a beautiful time—in this very synagogue.”

“But you were thirteen in 1943. What about the camps? What about Hitler?”

“May wheels run over his skull for eternity. Before me, my father read from the holy scroll in this same place in 1905.” Didi Babua’s faded brown eyes brimmed. “His family escaped from Kishinev.” He kissed the cover of his threadbare prayer book. “This has been our safe haven for five generations.”

“Were there never any pogroms?”

“According to our rabbis, anti-Semitism has been unknown here in Tbilisi for twenty-six centuries. Enough questions already. Study hard and make me proud.”

Grinning, the boy read, “Hodu L’adoshem ki tov, give thanks to Adoshem for He is good!”

Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple

Growing older is inevitable. Growing up is optional.

What Pegman Saw

All posts tagged What Pegman Saw

PENANCE

WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET

SABBATICAL

THUMBNAIL SKETCH

REDEMPTION

GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT

SANCTUARY

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