A to C SHOUTOUT

[zenbabe]

ok, this is my first attempt at a fiction thread of my very own. I don't post in most of them because I think I am afraid of myself..so here it goes.

A to C start off, I will post a word, A to C style, you respond. When somebody posts a word that triggers a memory, tell the story. It can be lame, funny, sad, hot, inspiring..anything. Just tell the story.

The person that posts a story is responsible for starting the next A to C word.


I will start.

[zenbabe]

pink

[AddyCat]

pink is the color of the sunset in the Iowa summer sky
people would stop
in a line
to watch
because they are so stunning that your feet
just stop their progress
and your mind
doesn't have a care at all
but for the beauty it is


beholding


(how about the last word of the story is the next "A to C" word?)

[zenbabe]

that is the idea, and if you can't come up with a story based on the last word, then add another A to C word until a story hits you.

Beholding

3 am, warm outside already,
getting ready to trek to the top of a volcano to see the sunrise
Thinking the weather would be the same some 3000 miles higher, I tie on a sarong and grab a sweatshirt just in case it gets chilly.

At the top, it is raining and so windy, one step out of the car shreds your flesh with rain and cold gusts. Crap.

What else to do with an hour before sunrise and a car blinded by dark gusty winds and bitter cold..don't let the fogged up windows go to waste.

There it is, the most beautiful sight in the world..I feel like I am on



Mars

[AddyCat]

Mars
is extremely bright these days
and there is a meteor shower happening
last night and tonight and possibly for the next few nights

Go outside
at night
Look at the moon
and very close to it
is an unusually bright "star" (it's a planet really)
that is Mars

Mars is usually quite dim so this is an extra special

Treat

[trisherina]

Treat

Others like you want to be treated,
We tell our children

Then
Sneer at the pimple-faced Mickey D kids
Flip birds at people who cut you off in traffic
Grit your teeth at the 7-11 clerk who can't count
Bitch about the neighbours' lack of weed control
Screw over the taxman
Sue the contractors
Refuse the immigrants
Pigeonhole the rest
Hoard your money
Tuck them in at night and

Sleep well.

Goodnight

[AddyCat]

Goodnight Moon

Goodnight brush

Goodnight bowl full of

mush

[amanda]

mush

food.
I hated mushy food when I was a kid.
bananas, potatoes, peas

any vegetable cooked over an hour.

Could never be a child in


England.

[zenbabe]

England

Is really hot right now.

In the 3rd grade, I refused to talk without using an english accent. I thought it was so charming.

I haven't been there yet, but I have quite a few of the accents down pretty good.

I will go there someday. Until then, Mars has been keeping me company, Wednesday is the day to see it, it is very twinkly right now though.

England also makes me think of Dickie, and how I hope his trip back home is a

SUCCESS

[amanda]

SUCCESS

I worry about the success of this thread...

it's so good, but
hidden away from the main
traffic.

On the other hand,
I like
nooks and cranies
and less trodden


PATHS

[trisherina]

PATHS

When I was a kid, we used to go camping in the Rocky Mountains, five of us in a blue Volkswagen Beetle with food and tenting gear for several days. It never seemed all that crowded, though the drive was four to five hours. We would drive beyond the paved roads to the gravel roads... and finally on to some road that wasn't even a road, but just a path in the bush made by deer and moose and bear and whatever else came crashing through. When the bug couldn't go any further, we'd get out and hike until we found a suitable spot.

We found some incredible spots that way. There was one I remember that had everything: a clearing for the tents, a backwash to fish in, a sweet fresh stream to drink from, stands of trees and deadfalls to climb, mounds of smooth river rock to skip, and even a yard-high waterfall in a bend of the stream for me to pretend I was fishing in, dangling my numbing feet below rolled-up corduroys and using long grass as a rod and a wild strawberry as bait.

I passed hours at that waterfall, hoping a minnow would show interest, squinting when the sun shot between tree branches, and never once feeling the burden or the passage of

time.

[AddyCat]

Time
It is time to comment on the beauty that this thread is creating. Especially the previous post - quite lovely.
I like this thread the best so far.

Originally posted by zenbabe
England

Is really hot right now.

In the 3rd grade, I refused to talk without using an english accent. I thought it was so charming.

I haven't been there yet, but I have quite a few of the accents down pretty good.

