WEEKLY COCKTAIL - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

He grilled salmon.
She cooked beans.
He set the table.
She prepared a salad.
He poured the vodka.
She mixed tomato juice, Worchestershire, lemon and tobasco.
They clinked glasses and sipped their Saturday-night Bloody Mary.
While she drank the juice mixture, he consumed the shot of vodka.
It was the secret to their happy marriage.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

RUST BELT - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

His VW seemed to be held together with wires and duct tape. Large patches of rust covered the hood and driver’s door. Rust had eaten several holes all they way through the metal.

But Max was sixteen and it was his first car, so to him it was as good as a shiny new Porsche.

-------------------
My first car was a $300 used Corvair ---you know the one Ralph Nader decided was unsafe at any speed. I needed it to get to my student-teaching assignment each day. There was a hole in the back-seat floor, so passengers could watch the asphalt zip by. On Mother's Day 1967, on my way back to college, I was rear-ended at a stop sign which forced my car into the one ahead of it, totaling the car. Fortunately no one was seriously injured.

I purchased my next car in August of 1969 after I returned home from a two-year stint in the Peace Corps. It was a spanking new Volkswagon Beetle which my new husband totalled in 1971.

Luckily my run of bad luck with cars ended then.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

HAUT CUISINE - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

“This is so good," Danny said, slurping a piece of spaghetti between his teeth, red sauce dripping down his chin.

“Haven’t you ever eaten spaghetti before?” his friend’s mom asked, handing him a napkin.

“Not like this,” Danny answered. “My mom just pours a can of tomato soup over macaroni.”

“Mama mia,” sighed Mrs. Martinelli.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

LANGUAGE BARRIER - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

“Duas uvas fritas,” I said in my best Portuguese.
The waiter looked like he was holding back a laugh. Maybe he found my pronunciation amusing.
While eating my eggs, I perused my Brazilian phrase book.
My face turned red and hot. Although I received what I wanted for breakfast, I had ordered two fried grapes.

(a true story)

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD? Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

At the salon, Galina thought she looked great after having her tail feathers fluffed, but Capone, the insensitive rooster, told her she looked fat in her new do.

Galina ---a little hard of hearing ---crossed the road because she thought Bovina Cow had said, "The ass is always leaner on the other side of cements."

(You have my permission to groan now.)

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

FOR LOVE OR MONEY - Friday Flash 55

"MOOlah 2"

(click on image for larger view)

original drawing in ink and colored pencil

by

C.J. Peiffer

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

“The first time I married for love. This time I married for money,” Connie announced proudly.
“What happened to your first husband?” Serena asked.
“He’s in jail for fraud.”
“What did he do?”
“That S.O.B. forged checks and stole all my money.”
Serena thought about Connie’s second marriage for a second, then nodded. “Good move.”

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

PEPPERED - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

Emily’s lunch had been stolen from the refrigerator three days in a row.
Late Friday morning, gagging, with a red face, the boss tore from his office and raced toward the water cooler.
A tablespoon of cayenne folded discretely between the ham and cheese on her sandwich had flushed out the thieving culprit rather nicely.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

THE ROAD TO HEAVEN - mini non-fiction

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

The Road to Heaven

The dusty road meandered through small towns. Tiled roofs made each village appear red from a distance. The road wound between fields of corn and feijão, the black beans Brazilians ate daily.

We stopped the jeep when my Peace Corps site came into view. It didn’t look much like Heaven, but that was its name.

------------
I served as a PC Volunteer in Brazil from 1967 to 1969. You can read about my experiences on my other blog: A Little “Peace” of Brazil.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

CHARMED - Friday Flash 55

(click on images for larger views)

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

CHARMED

Neglected,
a silver chain,
charms added to evoke
cherished memories.

A sax for my first love.
Diploma for graduation.
Palette for my chosen field.
Airplane for my first flight.
Shoe for the large-footed
admirer who swept me off my feet.

The significance of some
have been forgotten.

My misplaced youth,
gathering dust in a drawer.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

UNSUITED - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

Entering PetroAm’s lobby, John passed through the security scanner with his briefcase. An alarm sounded.

“I forgot my badge. I’m John Wallington Wexford,” he announced indignantly.

“We know,” the guard said, already dialing the memorized number.

“Dr. Landon, I’m afraid Mr. Wexford has escaped again. The hospital gown and slippers give him away every time.”


I'm going to be at a Mark Twain Conference next week, so I probably will not participate in Friday Flash 55 on 8/7/09.
I will have internet access, but I will be so busy, I doubt I will have time for anything except checking email.
See you in two weeks.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

JUST SAY “NO” - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

Suzanna had to admit Jeremy was drop-dead handsome and a sweet guy, too.
“Will you be my girlfriend,” he asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Among other things, you’re far too young for me.”
“I’m seventeen,” Jeremy said, staring at her with his ice-blue eyes.
“I’m thirty.”
“What does that matter?”
“It matters.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your teacher.”

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

WHAT’S IN A NAME? - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

All Calico wanted was a warm lap, a bowl of tuna, chin scratches, and a sunny spot for a nap.

She rubbed against the bars and looked sadly at the young woman.

Soon she was in the woman’s lap and away from the shelter. The lady called her Patches, but Calico could live with that.

(Photo note: The photo is of my cat Patches. I added the bars digitally. Patches was not adopted from a shelter like my fictional cat, but was the daughter of Calico, a pregnant stray who adopted us. Unlike her long-haired daughter, short-haired Calico loved to be petted, but she hated to be picked up, always retaining some of her feral instincts. Patches was a sweet and lovable girl who loved to sit on our laps. Both eventually succumbed to illnesses in old age. Calico's all-white son, Mr. Snowball, survived them both, but eventually died, too. Now we have only one cat, Lunette. You can read about her HERE.)

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

FLOWER CHILD - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words.

Click on the yellow link above to join the fun or read others’ stories.

Petunia hated her stupid name. Her mother, who loved gardening, named her and her sisters after flowers: Iris, Daisy, Violet, Rose, and Petunia.

Kids at school had taunted them by calling them the Flower Girls.

If she had a brother, he would have been tormented ruthlessly. Surely her crazy mother would have named him Pansy.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)

CHAZ's BIG SURPRISE - Friday Flash 55

This post is in response to

FRIDAY FLASH 55

The object is to write a complete story in 55 words..

Click on the red link to join the fun or read what others have posted.

This is my first response to this writing prompt:

Chaz selected his next victim ---tall, brunette, resembling his mother.

In a dark alley, he offered her a thousand bucks. The slut seemed thrilled.

When he locked his apartment door, Chaz pulled out his knife and turned toward her.

He wasn’t thrilled to see the gun, the badge and the chest hair on his date.

(©2009, C.J. Peiffer)