Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

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100 words or less: Mirror Mirror

Every once in a while I enter writing contests. I'm not one of those "gotta win" kinda folks. I just like to throw my stuff in the ring and let other reads the random stuff on my mind.  This flash fiction story didn't win any prizes, but it did generate a bit of a conversation between me and the person I submitted the entry. Basically, she wanted to be absolutely sure it wasn't based on a true story. It isn't, but evidently I write fiction (sometimes) that seems to real to be made up...

Mirror, Mirror by David W Henderson:

As Abby sang “Hakuna Matata,” it darted into the road from the underbrush. Should I swerve? I held my breath. My indecision thrust the vehicle forward. It sat on its haunches and turned toward me. Disappearing from view beneath my hood, it darted leftward. The steering wheel wiggled against a small bump. “Thudathump” echoed from the rocker panel. In the rearview, I saw the small, furry grey squirrel lying in the road – tail raised stiffly in surrender. 

“Did you kill him, Daddy,” my daughter asked from the rear seat as our eyes met in the mirror.

Green Machines on the Interstate

When my brother and I were kids, we had the "Best thing since Big Wheels" - The Green Machine. We each had one, and we rode those things everywhere we could.  One time, I believe this was during the summer though I cannot tell you what year - most likely '78 or '79, we went with my Dad on a trip.

I think we were driving to Cleveland to see my Grandparents. At least, that seems the most logical, though I am not sure why my Mom wasn't with us. At any rate, as we headed down the highway, we had our stuff including our Green Machines.

Somewhere around Exit 10 (In those days, it was Exit 10. Nowadays, I don't know the exit number, and it may still be 10 for all I know) on the Turnpike, our car broke down. I think Dad may have gotten a flat or something. Well, there weren't ubiquitous cell phones back then. Dad pulled the car off the highway, and we waited for a passing car to help or a tow truck or a police officer.

As we waited, time was going by and I'm sure we kids were driving my father crazy, so we convinced him to let us ride our Green Machines. We rode them on the nearest paved road - the Exit 10 offramp. Yes, that's right.  My Dad let his two kids ride their toys on the offramp of a state turnpike!  Those are the kinds of cool things you could do back in those days. Or, so we thought.

Turns out, if you want the cops to show up with lights and sirens, just have your kids ride their Green Machines on the Interstate. The officer did not see my Dad and his car off the side of the road. He saw me and my brother turning donuts on the Exit 10 offramp after we had crossed over the overpass.

I think Dad got off with just a warning, and we kids got a rather lengthy lecture about "playing on the Interstate." What I learned from it was that people will ignore you completely unless you do something so far out of the ordinary that they have to come see just what you're doing.

Bucket List Item #17 - Publish a book of poems and lyrics

Bucket List Item #17 - Publish a book of poems and lyrics

I've published a novel. I've published a collection of short stories. I will publish a book of lyrics and poems before 2014. I am going to use NaNoWriMo as my way of keeping on track for this. I don't know that I'll 50,000 words in poem and lyric form, but that's not really the point for me. The point is that I want to get it written and have it done by 2014.

I actually tried using the site 750Words, but for whatever reason, that didn't stick. Sure, I made a few entries and I am still technically registered there, but NaNoWriMo is a much more intense, focused goal-oriented method for me.

As for the poems and lyrics themselves, well, they are what they are. I have the freedom to write what I want, how I want because my words are for no one else but me, primarily. If they happen to help someone else that is great!

I think once I publish the poems and lyrics, I'll donate a set of all my books to the local library. That'll be a fun thing to do. I'll take my daughter along and she will see my books in the library. To her, that is the true sign of being an author - haha!

Bucket List Item #33

Bucket List Item #33: Perform a stand-up comedy routine

Truth be told, I don't necessarily want to tell a "routine" so much as tell a few funny stories from my childhood and make a few observations about life in general. To me, a "routine" is something that is well-rehearsed and basically doesn't change from venue to venue.

I actually have a list of things I want to talk about.  Sure, I know, it's called a 'set list,' but again, that's not really what I'm after here. I envision a one-time, open mic kind of thing. Give 5-10 minutes and we'll call it good. I'll either make folks laugh or make them cry. Either way, I get to share.

I can see this one happening pretty easily. I just have to get the guts to head to an open mic night in a relatively nearby town and do my thing.

The real question is whether or not I invite friends and family. You'd think they would be the ones to laugh the hardest. Thing is, they've probably heard many of the stories already. Like the time my brother and flushed fish down the toilet because we wanted hamsters. Or the time my parents dumped enough chlorine in our kiddie pool to fill an Olympic-sized pool and the subsequent visit to the hospital.  Or the time my brother and I played with my cousin the the fresh pool of tar at the bottom of a hill and had to bathe in gasoline or turpentine or whatever my parents concocted... Or the time...