I will go there someday. Until then, Mars has been keeping me company, Wednesday is the day to see it, it is very twinkly right now though.

I still have a hard time NOT speaking with an English accent and I too have NEVER been there. When I speak to someone with an accent, I have the hardest time not imitating it - I don't want to be rude, you know?
I once knew a lady who, when she was in her early twenties in the 80's, would speak with a cockney british accent when she was drunk - she was into the punk scene. Now she's got long hair (as opposed to the long mohawk) and when she drinks she can't help but speak with an accent - it's one of the most hilarious phenomenons I've ever had the joy to witness.

I'm glad to see that others are out watching Mars as well - isn't it
amazing

[trisherina]

amazing

Last night I chatted with a new mom who is very sick in her own way and held her babe, a premature boy who comes equipped with nasal prongs and an NJ tube. He is doing well, though, all things considered. He will catch up, and she will get well too, spurred on by this tiny bundle of motivation.

I stroked the skin on his cheek that wasn't covered by tape, and smiled down at the little guy, watching his struggle to breathe.

"He's a handsome one, he is," she assured me in her soft Atlantic accent. "He'll be a heart breaker." The total infatuation of the new parent, all-consuming, transforming and nothing short of miraculous.

Were it not there, few of us would be, ultimately. It's a process for which I am overwhelmingly

grateful.

[zenbabe]

GRATEFUL

When I was a tot, I had a really bad case of the chicken pox. I got to 106 degree temperature. 107 and you are brain dead. I got some brain damage from it that manifested in a siezure disorder. I was one of the first 12 kids on an experimental program that they thought definatly wouldn't work. My mom opted for that option instead of the doctors suggestion of Brain surgery. They wanted to cut some pieces out......

Until the time I was 25 I was on medication to control it even though I hadn't had a siezure since I was about 6 years old I had grossly abnormal brain patterns that said I should be having grand mal siezures every day.

I turned 25 and went for my annual cat scans, MRI and EEG. I was at UCLA. When the top neurologist guy came back with the results he had to go and get some other top neurologist that had just flown in from Boston.

I will never forget the look of disbelief on their face when the reports came back that my brain patterns were completely normal. They told me I was a medical mystery. It was awsome. I weened myself off the drugs and have to this day been completely Normal.

PS, the original test program that I was on is now approved by the FDA and is used to cure kids with siezure disorders. That makes me very

Proud

[amanda]

Proud.

"Do you know how proud I am of you?
Do not ever call yourself a ****-up again."

One of these days, I'm going to find her a very nice tropical rest
home by the


sea.

[nycwriters]

.

[zenbabe]

Happy


My husband is the best thing ever! We met when I was trying to be an actress in Hollywierd. I had a boyfriend at the time that I was living with, so I could only be friends with him. I had a huge crush on him though. We both ended up moving and starting our lives over. I hadn't heard from him in 3 years when all of the sudden I got an email from him. He was living in San Diego too!!!

We were married 6 months later.

He is so

Kind


*I still have that email:}*

[AddyCat]

Kind

This thread is being very kind to my heart.
zenbabe your grateful story made me cry.
trish your amazing story was very sweet.

I like this thread
It makes me feel

Inspired

[zenbabe]

Inspired = have to move an apartment in Vegas this weekend =

DAMMIT

Sometimes you just have to do things that make no sense..worms are funny..wierd..

I yelled and screamed my obligations of this action....

someone remind me to take Friday off..........

All I wan't to do, is sleep in on


Sunday

[beckstra]

Sunday, a month full of them couldn't slate this thirst. There's a part of me that wants to go deeper, wants to know more, to feel something.

I remember the time in my life where Sundays were enough because that's all I ever had. Then came Wednesdays, and Fridays, and everyday became a day where all I did was search to be known by the only One I have ever believed wanted to know me as much as I did them.

So know that's it's back to Sundays, I feel so...

Lonely

[trisherina]

Lonely

Lucy was so tired and weak that she couldn't lift her head or wag her tail when I came to see her at the vet's. A couple of blood transfusions had already gone in with little effect and her breathing was agonal. I lay half in and half out of the cage with her, weeping so copiously that people averted their eyes when they had to come in, and telling her stories about the day she made the trip to me from Ontario in a tiny little crate marked "LIVE ANIMALS" stickers all over it. A long day, that must have been, some ten or twelve hours in the dark at three months old with nothing but some water, some bedding, and a tennis ball, and she looked so excited and hopeful and eager when the conveyor belt dropped her off at Air Canada Cargo. An indomitable spirit from beginning to end, living with Lucy was a learning exercise in


perspective.

