Category Archives: 100 Words A Day

The Thaw

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

I spent the last couple of weeks gathering topics for today’s 100 Words A Day writing blizzard.  At first, the ideas only trickled, a frozen faucet beginning to thaw.  Then, a sequence of blasts as the ice broke up, and finally a steady stream.

As long as I keep the faucet on, or at least dripping, I should have a constant source of writing ideas.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take proper care over the winter, and it’s been difficult getting the pipes to thaw, for any writing.

I realized last week that it’s been eighteen months since I wrote any fiction.

Yard Work

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

I like to think I learned a lot from my Dad: how to be a gentleman, how to get a broken-down car home, MacGyver-style, how to appreciate simple things made from the heart, and, of course, Lyle Johnson Specials.  But one thing that didn’t transfer to me was a love of yard work.

I despise mowing the lawn, whacking the weeds, watering the grass, or working on landscaping.  I suppose I could think of it metaphorically, nurturing my soul or body to health, and it might seem less abhorrent.

On second thought, no.  I don’t want to start hating metaphors.

This Creeping Malaise

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

Depression and headache pin me, naked and sweating, to the bed.  Another day of missed work; a day further behind tomorrow.  Food holds no interest.

In the words of Roger Waters, “Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.”  It’s not justified; my life is improving daily.  Perhaps apnea is the root of the problem.  Perhaps CPAP is the answer.  I’ll find out soon.

Maybe I need to stop trying to figure out the “why” and just power through.  But if I ignore the Lilliputian vines holding me down, will I not just carry them with me?

S is for Space Station

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

When I was a child, I used to read Ray Bradbury books like R is for Rocket and S is for Space, and I wondered what it would be like to look up and see spaceships streaking across the night sky.

Tonight, I stood with my family and watched the International Space Station move smoothly, purposefully across the early evening sky at over 17,500 miles per hour.  I pictured the Expedition 20 crew members as they went through their routines, putting another sunset behind them and preparing to welcome another sunrise in ninety minutes.

I love living in the future.

The Bombs Bursting in Air

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Writing Leave a reply

She loved the fireworks at the big, open ball park.  We talked about them as we walked to the bus station, and while we waited for a non-crowded bus in the downtown concrete canyons, someone threw a large firecracker from a building a block away.  I saw the flash from the corner of my eye, and the retort echoed between the buildings, a unique sound.

She was instantly back in Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995.

The body-shaking concussions of the professional fireworks had not fazed her, but the smaller explosion between the tall buildings did.

God damn you, Timothy McVeigh.