A Breath Away

We two, with destinies molded by the hands of another, are held in the grips of a story that was not ours to write. Another place, another time and we may have fallen together, to face our autumn days as one. Though our stories are not sad ones, they are not the greatest ever told.

55 words - the picture came first

One glance at the broken glass and he knew, this is where she had been last night. Standing here and watching through the window as he kissed another woman. It had been stupid; he knew it then and now. The scattered shards reflected their relationship; both were so broken they could never be made right.

Dig It

Furgus went to Walmart looking for a snow shovel.
In Minnesota this shouldn’t be a problem,
but it was August and they had spades and rakes,
but not one snow shovel. Furgus couldn’t ask
for one either, they might ask questions.

He couldn’t admit his old one is deep in a well
with his ex-wife.

The Way Out

Soon he’ll break through these walls no one sees
and step out of his box. Until then he gropes
silently seeking escape.

A phone rings. You can’t see it?

The news is good!

He bends down and feels his way
through a narrow passage out.

He is free!

The small crowd applauds the jubilant mime.

165 words, 55 at a time

What gastronomic genius created this classic?
No Catholic June Cleaver could have survived without it.
Family dinners were reborn and meatless Fridays reformed
the day some culinary queen combined egg noodles,
condensed cream-of-mushroom soup and the main ingredient,
sprinkled it with bread crumbs and baked up what is now an
American tradition: Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Some people (my parents) should never name their children.
I was born in sixty-nine, the summer of love, to two Berkley
grad students.
My best friends had hippy names (Zephyr and Cosmo.) My wife,
born in seventy-one, is named Wendy. I was not so fortunate.
I, Claudius Horatio Smith, despise classic literature to this day.

Mildred’s Common Courtesy Café is a pleasant place.
She has two cross-stitched wall plaques that say “Electronics Free Zone”
and “Friendly Family Friendly.”
Ignore her signs and you’ll be handed your bill and shown the door.
If you are a vocal projector she will get to the point, “Pipe down honey,
you’re hogging the airspace!”

Life took an amazing turn the evening Meg decided to go skating.
As she neared the rink there were lights but no music and people but they were not skating.
Perplexed, she gazed about from the ice’s edge.
His eyes found hers and instantly she was swept away by the captain of the curling team.

Step by agonizing step he proceeds on an unerringly straight path.
Over bumps and dips across the aging asphalt. His steady gaze
never falters, though it is hard to know what he sees.

A double yellow line grows gradually larger, the half way point.
One more step, and suddenly…

        Woosh



                        Thud



                                     Crunch





           …his journey ends. 

Wheel of Misfortune - A Tale in 55 words

Green Popsicle oozed from her nicotine-stained fingertips into the sleeve of her pink chenille robe as another smiling schmuck bought a useless vowel from Vanna.

Mildred wheezed and spat out her answer at the TV, “Bermuda Shorts!” the one that eluded her in seventy seven.

She lost more than an Amana Radarange that day.