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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday and Sandee at Comedy Plus.
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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.
This month, i am providing the prompts. You can write your story on your blog and leave a link here, or write your story in the comments, your choice.
Pick words from one list, or both, use them all, or use none. The whole point is to get us writing, so please have fun with it!
The words for this week:
union
holiday
rational
recover
collect
headline
and/or
global
perception
sin
wrong
finance
gaffe
When i am asked to provide the Words for Wednesday prompts, which i found out last year i really enjoy doing, i sometimes turn to an internet random word generator. That’s what i did this week, and the resulting list up there has me wondering just how random it is, but that’s a discussion for another time.
With the word HEADLINE and the others in the mix, this is something i just cannot avoid. It’s a topic i addressed once before, in a different way, and my opinion has not changed.
Racism is, pure and simple, WRONG. It’s not a minor problem, not a social GAFFE, not acceptable in any way, shape or form.
It is, to use an old time word a lot of people do not like any more, a SIN.
Science tells us that every single one of us, when we look at a person for the very first time, make a snap decision about that person based on what we see. The mind does this in less than one second, before RATIONAL thought can kick in. In a case where our lives might be in danger, this can be a good thing.
In a case where we are more than likely not in immediate danger, this PERCEPTION needs to be grabbed and consciously suspended until we can RECOVER our higher thinking selves and actually COLLECT pertinent information about the person.
It is a GLOBAL and universal reaction we can’t help to form a snap judgment based on what we see. It is the right and good and proper thing to realize what this reaction is, a fight or flight programmed brain making sure there is no danger.
Then unless the person is brandishing a weapon at us or threatening in some other way, throw that preprogrammed response out and make the intelligent choice to learn more about the person.
For the sake of this country remaining a UNION, something has to change. We have to learn to nip every thought of discrimination of every kind in the bud and bring our higher thinking selves to the front.
To put it in Bible words, it’s called taking every thought captive to obedience to the law of love.
In a couple of weeks, we will go on HOLIDAY as people used to call going on vacation. Grandpa will FINANCE it, as he does each year for the whole family. We were not sure it would happen at all this year, with the quarantines. For the most part, that is no longer a concern. We will be careful and stay safe distances from others and i go mostly to nap in the ocean breezes anyway, something best done alone.
The pandemic may not stop our vacation, but now i have to worry that the problem that should have been licked a generation or more ago, racism, might.
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Today is:
Broken Dolls Day -- Japan (all broken dolls are taken by their children to monks for burial)
Callynteria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (a service of atonement and cleaning Athena's temple; date approximate)
Chimborazo Day -- to publicize that while Mt. Everest may be the highest, the top of Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador is the furthest from the center of the earth
Clean Air Day -- Canada
Dr. Charles Drew Day -- honoring the man who made blood transfusions possible
Festival to Bellona -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of war)
Impersonate Authority Day -- at your own risk, i will not bail you out just because i noted an internet holiday and you decided to celebrate it ;)
Jack Jouett Day -- Virginia (the "Paul Revere" of his day and place, rode to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson that the British were coming, 1781)
Mabo Day -- Australia
Martyr's Day -- Uganda
National Chocolate Macaroon Day
National Egg Day
Opium Suppression Movement Day -- Taiwan
Pull Your Pants Up Day -- internet generated, various dates given, and some are trying to make it a national movement; to encourage young men to pull up their pants for 24 hours and see if they enjoy having both hands free
Repeat Day -- i said, "repeat day" (no, i don't know who comes up with this stuff, sometimes; if i do, i try to place the blame appropriately)
St. Clotilde's Day (Patron of adopted children, brides, disappointing children, exiles, parenthood, parents of large families, queens, widows; against the death of children)
St. Kevin of Glendaulough's Day (Patron of blackbirds; Dublin, Ireland; Glendaulough, Ireland; Ireland)
Tailor's Day -- the first Wednesday of June is noted on many sites as the day to thank your tailor
Worst Day in the Fairy Year -- Fairy Calendar (must be nice to know when your worst day will be)
Anniversaries Today:
U.S. Air Force Academy first graduating class, 1959
The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson, 1937
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo founded, 17
Birthdays Today:
Lalaine, 1987
Rafael Nadal, 1986
Anderson Cooper, 1967
Charles Hart, 1961
Scott Valentine, 1958
Deniece Williams, 1951
Suzi Quatro, 1950
Curtis Mayfield, 1942
Larry McMurtry, 1936
Norman Brinker, 1931
Raul Castro, 1931
Chuck Barris, 1929
Colleen Dewhurst, 1926
Allen Ginsberg, 1926
Tony Curtis, 1925
Leo Gorcey, 1917
Josephine Baker, 1906
Dr. Charles Drew, 1904
Ransom E. Olds, 1864
Jefferson Davis, 1808
Debuting/Premiering Today:
"Dragnet"(Radio), 1951
“Casey at the Bat”(Publication date), 1888
Today in History:
French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy, 1140
Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain, 1539
Construction of the oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 1620
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is founded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, 1770
President John Adams moves to Washington, D.C., to live in a tavern (the White House wasn't ready), 1800
In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, which prompts the First Opium War, 1839
In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, Cree leader Big Bear escapes the North West Mounted Police, 1885
The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner, 1888
The coast to coast Canadian Pacific Railway is completed, 1889
One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario, 1935
Launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew, which included the first space walk by an American, 1965
A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill ever recorded, 1979
SkyDome is officially opened in Toronto, Ontario, 1989
Aboriginal Land Rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (1988), a case brought by Eddie Mabo, 1992
USS Carter Hall engages pirates after they board the Danish ship Danica White off the coast of Somalia, 2007
A pageant on London's River Thames marks the highpoint of a series of events celebrating The Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, 2012
Three of the most extremely well-preserved and most complete triceratops specimens ever found are unearthed in Wyoming, 2013
The Amazing world of Dr Seuss Museum opens in Springfield, Massachusetts, 2017
Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts, causing widespread death and destruction, 2018
I love your take on the words - and agree they didn't seem all that random.
