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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, BeThere2Day, 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, the prompts are being provided by yours truly.
Please feel free to use some of the prompts, none of them, or all of them as you see fit. The point is to get the creative juices flowing in whatever manner your muse leads you.
This week's words are:
flatware
season
resist
combine
second
breakdown
and/or
bottom
shame
spine
dinner
offense
front
Charlotte/Mother Owl has chosen luminous bright red as the color of the month, which you may use as an extra prompt if you wish.
The boys had been warned about swinging their baseball bats in the house.
Ryan and James, known to many in their circle as "the twins", were mostly good boys. Usually one warning was sufficient, as their father wielded the belt from his 60-inch waist with a deftness which belied his size, and he was not slow to use it on any BOTTOM which he felt deserved it. (Please also let it be known he was not cruel, his punishments were effective but never left permanent damage, physically or mentally.)
This was typical for the times in which they lived, and neither boy would have said their father was unjust, knowing full well when such corporal punishment was used, it was because an OFFENSE against which they'd been warned had actually been committed.
One reason, among others, for the dictum against swinging their bats indoors was the number of breakables in the house, as there are in most homes. The most important of these was the large hutch in the living room, the top section of which had glass doors and behind them sat father's beautiful leather-bound book collection. The drawers underneath held silver FLATWARE, linens and other items used only when company came for DINNER.
It was baseball SEASON, and even though the twins were very nearsighted, their parents had them in Little League, and they were enjoying it. James, at that moment, was enjoying it perhaps a little too much, as he'd taken his bat out of its usual storage place and was, well, he would have said he wasn't really swinging it as he ambled toward the porch door, just kind of letting it go back and forth like a pendulum, sort of...
That SECOND when you know disaster is about to strike is the longest moment in history, especially when you are a seven-year-old boy who has been told not to do something and in your heart and conscience you know good and well that's what you really are doing.
Because James could not RESIST letting that little back and forth swing of the bat get to be a wee mite out of hand on his way through the living room to the door to go outside, as he was supposed to do whenever he had his outdoor equipment in his hands.
Sometimes the forces of the world COMBINE to conspire against you when you give in to temptation, and just as he was in FRONT of the beautiful hutch the bat seemed to take on a life of its own and slipped from his fingers.
The loud crash startled the whole family, except James, frozen in horror for a moment before he bolted for the door which had been his original destination anyway. He now had more than enough reason to hurry.
Ryan came running in, just as their father arrived on the scene. Father had watched James walking out of his bedroom with the bat in hand as he'd been on his way to the hall bathroom, and he'd torn out of said bathroom, his face turning a Luminous Bright Red as he yanked his belt back off and yelled, "James, I told you to never swing that bat in the house!"
The boys were often just called "the twins" for a very good reason. Only a close examination could tell the difference, and often their parents mistook one for the other at a distance or when in a hurry.
Father grabbed Ryan in quite a hurry, as James was conveniently outdoors by this time. Ryan yelled, "But dad!" and father shouted back, "No buts! James, I've told you to never swing the bat indoors!"
Father proceeded to administer the customary discipline to the end of Ryan's SPINE, and when the dust settled Ryan nearly had a BREAKDOWN, crying much more than was his custom under these circumstances and looking up at his father with the expression of a child betrayed which his father never forgot.
"Dad, I'm Ryan, you spanked the wrong one! My bat is still in my bag with my gear, you can go in my room and look! It wasn't me, it was James!"
A flush of SHAME crept over his father, and in his own words, he felt low enough to milk a snake.
"I'm so very, very sorry, son," father said. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Father really did feel awful about it, so awful he took Ryan out for a milkshake every single day for a week. In later years, Ryan, who was all stomach just like his brother, was wont to say it had been worth it!
James got another stern warning and had to sit out from baseball that week, as well as give part of his allowance money to help repair the broken glass.
(This is a true story, Sweetie, "Ryan," really did get spanked by accident when Brother-in-Law, "James," fled the scene, and he really did get taken to the malt shop for a milkshake every day for a week by his very repentant father.)