[zenbabe]

PERSPECTIVE

Unemployed for nine months, totally unhappy..it's never going to get any better.....

...finally got a job..things worked out for the best...at least a soldier a day is still getting killed over seas...

I have it good.

Even though things get on my nerves almost every day, I have to take into consideration that I have it better than most of the population on this earth.

So I stay

Humble

[zenbabe]

Strawberry

[trisherina]

"Strawberry blonde, true strawberry blonde," is what everybody says when they meet her. Then they get to know her and say other stuff.

She just told me that Beck came to the door with some mail for me and left it in the mailbox. I found an envelope labeled "MOM" with a neatly folded piece of paper in it. The paper had a heart drawn on it in rainbow colours, and the text over that read: "Mom you are a great person and i never want you to change."

I quit the Methotrexate injections a couple of weeks ago to see if maybe the disease is in remission and I can get off the stuff and maybe see about another strawberry blonde rat. It's been like watching a film in reverse, seeing all the swelling and deformity return at fastmotion pace. Unless it stops pretty quick, the answer is no. Data's piling up.

All I can say is make hay while the sun

shines.

[zenbabe]

SHINES

I watched this fvcked uuuuuuup movie the othe night..it was IRREVERSABLE........... I hope to God that isn't the one you witnessed...

I had a panik attttaackkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[amanda]

dance

promised a monster that I'll pop up to make shadow puppets dance today. feel very much like a...


groundhog

[amanda]

peppermint swirls

[AddyCat]

Peppermint
swirls in my cup

My cup
is up

and the peppermint is settled
inside it's comfy room

of orange and pink
pillows and throws

with oranges inside cans of wheat germ
as the only

sustinance

[surflugen]

Originally posted by amanda
Proud.

"Do you know how proud I am of you?
Do not ever call yourself a ****-up again."

One of these days, I'm going to find her a very nice tropical rest
home by the


sea.

and

Originally posted by Addydat

Peppermint
swirls in my cup

My cup
is up

and the peppermint is settled
inside it's comfy room

of orange and pink
pillows and throws

with oranges inside cans of wheat germ
as the only

sustinance

How can some one skip the sea? It is my sustenance. With out it I would not have the pleasures of that keep me sane. My diet, my education, my fellowship, my entertainment, my stress relief, my

addiction

[Cr.Box]

sustinance, I can't believe that I spent my last dollar on a bar tab, and have no means of sustinance. It is times like these that I am reminded of my

Disease

[God]

Bless

You.

[rapscalious rob]

*sniff*
Thanks.

[nycwriters]

.

[rapscalious rob]

I first really started seeing things around three years ago, when I finally got myself a pair of eyeglasses. I had been putting it off, because every time I brought it up with my family, my stepfather would promise me he’d take me by and optometrist and implore me not to go to one myself. After three years I decided to go and make that appointment. And then make another appointment. I got my drivers license that year. I was 21.

That same year, I got a job delivering pizza (a step up from the muddy maelstrom of my dishwashing job, although I still had to wash dishes). I was still learning to drive. I still have that job, and looking back, I think the fact that I haven’t gotten into an accident on the road yet is an amazing


blessing

[lapietra]

I've always said, "It's my pleasure", and meant it, when performing a favor... I love it when someone has a need and it's something I can do for them. Perhaps that's a bit geeky... but honestly... if everyone felt that way, think what a great world it would be...