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally agree with you about racism, and indeed prejudice more generally.
Judging people from their outside looks is a sin no matter by whom and where - I could not agree more.
ReplyDeleteThere's one thing I always feel tempted to say when people stand up against animal cruelty, racism, or whatever, and that is that ALL lives matter!
I don't know if it's like this your place, but in my place so many people speaking loudly out against racism and animal cruelty are vehemently pro abortion. I just can't align those ends. Sorry if I'm hijacking your post. Feel free to delete if you find this inappropriate.
Please know i welcome lots of opinions that are respectfully given, and on this one, i happen to agree with you.
DeleteBoth sides spend so much time and money trying to make abortion illegal or keep it legal, how about we spend that time and money trying to create a world where no woman ever has to make that choice again instead.
Yes. Agree! Thank you.
DeletePeople that do judge others need to look at themsleves first
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything you said and well put too :-)
Have a safetastic week 😷😷😷
Glad you will be going on your vacation, and we hope racism doesn't cause any issues. It is very wrong, but all the violence right now doesn't do a thing to help the cause. The world is one hot mess right now.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising is always so clever.
ReplyDeletePrejudice of any kind is wrong. Difficult to erase though.
ReplyDeleteLove that. When I worked it had a different meaning altogether.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥
Well written. Racism is dangerous. Before we judge, let us look at ourselves. Enjoy your vacation.
ReplyDeleteYou took that prompt and nailed it! Thank you for your awesome words today. :)
ReplyDeleteprejudice; racism; hatred; and all the other synonyms; can go to ~~~~ not my blog, but, you know where I mean
ReplyDeletewell written prompt today and I hope your vacation is awesome !! ☺☺♥♥
Here is my take on the words today, they were a tad difficult to weave into the story.
ReplyDeleteNow, Alcalador said, one of the first things I have to do is secure this cave. I can ask the dwarves to look after it, although the finance involved will be somewhat irrational as although they mine gems they have a love of collecting gold. At least they do have a perception of what is right and wrong and will ensure no sin is committed against me which would make it necessary for me to recover my property. It will be necessary for me to approach the head of the dwarf Union to arrange this. I hope he is not on holiday as he does have a propensity to disappear on a global tour periodically and I would not wish to make the gaffe of seeking his underling. That would make headlines in the Dwarves Gazette. Meanwhile, Eleuthera, you must prepare to tire yourself as a human female and pack yourself such necessities as you may require. When I return, I will do the same.
What a fun start for a story! Let's hope the Dwarves prove to be fair in their estimate of cost.
DeleteI do love your continuing tale, and always enjoy it. Thank you.
DeleteI totally agree with your piece, Mimi, and those expressed by others in their comments. As David King says, you nailed it!
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling that this theme would find its way into WFW this week, so I decided to do something a little different and work on something that has been circling around in the depths of my brain for some time. I hope you don't mind my using WFW as a platform for trying it out. So,this week’s entry comes with a twist.
How many of the following words can you find in the Wordsearch grid?
UNION HOLIDAY RECOVER COLLECT RATIONAL
WRONG FINANCE GLOBAL HOLIDAY HEADLINE
GAFFE SIN
P E R A T I O N A L
U E E U R E N O F A
T N I S A F G I R B
C I I O D F N T U O
E L L O E A T P B L
L D A W N G S E Y G
L A C C E S S C X E
O E E L G N O R W P
C H R G N O R W R A
Y A D I L O H P E R
My apologies for the lack of correct spacing between the letters owing to the transition over to the 'Publish' version. In the Preview and Edit versions, the grid format works perfectly. They are there, but not in perfectly straight lines. How many did you spot?
