Sowing Seeds of Unrest - A Saturday Centus

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Welcome Centusians, and all the rest of you unwashed heathen out there who have yet to discover the addictive properties inherent in writing micro-fiction each week!  Come on and give it a try if you haven't yet!  All the cool kids are doing it!

This little fictional foray of mine is for the 77th weekly installment of Jenny Matlock's Saturday Centus, a challenging and inspired writing meme hosted by Ms. Jenny at her blog off on my tangent.

Each Saturday our beloved teacher, Ms. Jenny, assigns us a prompt which we must lovingly incorporate into a story or poem using only 100 additional words. There are other rules too, like no vulgarity, no pictures, no splitting the prompt and &$%# like that, but you can basically do what you want.   

Jenny and the other Centusians are a very forgiving bunch and will likely allow you to live if, for example, your word count strays outside the accepted limit.

Just to be safe I wouldn't push her on it, though.

This prompt for this week's Saturday Centus is "I planted a little story seed."  This week I attempted to write my effort in rhyme format. I have entitled it:

Sowing Seeds Of Unrest

Weary of the day’s routine, 

A break from work I sought. 

With a mind for mischief, 

I hatched an impish plot. 

I saw Britney at her desk 

Waiting for calls to come. 

A perfect subject for my ruse 

Cute, but a little dumb. 

I planted a little story seed 

Of big changes headed her way. 

With our company in crisis 

And jobs outsourced to Bombay. 

“Oh, I know! It’s tragic! 

But I’m sorry to say it’s true. 

I saw the company’s layoff list. 

One of the names was you.” 

My shock and fear turned to relief 

When the pieces fell into place. 

I suddenly knew I’d been deceived 

As a wry smile crossed her face. 

"When somebody tells you nothing is impossible,

ask him to dribble a football."

               

                                                          - Anonymous  

A Little Piece of Heaven

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Centusians assemble!

It's time once again for that weekly creative writing exercise known as Saturday Centus.  This is the seventy-sixth week of this fun and challenging literary meme hosted by the incomparable Ms. Jenny Matlock of her blog, off on my tangent.

While we are normally given a text prompt from which to base our stories upon, this week Ms. Jenny has given us a photo instead.  In addition to the usual 100 word limit, we are also tasked with using a literary device, Sensory Details, in creating our stories.

This means that we are to incorporate the senses of touch, hearing, smell, taste and sight in relation to the image in concocting our stories and poems.  Sound easy?  Well let's see you try writing one then!  

After writing our stories we post them to Jenny's meme post so we can all share our takes on this week's assignment.  

This is my submission for this week's Saturday Centus challenge.  I have entitled it:

A Little Piece of Heaven

Klamath Falls was a far cry from the din of urban life Marv and Sharon had been used to, but living in harmony with nature in an old forest cabin had always been their dream. 

Marv loved the feeling of twigs and leaves crackling under his feet and the fresh scent of damp earth mingled with the wet bark of the pine forest. 

Intoxicating.

Much like the aroma of Sharon’s delicious homemade bread baking in the cabin’s hearth oven and served up warm with a bowl of her famous beef stew.   

“Now this is heaven” Marv grinned happily.  

"Life's tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid."


                                                    -  John Wayne

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A Blurred Vision of the Future, A Saturday Centus

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Here I go again sneaking in my entry for week 75 of Saturday Centus at the last minute.  Academia has a nasty habit of stifling my creative juices, but I have to try for the sake of my reputation as a teeny-tiny story writer!  Jenny Matlock, from her blog off on my tangent, has challenged us with the prompt "Friday Night Football" this week.

My 100-word effort this week is entitled:

A Blurred Vision Of The Future

January 20, 2016

Dawn rose on the third year of the Rick Perry Presidency.  The “Texaficashun” of the country was going well.  

He replaced the Department of Education with the Department of Righteousness and declared Christianity the official religion of the U.S., referring to all others as “godless terrists.”

But by far his biggest contribution to society, besides introducing public executions as half-time shows at Friday night football games, was the Great Wall of America separating America and Mexico.

Few then could imagine it would be used to keep Americans from illegally crossing the border into Mexico to seek a better life.

"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."

- George W. Bush

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When All Hope Is Lost, A Saturday Centus

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It's week 74 of Saturday Centus, that brilliantly devised literary meme forged from the fertile imagination of Jenny Matlock at her blog "off on my tangent."  


This week's exercise in micro-fiction has us once again concocting short 100-word stories in addition to a supplied prompt.  As usual I am a tardy participant, but I have an excuse - I had to save a house from a burning baby.  Yeah, that's the ticket!


This week's clever prompt is "The number you have reached is no longer in service."   I found this to be quite a challenging prompt, actually, but I managed to write something anyway.  So even if it's awful I only have to live with it until next week's SC post!  


The rules for this week are that we have to keep to the word count of 110 words total  including  the 10 prompt words and no more than 100 extra words.  As always, there is no vulgarity or splitting the prompt allowed, but we can use a photo if we want this week.


Here is my entry for this week's assignment.  I have entitled it:

When All Hope Is Lost

(dialing)


“I’m so depressed. 


I’ve been unemployed for 2 ½ years and now I’m completely broke. 


The Republicans refuse to pass the President’s jobs bill, but won’t extend unemployment benefits. 


(ringing)


Cold. 


Heartless. 


Bastards.


  
They’ve slashed education and health services.  I can't get job training or medical assistance. 


(ringing)


Instead they’re giving billions to their filthy rich donors and corporate masters.


After tomorrow I will be homeless.   


I can’t live like that.


(click)


 ‘The number you have reached is no longer in service.  Please check your number and dial again.’


Perfect!  That’s the last time I try to call the Suicide hotline.”

He was so depressed, he tried to commit suicide by inhaling next to an Armenian.

- Woody Allen