Saturday, February 13, 2016

Flash Fiction - The Sound Of Thunder



I've decided to try an experiment of flash fiction here on my blog. This statement defines what that is:

Wikipedia
Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as fifty three words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction.

I hope you will enjoy the stories in this series. Your comments are always appreciated.
Sherry
The Sound Of Thunder
By Sherry Louise Stoll
(All Rights Reserved)

She liked to write. She wanted to write. She sat down at the computer and stared at the blinking cursor. In boredom, she got up and put a pocket sandwich in the microwave and turned on the radio. The local college station was starting a play by play of a women's basketball game. “Poor girls.” she thought. They had endured a year and a half of a losing coach who blamed the team for every loss they had by always saying in radio interviews, “They didn't come to play.” She guessed he didn't want to play either because he quit without notice several games ago.

Not my circus, not my monkeys.” she thought as she spit out the the first bite of her pocket sandwich. Her pop didn't do much to combat the flaming hot lava burning her mouth.

A sound and reverberation similar to thunder drew her attention to the back porch of her little farm house. The hair on the back of her neck prickled up a bit. It was about 12 degrees in the middle of winter without much hope of a thunderstorm. She listened quietly and hoped no one was out there. She wondered if one of her outdoor cats had body slammed the storm door. She turned up the radio and went back to staring at the daunting cursor.

Inwardly, she smiled because she knew no one who knew her would believe that she sat home alone all dressed up in her jewelry and bright lipstick while listening to a pair of basketball games. They might expect her to squeeze out a poem or something, but not to enjoy sports.

A fan at the game on the radio was beginning to irritate her. He was like a toddler learning that his voice carries in a gym. “Whoa............................................................,” until he ran out of breath was all he could do no matter what either team did. She had no idea who he was rooting for. Maybe she would write about him. But, the porch drew her attention again.

More thunder? Really? She thought not. She crept from her desk in the dining room and through her kitchen. She pulled a small portion of her curtain to the side in anticipation of something to debunk this sound. Nothing.

She clicked off the kitchen light. It was getting harder to breathe as she was realizing that there had to be someone or something on the porch. Standing in the dark by her kitchen door leading to the door to her porch, the floor rumbled with the next sound of thunder. She really wished it actually was thunder. Her stomach was starting to roll because she was losing hope of that.

Where was her cellphone? She felt her pocket and only found her lipstick and a crumpled tissue.

Her mind raced with what she should do. Should she run to the front door with the keys to the car? She thought she wasn't fast enough because she would have to go near the back porch, leap in and drive away. She would reveal herself if she opened the door to the porch. Where was her phone? She had turned off the lights in the house and now didn't have the guts to turn them back on. She was near a panic attack.

Tears rolled down her face as she felt and heard more of this mysterious thunder. This time it was accompanied by the click of a vehicle door. She thought she heard voices but she really wasn't sure.

She braced herself with her back against the kitchen door and tried to calm herself with prayer. “Dear Lord, please protect me and my animals.” She clenched her eyes closed as she prayed.

Next thing she knew, she heard what sounded to her, like a strong electrical device being turned on. She opened her eyes and promptly fainted. Standing in front of her in her kitchen were two little green men. The electrical sound she heard was light moving toward her to beam her inside a spinning airship waiting for her.

She woke up to the sound of her cellphone dinging because it needed to be put on the charger. She vaguely remembered misplacing it. Sitting at her desk with that silly cursor still blinking at her, she figured it really had to be thunder that she had heard. Her banging head sure felt like there was moisture in the air. She thought she must have fallen asleep in her chair because the basketball games were over and the radio was deep into its next section of programming.

She still hadn't written a word.

The Sound Of Thunder
By Sherry Louise Stoll
(All Rights Reserved)



Author's Bio

Sherry Louise Stoll is the author of I Am Blessed. A Collection Of Faith Based Prayers and Affirmations. Sherry enjoys life with her husband on a 160 acre cattle ranch near Maryville, Missouri.






Thursday, January 21, 2016

A Ramble About Snow, Blood Sugar, And Washing Dishes

A Ramble …

It's snowing here today. We have a winter weather advisory until midnight. The forecast is for up to four inches. I remember when I was a kid that four inches was nothing. We used to get the big snows back then. They were the kind where all the snow had to be pushed into the middle of Main Street and then hauled off in trucks. Both climate and perception seem to have changed.

All I did today was “think” about a Little Debbie Star Crunch and my blood sugar went up. That really irritates me and sometimes makes me wonder why I even try. I had a very healthy lunch and just fantasized about the treat. Maybe it's the weather causing me a bit of anxiety or I'm confusing hunger with the emotion. It's probably good that I have no Star Crunches in the house or I would have one.

I could be washing a few dishes, but I always tell my husband that after 8 p.m the kitchen is closed and I am going to stick to my word. :)


Thanks for reading.  

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Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Cataracts And Crochet

(stock photo)
Today, I've been working on an afghan I started to crochet in 2014. It's going to be about 36 x 36 inches. My intention when I began was to make it as baby blanket that I would save to give as a gift at a later time.

My kink in that plan was an unexpected bout with cataracts in both eyes. It caused me much distress throughout 2015. I lived much of that year in fear. I just didn't find it to be the easy surgery that everyone told me it would be.

I needed to get into the mindset for healing. At one point, I just literally gave up. I gave all of my precious yarn to the local thrift store. I didn't think I would ever touch it again.

Today, when I picked up the old project, if was to prove to myself that I could still see in enough detail that I could crochet. My vision is nowhere like it was before cataracts, but I'm learning that if I stretch my hands out and hold things at a farther distance that I used to that I can see things better than up close. I'm learning to adapt.

The cataracts was very hard for me because this was the year I turned 50. I felt old. I felt defeated. And, to top it off, I was writing a book of faith based prayers and affirmations.

To say the least, I felt conflicted.

I found a way to push through and found my way through to publication. I spent many hours with my nose practically pushed against the computer monitor.

I never thought God would abandon me.

God had me right where he wanted me to be. I was doing my writing from home and was blessed with a husband who is a wonderful caregiver. I had insurance that covered most of the thousands of dollars for both surgeries. My husband is blessed with an income that would cover the rest.

My 2015 was a year of being tested and humbled over and over again.

I am thankful for the growth and for the yarn project I saved in my throwing out frenzy.
I can see much better and I can adapt with my crochet hook. I learned that fear about my eyes could not defeat me with God standing near me.

Here's to a better 2016.

Thanks for reading.


Sherry