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Today is:
Day of Azerbaijani Cinema -- Azerbaijan (anniversary of the 1898 showing of the first motion pictures filmed in Azerbaijan)
Distribution of Charity Monies -- Fairy Calendar (Imps only)
Festival of Amen and Hapi -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (offerings to the god of transcendent powers and the god of the Nile to assure the flooding of the Nile; date approximate)
Lincoln Penny Day -- US (the Lincoln Cent entered circulation on this day in 1909, and is one of the longest running coins in continual production in history)
Take a Penny/Leave a Penny Day -- if the US is really determined to keep the littlest coins, the least we can do is pool them together in the trays so conveniently found in stores and restaurants
Make Some Old Fashioned Lemonade Day
National Coloring Book Day
National Ice Cream Sandwich Day
Nuestra Senora de los Angeles -- Costa Rica (Feast of Our Lady of the Angels)
Shimizu Minato Matsuri -- Shimizu City, Japan (through the 4th, commemorates the reopening of Shimizu Port to international trade)
St. Elias' Day (Elijah the Prophet) related observance
Iliden -- Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ukraine; other Slavic countries where he is titled St. Ilia
Republic Day -- Macedonia
St. Eusebius of Vercelli's Day (Patron of Vercelli, Italy)
Anniversary Today:
The first US Census is recorded, 1790
Birthdays Today:
Edward Furlong, 1977
Michael Weiss, 1976
Sam Worthington, 1976
Mary-Louise Parker, 1964
Victoria Jackson, 1959
Butch Patrick, 1953
Kathryn Harrold, 1950
James Fallows, 1949
Joanna Cassidy, 1944
Wes Craven, 1939
Lamar Hunt, 1932
Peter O'Toole, 1932
James Baldwin, 1924
Carroll O'Connor, 1924
Myrna Loy, 1905
Jack L. Warner, 1892
Elisha Gray, 1835
Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant, 1754
Today in History:
Philip II of Macedon leads his army to defeat the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, which secured Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean, BC338
Hannibal leads his Corinthian army to defeat the superior forces of Rome, BC216
Henry Hudson sails into what it is now known as Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage and reached the Pacific Ocean, 1610
First United States Census, 1790
First parachute jump in the US, 1819
Japan's samurai, farmer, artisan, merchant class system is abolished as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869
Tower Subway, the world's first underground tube railway, opens in London, 1870
Andrew Hallidie tests the first cable car system in San Francisco, 1873
Wild Bill Hickok meets his death; shot in the back while playing poker, his hand, a pair of Aces and a pair of eights, is now called "Dead Man's Hand", 1876
Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Cannary) dies, 1903
Typhoon in China kills about 60,000, 1922
The positron (antiparticle of the electron) is discovered by Carl D. Anderson, 1932
Pakistan is re-admitted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, 1989
Iraq invades Kuwait, setting the stage for the Gulf War, 1990
Two previously unknown works by Mozart - a concerto movement and a prelude, are performed in Salzburg, Austria, 2009
The U.S. Government estimates the Deepwater Horizon oil spill dumped nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, 2010
The first footage of white giraffes (giraffes with leucism) is posted by the Hirola Conservation Program in north eastern Kenya, 2017
Great Britain’s Prince Philip, age 96, makes his final solo public appearance before retiring from public engagements, 2017
Apple becomes the first American publicly listed company to reach $1 trillion in value, 2018
Archaeologists confirm they have found the oldest library in Germany, in Cologne, dating back to 2AD and possibly holding as many as 20,000 scrolls, 2018
Saudi Arabia announces it is enacting news rules for women including allowing them to travel independently abroad without a male guardian's permission, 2019
SpaceX safely completes its first crewed mission when NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splash down in the Gulf of Mexico in their Dragon capsule, 2020
This is a wonderful use of the prompts - and it being a true story makes it even better.
ReplyDeleteI would work for them too yum lol :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a tacostastic week 👍
Poor Ryan! I hope James was repentant too.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
Motivation is a good thing, what every you choose to use. Good story too.
ReplyDeleteAs I have been writing my novel this summer, I've found that prompts are an excellent way to move the story forward, especially in directions I didn't expect.
ReplyDeleteI love that nameplate. I'm in.
ReplyDeleteLove the use of the prompts. Yikes. Well done.
Ryan and Jackie. I like it.
Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. Love and hugs. ♥
My son lost a bat this summer on accident when he and his dad were playing ball in the basement and it went right through and shattered a window. He was mortified. Lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteTacos, the ultimate incentive! I enjoyed the story, clearly more than Ryan did!
ReplyDeleteHello, Hello... be aware there are computer hustlers on the prowl. They get into the computer & steal you blind. Tell your bank first... then whoever you want. Don't let anybody into your computer. I've learned my lesson! Dirty buggers! :( I'm clean now... so not to worry & next week possibly a new computer & everything that goes with it. Fingers crossed. Wish me luck! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteFun desk sign ~ always creative stories here ~ thanks
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
thecontemplativecat here. Well written, as always. Painful to read, however. My own father was a man with a belt which he uses daily several time. Great meaningful telling.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite the story, especially being a true one!