I've spent a lot of time singing at Catholic churches. (Also at Jewish temples and Lutheran and Seventh Day Adventist and Methodist and Christian Science and other varieties of Christian churches... also once at a Buddhist temple... singers tend to get around the religious circuit I guess... very ironic since I'm not one tiny bit religious...) Interestingly enough, one doesn't say "It's my pleasure" when responding to a compliment about one's performance at a Catholic church - one says, "It's a blessing" (at least, this is what I learned to say...). The connotation, you see, is that one doesn't derive pleasure from performing a certain deed... it's a *blessing*, paid up to God.
Something I've pondered... Why is it preferable for me not to feel pleasure when I do something for someone... hmmm... isn't it the same thing? Why is it wrong to derive pleasure from an act of kindness?

pleasure (or kindness... take your pick)

[malina]

kindness - a little bit goes a long way; treating the person next to you as if they were indeed your brother; keeping in mind that you'd tease your brother, never cut him where it hurts; stand up for him; cheer him up when he's down; get oh so mad at him; love him no less because of it;

less

[Frieda]

less is more, but not always.



absolute

[zenbabe]

Absolute


Forever


24 good friends, everybody knew, but the guest of honor didn't. SURPRISE! Good times. His "Intelligence" was a little hurt, but other than that, things went off without a hitch. It was perfect. I forgot I was the host, I also forgot how draining it is to be the hostest with the the mostest. I dragged my darling outside for a private smoke and to collect some thoughts. What a great moment. He said it scared him that I was able to pull it off and thought he might be getting dense. Haha! Woo! An excellent partner he said....and said he needed me on his side..or he might be in trouble....


It was a great

Moment in Time

[funkytuba]

Moment in time

I'm a band geek... the worst kind: a tuba player. In high school it's a big deal to be "Grand Champion" of a marching show. The thing you strive for; the one thing that could make all the hours of plodding around a paved parking lot in the Georgia-in-late-August 95° heat and 98% humidity trying to get that last little bit of drill right or that last little nuance of dynamic worth it all.

So, after several bitter disappointments, we won one, by God, we actually took grand champions at a show, and a big one, too.

And caught on film by one of my mom's friends, a mother of a girl in the color guard, was a delightful scene of some younger band members being craazy and fun and pointing up in the sky number one! number one! whilst I and some others crouched down in front and gave the little kids (8th and 9th graders to my 11th grader) annoyed but understanding and happy glances. She blew it up to 3' by 2' and gave it to me, president of the band.

A wonderful joyous moment in time, which contrasted starkly with the moment I heard that said photographer was on the now-infamous valujet crash in the everglades, flying down to attend her daughter's graduation. A moment in time so terribly...

bitter.

[Frieda]

bitter.


bitter sweet memories. the singer of the band all up high, singing on the second floor. the singer is georgeous, with his light hair. he's looking at me, singing just for me.


honey

[zenbabe]

Honey..


Or at least I thought until I started throwing rocks at it. Millions and millions of wasps chased me home about a quarter of a mile on my bike that day..


Live and....

Learn

[Frieda]

learn

learning is a never ending process. it can be very frustrating, but it also gets you where you want to go. if you never learn, you won´t get very far either!

convenience

[dalang]

convenience

just ran this through MS word, making sure I spelled it correctly in my seventeeth cover letter since September.

Applying for jobs is draining, frustrating and dull. Just give it to me, please! I'll make it good, really! I....


promise

[lapietra]

promise

Promises used to be so much easier to keep. As I grow older I find that it's harder; more responsibilities and surprises mean more uncertainty. I suppose all one can do is try as hard as one can to keep one's promises, even if it means doing more than seems reasonable... otherwise one earns a reputation for being flaky, not dependable. I've had to learn this the hard way; I only hope I haven't completely run out of

opportunities.

[zenbabe]

opportunities

They seem to present themselves at the most inappropriate time. I was 20 and met this guy that had just recently been broken out of a mental instituion by a mutual friend. He said he was on a mission to get rid of everything he owned and all he ever wanted out of life was a good pizza. I ended up trading him his entire computer system for 2 large pepperoni's, it was really wierd. I wonder what ever happened to him. Life is so crazy sometimes. I still insist that you never

Regret

[lapietra]

Regret

Someone I know and admire recently said that one of the things they wanted in a partner is that they've done enough, risked enough, that they've made a few mistakes and have a few regrets. I know what they mean by that...

