Speaking of Wal*Mart …

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

She grew up in that small Mississippi town and had rarely ventured beyond the city limits.  She was a very sweet young woman: pretty, respectful, and frighteningly naïve.

I mentioned Wal*Mart in passing, and her eyes brightened.

“Oh, you have Wal*Mart in Colorado, too?” she drawled.

“Um … yeah.  There are lots of Wal*Marts in Colorado.  They’re in every state.”

“Really?  I didn’t know that.”

“Yep.  Every state in the union.”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head slightly.  “Oh, we don’t talk much about the Union down here.”

Over one hundred forty years later, the war still rages.

Generations

By lytspeed Posted in 100 Words A Day, Signs o' the Times, Writing Leave a reply

The car idles as my stepson and I wait in line at the Walgreen’s drive-through.  A fancy SUV waits in line ahead of us.

“Look, it’s the Wal*Mart dude!” he says.

“Who?” I ask.

“You know, the Wal*Mart dude.  That yellow smiley face guy.  On that car’s antenna.”

I look up and see a faded yellow antenna ball smiling down at me, a 70s cultural icon, rendered in three dimensions and impaled on the antenna of a $70,000 gas guzzler.  In my stepson’s generation, the smiley face has been co-opted by the world’s largest retailer.

Have a nice day, indeed.

1,250 Words Too Much

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

I made a commitment last week to re-work one of my short stories and submit it to a local magazine.  I thought it would be a slam dunk, an easy way to sneak a submission past my irrationally fearful subconscious.

I looked over the story, then checked the writers’ guidelines.  And there was the block: 1,500 word limit.  My story is 2,750 words, and though I’m a fan of the “cut by a third” mantra, I don’t think the story would survive being cut nearly in half.

I have a week to write a new story and meet my commitment.

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.