Saturday Centus - Banned

Hello! I'm back this week to join my favorite group of writers for Saturday Centus. I finally have a minute or two to breathe and thought it would be fun to visit Jenny Matlock and see what she had cooked up this week. What did I find? A challenge that almost made me turn tail and run away until next week. Normally Jenny gives us a fun little prompt and 100 words to write a story using the prompt exactly as written. This week she was feeling generous and gave us 150 words. Nice, right? But EVERY STINKING WORD has to be written in dialogue! That's right, my least favorite thing to write. So here goes nothing folks. Make sure to visit Jenny and read what much more creative souls than I have come up with. You won't be disappointed. And Jenny leaves the link up for an entire week, so you have plenty of time to come up with your own tale and join us!

"Sorry I'm late. Problems at work today and it got a bit ugly"

" Please don't tell me you got into it with that protest group again"

"Yep. Showed up at the end of the day, demanding that I remove 30 books from the shelves. Of course I refused. Almost had to call the police!"

"Just take the damn books down, hide them or something. It's not worth all this hassle. We can't afford for you to lose your job over this"

"I promise you, if I give them this, they will be back for more. I cannot let a bunch of narrow minded dolts tell me what books are appropriate for my students. Good Lord, they want me to remove To Kill A Mockingbird! And the Harry Potter books. Those books are the only things that got some of these kids interested in reading at all!"

"What are you doing? Are you seriously ordering another Martini?"

Postscript: It's Banned Books Week. Visit ALA to find out more about this event. And click this link to find a list of the most commonly challenged/banned books. It's a real eye opener http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics/index.cfm

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

Remembrance

I felt compelled to repost my 9-11 remembrance from last year. Please, everyone take a moment today to remember all those who lost their lives on that terrible day, and keep their families in your prayers. And please, try and remember the foundation of tolerance and respect that our country was built upon. If anything, I think things have gotten worse since I originally wrote this. It's frightening how divided our country has become. We have to pull together as a people and quit letting special interests manipulate the puppet strings. READ, make informed decisions and vote people into office who listen to their constituents instead of lobbyists and false patriots waving "pledges". The only pledge our elected officials should be making is to US, not corporate special interest groups.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

On waking this morning, I prepared myself for the onslaught of memorials, pictures and reflections on 9-11. I remember exactly where I was (at work) when the attacks occurred. DH called me at work and told me that a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center. Thinking that it was small private plane, he quickly informed me as to what was really happening. We do not have a television or radio at our clinic, and at the time we did not have internet access. So the entire day was spent grilling clients who came in.
What I remember most clearly from the days, weeks and months that followed this horrific attack is the sense of pride and unity. No one was going to bring this country to it's knees. The sense of thankfulness for our firefighters and police officers who willingly went into the inferno to save lives and bring some semblance of order to chaos. The picture that I remember most clearly from this frantic time was of the thousands of people streaming across the bridge leaving Manhattan, with firefighters and police officers going into the city.
As I sit here with my morning coffee, I wonder what we have really learned from this. What happened to our sense of pride and unity? The constant bickering over every little thing, the two political parties acting like a bunch of spoiled schoolchildren. Name calling, mud slinging and ugly, hateful rhetoric spewing from every talk radio station. People, if we cannot pull ourselves together and learn to tolerate each other's differences and opinions, we are letting the terrorists win. Our biggest strength lies in our ability to discuss, work together and learn from each other. Our greatest ally is ourselves! We the People! Not you the democrats and you the republicans and you the "whatever". Our country was formed in response to intolerance and injustice. A place where everyone has the right to change government, just by pulling a little lever. Let's not let our differences tear us apart. Rather, try to remember that it is people from all walks of life, all religious beliefs, all political leanings and all backgrounds that give this country it's strength. It saddens me to think that the only time we can come together as a people and unite in a common cause is when we are under attack.
It is important that we never forget what happened on this fateful day. But it's also important to remember what happened in this great country of ours over 200 years ago. The greatest country on earth, with the greatest system of government on earth, was formed. So while it is important that we fly our flags and wear our lapel pins today, I think it is more important that we keep the flag in our hearts and minds everyday. Make our forefathers proud of what we have become and what we can accomplish. Do not let the terrorists win.

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Saturday Centus - The Wall

Good morning Fellow Centusians! Yes, it's time for Saturday Centus, hosted by the always gracious Jenny Matlock at Off on My Tangent. Sorry I've been MIA for so long, but apparently someone changed my name to Job while I wasn't looking. Let's just say it's been an interesting 6 weeks and leave it at that. I hope you forgive me for abandoning ship for awhile, but life does get in the way sometimes, doesn't it? I thought I had remembered the rules for Saturday Centus, but something has changed. We have 200 words this week! Maybe I should take a break more often. This week's prompt was provided by Miss Nonna Beach at Tasty Tales. Miss Nonna is also responsible for us having an extra hundred words this week, so make sure to visit and give her some love! In case you've forgotten, Jenny or one of her cohorts gives us a prompt. Then we create a very short story of 100 words or less, exclusive of the prompt. No pictures, profanity or other things that you wouldn't want your grandchildren to see. Which probably explains why Anthony Weiner doesn't join us every week. But I digress....

This week's prompt is in bold italics. Hope you enjoy my take on it!

Cindy crept across the attic, floorboards groaning like an old drunk. If mama knew she was up here, she'd tan her hide. Jumped as a shadow flitted across the wall, laughing in relief when she saw it was just her reflection in the wavy glass of an old mirror. Brushing aside cobweb curtains, she knelt in front of the old trunk. Snitching the key from mama had been tricky, but she'd managed. Busy making pies for tomorrow's church supper, mama hadn't even noticed. Dust rose in clouds as Cindy slowly raised the lid. There it was, the packet of letters from great grandpa Cole. Reading the faded ink, she searched desperately for a clue, finally finding it. Slipping out of the house, Cindy ran across the back pasture until she saw the landmark. The wall was built long ago, the stones leaning from frost heave. Running her hands along the bottom row, she found the one she was looking for. Pushing with all her might, Cindy moved the stone, revealing an oilcloth wrapped bundle. Cindy opened the package with trembling hands, staring in amazement. The family legend was true! Just like great grandpa promised. More than enough to pay off the bank and keep the farm.