If you've ever seen the movie "The Big Kahuna", you'll maybe know what I'm talking about. Regret is only bad when it keeps you from reaching out again, taking risks again... one of the good things about it is that it shows you've learned from mistakes you've made in the past... and maybe have some compassion for when other people screw up... so important in a relationship. Being partnered with someone who has no regrets would be hellish for me, because it seems to mean they'd have no patience with mine. I'm working on self-acceptance, but it's not a snap, easy thing. And I think maybe that shows some character, that I'm not flippantly dismissing my past. Call me

crazy

[rapscalious rob]

crazy

I’ve known at least three people who anyone would agree were crazy: all of them were clients. To make ends meet in this small town, the business does secretarial work. As a result, I’ve met every type of person imaginable. There was a man who worked for years as a prison guard, who said “in life, you have to have to push to get what you want. When people close a door on you, kick it down and PUMP THEM FULL OF LEAD. That’s what you have to do.” Then there was the lady who came into the office recently who claimed to be able to channel Jesus and predict the future. Before that was the lady who would look you in the eye with this intense stare and say “do you KNOW who I AM? I’m ALIEN. I’m from ARCTURUS. YOU KNOW THIS…” If another customer came in while she was in, she’d repeat her questions to the new customer.

The last lady came in enough that we developed a sort of friendship. Strangely enough. We were the only ones who could see past her mental illness, and she appreciated that.

Strange, how accepting someone’s faults can make for such unlikely alliences. I wonder if politicians and the crazies of feuding nations can make use of this kind of

thinking

[funkytuba]

thinking

disparate lines of logic diverging converging conversing coalescing burying themselves being shoved this way and that in your neurons by emotions pain feeling pressure building conclusion coming under fire right maybe better left under new fact starts cycle again shaping shifting chafing coaxing formulating an

answer

[rapscalious rob]

answer

The answer is often unexpected. It requires intuition, technical expertise, rusty knowledge from the back of my mind, and sheer doggedness to overcome the many obstacles I run up against in the coarse of any day in this business.

Finally coming across or figuring out the answer sometimes results in an “aha!” moment, but always brings a certain sense of

satisfaction

[SuperCaliFragil]

satisfaction

can come from the most unlikely places sometimes. Like the other day I was coding some html, trying something new, and It worked the first time...whoo hoo. However, not long before that I was doing a similar project that took like 12 tries to figure out why it wasn't working, and when I did figure it out, I was just as

elated

[lapietra]

elated

Moments of elation came more frequently when I was younger. Some of them, most notably, came after the last final exam before the summer... I was free from worrying about anything at all (well, except my less-than-optimal home life - which I could now escape for longer stretches...) for three months... the feeling was incredible, and lasted for at least a week. I was walking on air; everything felt beautiful, the sky, the air, the trees... Reality would settle in eventually; summer brought its own challenges, but for a time (a long time in hindsight) I felt on top of the world.
Lately, there are very few moments like that: the moment I discover the solution to a problem... successfully coming up with enough money in time to pay a bill before the situation becomes dire... finding out a person I'm interested in is interested in me too... And sometimes, it happens for no reason - I'll be driving somewhere at sunset, and I'll discover a feeling of elation - I'll look at the horizon, at the colors, and the people around me, and I feel serene, content, happy to be where I am at that moment. I wonder if my brain just does that on its own, to help me survive the periods that feel like I'm being ground into the pavement with the effort of trying to balance everything, make everything work out. I'm very grateful for those moments, and I'm trying to learn to create them consciously, on my own.

conscious

[malina]

conscious, subconscious, unconscious

the longer you look at it, the funnier they all look. what does anything really mean? is 'conscious' a good thing? what about all that 'subconscious' stuff? i have issues with unconsciousness since i experience so much of it. i like it. it's not the unconscious state that i like, it's the 'coming to' again - being conscious! everything tingles and you're still alive. that's a good thing. i don't take it for granted. i am grateful. thoughtful. humble.

the subconscious

i will not touch

at this time

issues

[zenbabe]

issues


I have a ton of em' during the holidays! I am the most happiest go lucky grinch around!!

I HATE THE HOLIDAYS!!

Ho fvcking Ho people!

After this Thanksgiving fiasco...I am going to need a vacation....I think we are going to go here (http://www.bearmtn.com/) for christmas....


If a loaner car can be finagled (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=finagled) then maybe we will go here (http://www.mammothmountain.com/) ;)


~ SNOW~

[RevEf]

Snow reaffirms my being.

I sculpt it with my breath, for a moment I'm a dragon.

Inside me I create tiny snow-creatures, of crystal slowness.

On their planet I am a legend, a supernatural phenomenon.

Impossibly fast, destructive and elusive

The distant, watching

Demon.

