Sometime In The Future, A Saturday Centus

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We’re back once again to bust out another heaping pile of delectable literary morsels with week 21 of that fabulous writing meme that all the cool kids around the world are flocking to in droves, Saturday Centus! 

And whom do we have to bow and give reverence to for bestowing upon us this blessed gift of Centushood?  Only that minister of mirth, that champion of chutzpa, that virtuoso of vivaciousness, that high muckety-muck of hilarity, that queen of quips, that wunderkind of witticisms - Jenny Matlock at her blog, off on my tangent!

I would have been more descriptive, but my thesaurus suddenly burst into flames.  Sorry.

So for those of you who haven’t been initiated into the Centushood let me briefly explain what this is about and where to send your monthly offering what the rules are.  This is a themed writing meme designed to help writers focus on making every word count without all the extraneous chatter that weighs down so many stories.  (I believe those at Simon & Schuster refer to it as “chopping your babies,” though I could be wrong about that.) 

With the Saturday Centus our contributors are allowed 100 (get it, Cent-us…100) words maximum to tell a story using a prompt supplied by Jenny, aka the Exalted One.  The prompt words do not count in the total word count. 

(Why yes, Jenny.  Eddie Haskell was my hero.  Why do you ask?)

As Jenny says, you cannot use pictures (even fuzzy bunnies or sad-eyed beagles) to illustrate your story, and the stories can be fact or fiction.  Also, the prompt must be left intact as written and not sliced and diced in your story.  The rules had also prohibited vulgarity, but if you feel strongly that a certain word or words are essential to your story, just send Jenny an email with the words you wish to use in the subject line of your email. 

Jenny will get back to you right away.

You have a whole week (which you can break up into about 15 words per day if you like) to link your work to the meme and can submit multiple stories if you are so inclined.  And after you have written your story, link it to Jenny’s meme post so that all of your fellow Centusians can have a chance to read your contribution and shrink in awe of your magnificent talent comment on it. 

This week is very special to me because I am the inspiration for this week’s prompt!  The intelligent, beautiful and extremely talented Jenny Matlock crafted this prompt in honor of my birthday this Wednesday. 

While I am grateful beyond words for such an honor, I feel it’s only fair to recognize my mother and father (allegedly) whose efforts some 48 years and approximately nine months ago made this day possible.  And while I refuse to visualize it, I thank each of them for their genetic contributions and that whole raising to adulthood thingy.  Thanks!

But most of all, thank you Jenny for the best birthday card I could ever dream of.  And thank you all my Centusian friends for your well wishes also!  You are such a great gang of people to pal around with each week.  And I don’t have to get a tattoo or shoot anyone!  Bonus!

Without further ado, I present this week’s prompt which is in honor of ME!  Quiet, humble, shy little ME!  ME!  ME!  ME!  As in not YOU!

He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake...

Here is my contribution for this week’s Saturday Centus.  I have entitled it:

Sometime In The Future

It was Grandpa Tom’s 117th birthday party and everyone was there waving, smiling and chatting away with one another on the huge screen.  

Though science had finally conquered old age, the perception of crotchety old people persisted.  Relatives now interacted via pre-recorded videos and holographic images instead of visiting. 

As the family sang “Happy Birthday” one more time, Tom thought about this and lamented the lack of personal contact.

A holographic image of a cake appeared before him with candles aflame.

He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake that he would break wind, but he did. 

He cackled with laughter since no one would ever know.

You are only young once, 

but you can be immature for a lifetime.

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