(Of course, all the prompts for this week were listed above the grid!)
SpikesBestMate. Clever, not \sure it isn't too clever for me. I will have a go at it later though.
DeleteExcellent! Very clever, and i found all but recover, that may be because of the spacing, and wrong seems to be in there twice.
DeleteDo you keep your own blog? This might work better if you link it in the comments and do it in an actual post.
This is super clever. Well done. I am always blown away by the very different directions the prompts take us.
DeleteThank you all for your comments, and well spotted, Mimi, for noticing the two wrongs. I found it quite difficult to proof read the grid. I am considering blogging as long term project, but feel I need more writing experience before taking the plunge - hence my sticking to your comments facility at present.
DeleteThat was a terrific story, really! Love that honey too!
ReplyDeleteYou made a great use of the words, and I agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteWe have had 2 cruises cancelled and will cancel the third one we have booked for this year, so no holiday for us. I hope yours is great.
The most impactful statement about the murder of George Floyd for me was sitting in front of a blank screen (many channels did this) for over 8 minutes. It really makes clear just how long 8 minutes really is.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great (and restful) time on your vacation. Oh, how I'd love to walk a beach right about now, but I'm afraid to fly to one of my family's beach houses right now.
I completely agree. I can't believe this is still happening. I am glad you get to go on vacation. XO
ReplyDeleteI don't think the words are random either, I think the word generator focuses on current news items. I like what you did with them, a nicely woven story.
ReplyDeleteVacation sounds like what you need ~ have a good one ~ Xox
ReplyDeleteBe Safe, Be Well,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Here's my story for this week...fact, not fiction...
ReplyDelete"
Personally, I’ve never been a member of a union. I have never wanted to be. To be a member was not rational to my way of thinking.
I had many dealings with the CFMEU when I was chef/manager of the mess/canteen and manager of the accommodation for the single men...miners... employed by the then Mount Isa Mines (now Glencore) coal mine at Collinsville.
I also had dealings with the union organisers/top dogs when I was cooking at Lorikeets Restaurant in Glenden prior to my relocation, within the same catering company, to Collinsville.
The catering company of my employ also had overseas contracts...with the United Nations...in Somalia, the Middle East, and South-East Asia.
The town of Glenden was constructed to provide houses etc., for the workers at the new nearby Newlands coal mine. Both towns and mines are in the Bowen Basin, a rich coal mining area known global-wide.
In the mid-1990, David Morris, the head of the company, was murdered in Somalia. He had arrived in Mogadishu in 1992 with his two sons, and a multi-million dollar contract with the UN to feed 29,000 peacekeepers; a contract they’d won after work they’d done for the UN in Cambodia. One of Morris’s sons, aged only 21 years was shot dead by Somali bandits, along with two other staff. It was after that that David Morris was kidnapped and never seen again. Apparently he was murdered by Islamic militant. What happened to David Morris, his son and his two workers was so wrong....a sin of the most callous degree.
How could the families of those who lost their lives in such a brutal way ever recover from such tragedies?
The atrocities were the front page, major headline in newspapers throughout the world, not only here in Australia.
In the early “Noughties”, the company suffered another blow. Its finance was the target this time when the company’s lucrative Iraq contract collapsed. What caused the gaffe, I know not. Money was lost, but, fortunately, no lives.
I’d have no desire to work in any of those countries...let alone spend a holiday!
If I’d been asked to work in any of those overseas areas, I’d have replied with a resounding “No”, and held out my hand to collect my severance pay!
My perception of the union hierarchy, and their kow-towing “yes-men”, was a rational one gleaned from the thuggish, greedy behaviour I witnessed personally."
What a horrifying story Lee, and I sympathise with your lack of a wish to visit such countries, however, we cannot blame everyone for the actions of the few. I feel sorry for those people who are blamed for such actions when they had nothing to do with it. Should we blame all Americans because some choose to take up guns and shoot up schools, mosques, or temples? But no, I would not wish to visit there either.
DeleteLee: A powerful use of the prompts. You will however be unsurprised to hear that I was a union member. Yes there are some powerful and unscrupulous people heading up some unions. However the same is true of some non-unionised companies.
DeleteI love how you've used the words, messymimi...wonderful...thought-provoking...may peace soon prevail, and may past wrongs and injustices be eradicated...forever.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware I was pointing any fingers of blame atinnocents, Jo. I certainly wasn't pointing fingers at the innocent, Jo. I was relating what actually happened...to murders that occurred perpetrated by militants and bandits. Obviously, you've misunderstood my true story.
ReplyDeleteFrom now on, perhaps I'll stick to fiction.