[zenbabe]

Plant

I was looking at them today and wondering how I can possibly keep anything alive in this

Climate

[Aphrodite]

Climate

The climate in the Niagara region is unique.
It is a microclimate caused by the protection of the escarpment.
It allows us to grow fruits and plants that would normally only be found in warmer regions.
It is almost the season for

Strawberries

[lapietra]

Strawberries

I have nothing but happy feelings associated with strawberries. Sweet, tart, plump, beautiful... bright red, or even better, that deep wine color they take the last moment before they pass over to becoming something for the compost heap... that's when I rush to cover them with sugar and Cointreau and preserve them to be enjoyed throughout the year, or soak them in brown sugar and marsala wine, top with a little sour cream, and sit on the front porch savoring a perfect breakfast.

So many associate strawberries with kisses, love... the flavor, the juices... I feel profoundly sorry for people who are allergic to them. They're deprived of one of the great pleasures in life.

Pleasure

[trisherina]

Pleasure

Whole cultures structure themselves around what they believe when it comes to pleasure. The vast bulk of North Americans treat pleasure as some sort of reward that has to be earned through hard work or good deeds. Those who see it as the norm, and see work largely a means to get more of it, we tend to disdain: those bohunks who live in warmer climes. Those lazy Sicilians. Those shiftless Newfies. The beery Bavarians and the idle South.

You can tell a lot about a person by finding out where they sit with the whole pleasure thing. For instance, when you get home from work, do you have to "get everything done" before you do what it is you want to do, or do you kick back and relax before you feel like getting anything else done? When one type lives with the other type, the result is often

Conflict

[straymonk]

Conflict

Conflicted about what to do with my life. Have yet to find a calling. What is my passion? What am I meant for? There must be something for which I am perfectly suited - yet the myriad things I have tried do not satisfy. How do I end this conflict? How do I find peace?

Peace

[lapietra]

Peace

I think the problem with the quest for peace is that its definition is so subjective. One might think that it would simply be the opposite of "war"; the absence of conflict and violence. But it is a much more complex thing than that, as evidenced by each nation's, each small town's, each family's, each individual's choices of law, religion, human rights and expectations, celebration. If we are to have true peace, everyone's needs, tastes, hopes, dreams and desires must be accounted for in some way, either accommodated or positively diverted, when it is proved that they are harmful to that person and others around them. Even this is up for argument, since it has not been definitively established whether a person should have the right to subject themselves to conditions that will cause them pain, or even death, if they choose to do so.
Perhaps when all of these things are answered and accounted for we will have true peace. But it seems unlikely, considering that the world and its people are constantly changing; we're learning more every day but each new discovery brings with it more questions. It is an exciting time to be alive, yet also frightening. I hope that soon we can come to a place where everyone can agree to disagree and live in harmony. Until then, I will hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

Hope

[weissenflatz]

Hope

My grandmother told me there's always hope. She lived through WWII, so I guess she knows.

I know now she was right. Whenever people despair and start to lose perspective, I try helpig them remember.

Help

[daverbee]

Help

One afternoon, on my way back from a trip to see Linville Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway, I saw another waterfall from the Parkway that didn't often have a high volume of water. It was flowing at a huge rate, so I decided to stop at the next parking area and hike down to get some pictures.
On the way back, I happened upon a man carrying two empty water bottles down to the creek. I asked him what had happened and he told me his radiator had sprung a leak and he was trying to fill it up.
The problem was much bigger than just the one radiator as he had a steam heater in the back of his van that was fed by the radiator. So, he had been making trips for quite a while.
I had three water bottles in the car, so I emptied them into his radiator and followed him back down to the creek. We must have made ten trips each (Not counting however many he had made before me!) before the thing was full.
He asked what he owed me and I told him to do someone else a favor and that'd take care of it.
On the way home, fog rolled in and at the middle elevations along the ridge the Parkway follows I could see nothing but the yellow stripe on the road beside me. I figured as long as I could see that, I'd be OK. Traveled ab out 20 miles at 20 miles per hour. I got down but it took me twice as long from the point I left the man with the broken down van to the house.
It was worth it, though.

Fog

[weissenflatz]

Fog is one of the major reasons for accidents in traffic.

