A Smile for Ula - A Saturday Centus

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We’ve come to the 13th week of Saturday Centus, that inspired writing meme hosted by Jenny “Jen Jen” Matlock, a former Playboy bunny wonderful writer, friend to chickens and blogger extraordinaire at her blog, Jenny Matlock, off on my tangent….

And speaking of chickens, I would like to welcome Lissa from Why The Chicken Crossed the Road to our little literary soiree. Besides being my daughter, she is also a wonderful writer who is taking a brief break from writing screenplays to play with her dad on Saturday Centus. Welcome Lissa! Go check out her blog if you haven’t already.

The superstitious amongst you might be worried about posting a story this week, but be not afraid you triskaidekaphobiacs, for the Centus will not harm you. Unless of course you are the 13th to submit a story, in which case I hope you have your affairs in order. Those of us who survive this week will be sure to memorialize our fallen comrade in a special SC dedicated to them, maybe even one with a gangsta rap themed prompt! (Fo shizzle, my nizzle, dog!)

The participants in this meme, we’ll call them the Centusians, are given a prompt (sometimes it is short and sometimes, God forbid, it is long) that they are challenged to fashion into a fun and creative story. Sounds easy so far, right? There’s a catch, though. To make the meme even more demanding, you are not allowed to use any vulgarity in your stories.

“But that’s just &$#@!!,” I hear you say. I know!  But that’s the point, challenging you to write great stories even without the benefit of filthy cuss words! It’s not as easy as it sounds. Many Centusians have tried and failed and had to post their Centus stories at online erotica sites instead.

One other thing too, and this is kind of important, and that is you are only allowed to use a total of 100 words not including the prompt.

“Only 100 words? That’s easy; everyone can do that, give or take a few dozen words, anyway.”

Right. Well good for you, I think.

After the Centusians complete their written exercises, they link them back to Jenny’s Saturday Centus meme post (aka The Mothership) so that the participants can check out each other’s treatment on the prompt and post comments on each other’s blogs. Then we sit around and an older participant, commonly known as a Centusaurus, tells us stories about what it was like way back in week one.

If you haven’t joined us by now, what are you waiting for? Are you saying that you are unable to write 100 words? Really? Then you must have stumbled on this site whilst looking for some kind of right-wing extremist website or a website of one of their congenital idiot talking heads (Beck, Palin, Limbaugh, ad nauseum).

But seriously, you need to give it a try because it’s fun and you will be impressed with what you are capable of writing.

Not only that, but like the saying goes, “Once you go Centusian, you never go back.”

Here is this weeks “unlucky” prompt brought to you by one of our very own contributors who has decided to remain anonymous:

"That's why it meant so much...

And here is my effort this week. I call it:

A Smile For Ula

For generations life for the Dudek clan had been a bitter pill washed down with the tears of grief, poverty and torment.

Growing up in a small village in Poland, my grandmother Ula watched helplessly as friends and family members were executed before her eyes by the Nazis.

Eventually she came to America, married and had children, but life with a drunk, abusive husband offered no respite to her weary soul.

It’s graduation day.

Accepting my doctorate degree, I glance over to where she is sitting.

She is smiling.

That’s why it meant so much to me.

For once, her tears were tears of joy.

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