ReplyDeleteI think I put my comment on the wrong post. Glad the dad made it up to him.
ReplyDeleteAwesome story, Mimi. And yep, we will work for tacos! LOL
ReplyDeleteGood story, although I winced at Ryan getting punished.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that in front of everyone at the dinner party, just below the bottom of my spine, something created an offence.
ReplyDeleteSo why didn't Ryan say he was the wrong twin before the punishment or had he no chance to so? Good use of the prompts.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit late but I wrote something - here's the link:
Fiction: Sandwiches, flatware & murder
Thanks for the prompts. Have a lovely day.
I'd work for tacos, too. Yum!
ReplyDeleteHere is mine:
ReplyDeleteIt was the Christmas season and the youngest grand-daughter was learning to set the table. Newly five years old she was very proud to be able to do this and I was helping with the placement of the flatware. I held the tray as Linda carefully chose each knife, fork and spoon, laying them with care. As we shuffled to the next placing she asked me, "why do you wear that thing Grammy?" I patted the metal, asking "you mean this brace?" "Yes," she said. "Why?" I couldn't resist the earnest little face and decided to tell her.
"A very long time ago when I was seventeen, I was working in an upstairs room at the cheese factory and the stairs were very steep. We girls walked up and down those stairs several times a day and on one trip my boot slipped right at the edge of the top stair, so instead of walking down, I bounced all the way down on my bottom."
"Did it hurt Grammy?" "Not right away," I said, "but I remember feeling a little shame that the front of my dress had been pulled up and my knickers were on show, I felt as if my face was neon red with the embarrassment." "Oh Grammy, not your knickers!" and she giggled. "Later, the hurt came, when I tried to keep working and my back began to hurt until I couldn't stand up, the base of my spine might have been damaged a little bit. The boss of the factory sent me to get an x-ray, but that showed no bones were broken, just the muscles holding things in place were badly sprained."
"Like when Tim sprained his knee playing hockey?" "Yes, just like that. But my back took longer to get better because in those long ago days, it was thought the best thing to do was keep as still and straight as possible, so I lay in bed flat on my back for a week, then I tried getting up and walking around. But I wasn't allowed to go back to work, because we had to lift heavy blocks of cheese and wrap them for storage, that might hurt my back again, so the boss said he would give my job to someone else." By now we had finished the flatware and began laying folded napkins onto each dinner plate.
"Luckily for me, I had managed to save some money and I was still living with my mum and dad, so staying home to rest wasn't so bad. But I did get very bored." "Did they say if you are bored go and clean your room?" Linda asked. "That's what mum says to Tim when he is grumbling around the house." We laughed together at that and went back to the kitchen to see how dinner was progressing.
"I just need to combine the salad ingredients," said my daughter Sandra, "then the pudding needs another few seconds of steaming before I put it in the warming oven. It's a shame Uncle Nick can't be here, what with Jilly having another breakdown. I don't think she will ever get over that tragedy. It's been three years and she has missed every Christmas." "What tragy Mum?" Linda said. "Trag-e-dy," said Sandra. "Three years ago, when you were still learning to talk, Aunty Jilly's Grammy died right at Christmas time and Aunty Jilly still feels very bad about it every time Christmas comes around."
"Oh" said Linda. "But grammy you didn't finish about your brace thing, why you wear it." "Well," I said, as I got better I got other jobs, but without much schooling, I could only work in factories where the work is harder and often we had to work fast to get the goods made and ready to sell, so over time my back was sprained more than a few times, though never as bad as the first time, but the muscles there aren't as strong now that I am eighty-five, so I wear a brace just for support when I have to be away from home for more than a few hours at a time. When I get home again, I take it off and rest a bit then do the easy stretches to exercise the muscles a bit."
"So you will never be better and not have to wear it?" "Well, it is Christmas, we can hope for a miracle can't we?" I said.
Twins! I loved your story. I sure hope James was not enjoying the situation and that Ryan was able to forgive his father (and his twin). Unjust puinshments are very hard to endure.
ReplyDeleteGreat work with the words, Mimi! And wonderful story!
ReplyDeleteOne usually hears about twins messing with people and saying the one was the other for mischievous reasons. It's not often one hears about mistaken identity in the punishment scenario! Hmm...a week's worth of milkshakes? Worth it.