In Warsaw (in the whole country of Poland actually), where I currently live, traffic is hazardous anytime and anywhere. Not a big surprise, if you realize people can still buy their license from corrupt examinators.

The terrible state of the roads, and people not having cash to maintain their cars doesn't help either.

Poland has just joined the European union, and many people now expect a miracle. I hope they will just start taking driving lessons.

Miracle

[daverbee]

Miracle

Everyone looks at miracles as being something that is always on a cosmic scale and has earth shattering effects on whoever witnesses it.
To me, the biggest miracle is life, itself. Taking a breath every moment is miracle enough for me and proof that God, or whatever you prefer to call the driving force behind life, exists.

Life

[weissenflatz]

Life

So much nicer to live life, dan to talk about it

talk

[daverbee]

talk

Amen!

Conclusion

[weissenflatz]

Conclusion

conclusions usually end the story, and show the path where to go next.

Path

[Aphrodite]

Path

I wrote a story once about how I met the man of my dreams because he was walking on a path that ran close to mine. Our paths crossed for 9 years and then his veered sharply away. So I walk alone.

Reflection

[trisherina]

Reflection

A defining moment took place when she disclosed to the group her preference for showering in a bathing suit for fear of seeing her nude reflection, and I considered it a good outcome.

Expectation

[lapietra]

Expectation

The older I get, the more I find that expectations get one into trouble. Much better to approach most things in life with as neutral a state of mind as possible... in this way I avoid much disappointment and am often pleasantly surprised; at the very least I'm often prepared, at least emotionally, for whatever comes my way. I do allow myself *anticipation*, however, for things that have been repeatedly proven to be enjoyable, although this can get me into trouble... sometimes things just don't work out. But over time I've developed patience with this too.

Patience

[weissenflatz]

Patience

Something I lack in most cases. Except when I try to explain something to children, then I can find the ease of mind to be patient.

With adults I'm finding it hard to wait for understanding, comprehension, or any kind of reaction.

Adult

[Klynne]

Adult

When I was a child I asked my father what he wanted me to be when I grew up. I was thinking of what sort of profession he wanted me to enter. He told me that he did not care what I became and that all he wanted was for me to be happy.

Friendship

[trisherina]

Friendship

The boys were getting cranky and pushy again, and starting a fight.

"Why don't we go and feed Cloudy?" she offered. "He hasn't had anything to eat in a long time." The boys agreed.

They plucked up weeds from the edge of the playground, where they came up easily with clumps of damp sand dangling. Carefully, they threaded them between the bars of the sewer grate, down to Cloudy's waiting reflection. Cloudy's face wavered briefly as he swallowed each offering. Peace was restored.

Peace

[Deviate]

peace!
our fingers screamed
at the cars that blazed by
busy to continue their day
and not trouble with
the problems of
others

peace!
we shouted
at those who shouted
at us, words that stung, but
were defended by our
outstretched
fingers

peace!
we remembered
as our voices grew hoarse
our backs, tired, our feet, frozen
our minds, exhausted
our patience,
thin

peace!
we cryed as
we were denyed
the realization of our fight
and as we hugged goodbye in November
we whispered the word through strong salty tears
packing the papers of a lost struggle and
as we waved goodbye
flashed the fingers
in rememberence
of where we
once were.

November

[Klynne]

Originally posted by Deviate
peace!
our fingers screamed
at the cars that blazed by
busy to continue their day
and not trouble with
the problems of
others

peace!
we shouted
at those who shouted
at us, words that stung, but
were defended by our
outstretched
fingers

peace!
we remembered
as our voices grew hoarse
our backs, tired, our feet, frozen
our minds, exhausted
our patience,
thin

peace!
we cryed as
we were denyed
the realization of our fight
and as we hugged goodbye in November
we whispered the word through strong salty tears
packing the papers of a lost struggle and
as we waved goodbye
flashed the fingers
in rememberence
of where we
once were.

November

Dev, that was beautiful!

[Audreyvgs]

great thread, keep going!


unashamed

[Deviate]

whoa? what about my last word?

November.

[masterofNone]

November...

was where it all sort of went wrong. when that cocaine high the brain falls victim to when one is in love fell short. when the addicted brain stem began to whine for more. more.

more.

[Klynne]

More

We are born and raised to desire more. More money, more things, more, well just stuff. It does not matter. Can't take these things with you in the end.

