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Well I’m back again to stretch my mental muscle for this, the 19th week of Saturday Centus. For those of you who still don’t know what Saturday Centus is (and if you don’t by now you must be either living in a cave somewhere in the Antarctic cut off from any communication with intelligent society or are living in Alabama) it is a themed writing meme forged from the endlessly fertile and creative mind of Jenny Matlock at her blog, off on my tangent.
In brief, the rules are that participants have to write a really tiny short story, or paragraph, or blurb if you will, of 100 words or less using a supplied prompt. This prompt, which can be a sentence or phrase, must be used in its original form anywhere within the story and does not count toward the total 100 word limit. The only other rules are no pictures and no vulgarity. Once written, the stories are linked up to Jenny’s meme post so that we can all share our inspired literary inventions with one another.
As a somber tribute in honor of those fallen heroes of the September 11th terrorist attack and the great sacrifices they and their families have made, this week Jenny has decided to muster our clever collection of wordsmiths and tasked us to write our narratives about this mournful occasion. She has allowed us to include a picture to accompany our stories as well.
Obviously such a solemn task precludes the use of any of my typical humorous devices, so I will put aside my snarky ways until next time and give this subject the respect it is due.
Obviously such a solemn task precludes the use of any of my typical humorous devices, so I will put aside my snarky ways until next time and give this subject the respect it is due.
This week’s prompt is:
I stood frozen in front of the flickering images on my TV
Here is my contribution to this week’s Saturday Centus. I have entitled it:
The Death of Innocence
September 11, 2001 will forever be etched into our collective consciousness as the day America suffered its harshest blow as Muslim extremists attacked, killing almost 3,000 men, women and children.
Like many others that day, I stood frozen in front of the flickering images on my TV as the unimaginable horror and chaos of those scenes and the videos of the plane crashes preceding it stunned the world and changed it forever.
Gone were our safe, carefree lives, a casualty of sinister ideologues.
Nine years later, the memories of that tragic day persist in the fearful eyes of our children as they face an uncertain future.
That is their sad legacy.
Entertaining readers with ADD since May, 2010!
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This is a perfect tribute and picture, Tgo. Thanks for this one.
ReplyDeletexoRobyn
Well named. This was truly the death of innocence.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tom.
You have written this very eloquently, speaking for the majority of the people in our country. We will never be the same.
ReplyDeleteI normally don't read any of the links until mine is done, but I had to read this. The title says it all, and the thing I remember most about that day is the look of fear on my daughter's face. Well done Tom. But I do have to take you to task for yet another knock against the South. Harper Lee and Truman Capote were from Alabama my dear. Of course, so were George Wallace and Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel, but I like to accentuate the positive :) Kat
ReplyDeleteI wondered what your sharp wit would do today, Tom! I expected something that impaled us with hard truth. Instead, you softened, moved us (me at least) to tears with a word choice whispering of sorrow and moaning in grief, a gentle lament for our losses and those for our children.
ReplyDeleteHi there , that was a beautiful and awesome tribute ! God Bless
ReplyDeleteNice tribute and excellent job with the Centus.
ReplyDeleteSome days I look at the 6- to 9-year olds and realize this is not in their memories. And I am grateful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post!! A day we will always remember!! I couldn't take my eyes off of the tv when I finally did get home. I had to stay calm with 25 first graders!!
ReplyDeleteYesterday was a day of remembrance. One that I will never forget. I still mourn the loss of every man, woman, and child that died that day. Your Centus was a respectful tribute and an excellent use of the prompt. ~Ames
ReplyDeleteA sad legacy indeed Tom...was not sure I wanted to write on this one, nor read others...as you can see I am doing both...well stated my friend...Peace
ReplyDeleteNicely done. May we never forget.
ReplyDeleteVery touching Tom.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully done, Tom. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWell stated. You speak for many.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, indeed. Sad and touching.
ReplyDeleteYou did better than I could ever have done, because while others "run off at the mouth", I "run off on the keyboard" and could never limit myself to 100 words.
ReplyDeleteWhat I consider the saddest part of this day (9/11) is how short the memory is for most people. If you cannot remember what happened only 9 years ago....especially emotionally, then we are forever doomed to get sidetracked when some idiot strikes a match just to burn a book.
I felt similar to how you did about this prompt ... not in fitting with my usual approach. But I guess if we want to write, we have to write about all topics.
ReplyDeleteVery well done, Tom.
ReplyDeleteTom, I liked the swtich up from newscaster to personal style in your writing here.
ReplyDeleteThis was a difficult week to write and perhaps even more so to read.
But I am touched by the sense of community and empathy I feel as I continue on my journey through Week 19.
Thank you for sharing your writing.
Oh so true so true. I am a bit late getting to read last weeks entries...so all the emotions are stirring right back up again. I remember my oldest child was just 14months that day and I couldn't help but think "what have I done"...
ReplyDelete'Death of Innocence' is a good title for your post. You have touched on many of the feelings I am sure many share with you.
ReplyDeleteYes, this was a tough one!
Thank you for your kind words on my post. The difficulty with this assignment is that it is too much for those who actually lost someone and too difficult to make believable for those who live far away. To strike a balance would be the ideal, and for that you almost have to use a little fiction.
Great post.
Best wishes,
Anna
For the benefit of other readers:
Anna's SC-Remembering 9/11
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