Eternity

[trisherina]

Eternity

Summer would never end. It would go on being light until 10 PM forever, there would always be ice cream in the freezer, the Johnny Jump-Ups would always sprout more no matter how many bouquets they brought home, and there would always be time to examine every snail and worm in the garden. Their hearts pushed at their chests with joy whenever they thought of it: two months.

Gradually, gently, they became aware that it was necessary to wear sweaters after supper, and that the streetlights went on shortly after nine. By tacit agreement, nobody ever mentioned it, though; instead they would just pick some more bottles from their back stoops and head off to Cal's News to trade them for MoJos and Charleston Chews.

Ignore

[zenbabe]

Ignore

Even though she was my best friend through thick and thin..until she got that last boyfriend...then I never saw her again..I helped her move 3 times, but when it came time for me to need some help..she couldn't be bothered..she was to busy with cooking dinner and being suzy home maker for her boyfriend....so I called her a bitch and meant it...harsh words....but just words none the less...haven't heard from her since...

true colors

[Abby Normal]

True colors is the showing of what a person really is. It reminds me of my friend's funeral, where I saw the kinds of people my friends really were. They were still good, I just had no idea that they could be so sentimental, or quiet. Some of them I'd never seen cry before. There was only one friend of mine who remained hardly changed. We were leaving, and we were both leaning on each other and sobbing. She turns to me and says "I'm crying so much that I feel like I could have been a paid mourner at a medieval funeral!" She only said it to cheer the both of us up, not to be disrespectful. I just thought it was funny because all my friends seemed to have undergone a huge change, but Jess(the joking friend) hadn't changed at all. She had never shown anyone less than her true personality, and I thought that was really great.

Alright, so now for my word:
black

[trisherina]

Black is a good colour for necrosis, rainclouds, polished marble, rage, knee-weakeningly hot sports cars, figure-ground gestalt inkblots, witches' hats, rabbit fur, funeral umbrellas, exclamation points, oversized pupils, caviar, granny boots, licorice pipes, and garden soil.

If it's hawking out your lungs, though, you'd best see a

Doctor

[slurpeedemon]

Doctor

Some doctors understand that you know your body better than anyone else, and take you seriously when you say there's something wrong. Some don't. They are one of the things that make life more complicated, and therefore, they are the enemy.

Enemy

[Klynne]

Enemy

Jesus encourages us to love our enemies. It is easy to love those people that love us. The true test is to love one's enemies. Cripes, it is not easy to do.

Fall (as in the season)

[trisherina]

Fall

When do we stop wanting to jump in the freshly raked leaves, and instead protect them carefully from straying until they can be sent to their mass doom in a garden bag? Lips pursed, cursing the trees for renewing themselves? Maybe when we can picture them as the final weight, suffocating featherweight leaf by leaf, forever denying just one more spring renewal. An extinction, dreaded at first, but in the end a kind of relief.

Relief

[Frieda]

relief

a sigh, giving me air. finally i can let go. it is taken care of. my mission is complete.

complete

[Clytie]

complete

to make one whole. to fill to the fullest extent. sometimes used in the sense of "he/she completes me" but if you seek for completion in another then you are never really whole. you will constantly be seeking for a missing part of you. desire to be complete within yourself

quiet

[Aphrodite]

Quiet

Quiet is the hush that follows a serious faux pas.
Quiet is the muffled shuffling in a carpeted library.
Quiet is the silence of inner peace.
Quiet is the feeling of winding down.
Quiet is the whisper of a baby's breath.

Breath

[weissenflatz]

Breath

Two weeks ago I stood on the highest mountain in Africa. Up there, at almost 6000 meter, there only half the amount of oxigene your body is used to.

I was SO happy when I reached the topped, I could really feel my body fill up with positive energy...

Energy

[Coffee]

Energy;

an infinite spectrum of vibrations locking together and repelling apart all matter and space. Energy; forging itself into a continous wave front of reality and possiblity...the fuel for the relentless march of time.

Time

[trisherina]

Time

He climbs out of his crib and stares at the stars on Christmas morning, and falls into bed that night when his baby is born; he eats weiners and beans for breakfast and creme fraiche for lunch. He cries and laughs at once and no one thinks this unusual, but when his eyes are both open and closed, they insist on one or the other. He can't explain, it's his only

Secret