Reena’s Xploration Challenge #242-All but Forgotten

On 08/04/202208/04/2022 By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts8 Comments

Write whatever the image brings up in you.

There is no restriction on length or format of the piece. There is no last date either, unless you wish to be featured in the Weekly Wrap.

Cee abruptly stopped in her tracks. The finely detailed map that she held did not depict the glassy pond which obviously lay directly to her right. The sky reflected on the pond’s surface was sharp, but the image was sepia-toned.
A gasp from directly behind her made her jump with fright. She spun around with fists at the ready nearly knocking the youngest survivor into the copper-colored water.

“Zee! You scared the salt out of me! I told you to stay at camp.”

“I got bored, Cee. You get all the fun these days.”

“These days? You call the end of human existence THESE DAYS!”

Cee instantly realized her fright had gotten the better of her. As third in command, she took her role of steady leadership seriously, so she just grabbed the younger woman and hugged her.

“Sorry Zee. I lost my cool for a moment.”

“No worries. What’s wrong with that water?”

“I don’t know. It’s not on the map. Probably minerals or something else in this environment.”

Cee stepped toward the pond and squatted placing her fingers on the still surface. Not one ripple spread from her touch. That odd experience caused her to retrieve her hand in a jolt as if it had been burned only to observe that her fingertips weren’t the slightest bit wet.

“This isn’t good, Zee. Not good at all. I don’t remember much but I know how water in my cup behaves and this is not water.”

Suddenly, two dark pointed shadows crossed the mirrored surface. Both females instantly looked up, but there was nothing between the sun and the reflection. Then their slightly startled eyes met, and the air filled with a deafening roar followed by ear-ringing waves of explosions all around them!
Instinctively they dropped face first to the ground.

As abruptly as it had erupted, the clangor ended.

When Cee and Zee lifted their heads, all was calm, and the sepia pond was gone!

Over the next few months, visits to that area were forbidden to all but Leader Ay, who returned every time pale and visibly rattled.

Forevermore it was hence declared a haunted area, to the 26-member troop, and given a wide berth.

Marked on the map with a bold red ring it was officially labeled The Memory Pond.

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2022/08/04/reenas-xploration-challenge-242/

Random Word Story # 39~ Choose Wisely

On 04/25/202104/25/2021 By Susan St.PierreIn Random Word StoriesLeave a comment

I have a category called Random Word Stories. From an online random word generator, I grab a list and write a story. It’s my own way to find a prompt. Feel free to check out the others I’ve done over the years. Thanks!

nightmare
major
forge
mess
fold
obscure

It had just come to Marie’s attention in a news article, that Americans weren’t reproducing in sufficient numbers to maintain their own cultural future. Oh well, she thought, progress and changes happen. Women are more than ‘baby machines’.
“Ugh.”
Her life as a professional unmarried 28 year old was awesome! And, no stretch marks, baby.

In college, the consensus about career vs family for young women wasn’t at all obscure. Life could only be fullfilling if women pursued their careers first with becoming a mother a ‘maybe’. In fact, the few who dropped out, opting for families, were banished from elite circles and were openly called ‘troglodytes’. She never hesistated to dismiss those women and pitied them for not belonging to the enlightened fold of feminism. Her once, best friend, Lynn was one of those misguided types.
Marie was completely convinced having children was messy, expensive, and intrusive for women who wished to forge a bright future so running into Lynn, at her hometown bank (after not seeing her for a decade), was a good chance to flaunt her wiser choices.
Lynn looked horrible. Her hair and wardrobe were a mess.
“Sneakers. Really?” Marie mumbled.
Marie almost considered avoiding her to save Lynn the inevitable embarrassment but, heck, she’d created her own nightmare. It wasn’t Marie’s fault. She’d even pleaded with her not to throw in the towel 10 years ago.
“Lynn?”
“Marie! How are you?”
” I’m great! I just got back from Europe on assignment and the vice president position isn’t too far off. The marketing firm may be setting up an office in Belguim! My expense account is unlimited and I get dibs on all the first fashion trends. See?” Marie twirled for emphasis.
“Nice! You were always so talented. How’s your Mom?”
“She’s okay. How’s your family?”
With a twinkle in her eye, Lynn grabbed her phone and showed photos of her three daughters, two dogs, and a variety of camping excursions, softball games, and, what she called, ‘giggle fests’. Her husband still drove trucks, but now had his own company, and she was homeschooling her kids since Covid-19 shutdowns. Her home had a lovely yard with, of all things, a white picket fence!
Lynn certainly didn’t look miserable. Marie thought she even beamed.
The major letdown of their encounter was Lynn’s total lack of envy of Marie’s choices. She seemed content and chatted about her children with an energy and pride that Lynn didn’t even have for her own ‘projects’.
As Marie unlocked her apartment that evening, she had an epiphany.
That college feminist ‘concesus’ may not have been organic, or as altruistic, as it seemed.

Cultural Dissolve

On 04/16/201304/16/2013 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Sideshows6 Comments

There’s a dissolve going on in our culture. Very few actions, that bear a burden of public shame, still exist. That fact, is clearly an alarming example of the erosion of our cultural foundation.

Consider what having a baby out-of-wedlock or being in tremendous debt used to mean. Our culture policed itself by frowning upon such things in years past. Now, those things have no stigma and, therefore, have become culturally acceptable.

The feminists were so zealous in their quest for workplace equality, that they ended up redefining the art of being a “lady” and the act of being a “gentleman”, which I maintain are still worthy titles. Strange how being thoughtful and polite are now viewed as weaknesses? A bad sign, me thinks.

The equal rights defenders have made the fight for justice such a racial endeavor, that it divides us, and distracts us, from our American oneness.

Fairness has replaced, justifiable, in every argument and there IS a difference. Things that seem “fair” quite often don’t justify the burden placed upon others to create such a utopia. Might I add, Utopian ideals belong in the land of unicorns where, I understand, there is no unemployment, debt or greed.

The steps to citizenship have turned into an elevator, with buttons labeled in 7 languages, rather than a goal worthy of being hard-earned.

We accept that all politicians lie, and justice is for sale, without “blinking an eye” while we squabble about semantics (political correctness) to the point of ignoring our common cultural erosion. There is not one problem, other than foreign terrorism, that cannot be explained by and blamed, partly, on our ailing culture.

We don’t recognize that by creating new laws, we also are defining new categories of criminals for an already over-burdened justice system and refuse to realize that the overburdened system, is the reason the current laws aren’t already enforced.

Our media takes advantage of our busy distractions and choreograph our outrage by carefully choosing or boycotting information according to their own tastes and addiction to sensationalism.

Parenting used to be a cultural obligation to our children. Parents who did not take their roles seriously were treated as deadbeats. Look around, parenting has become a choice according to personal comforts, decided after kids are born. There is no backlash, no stigma, any more.

Look at our current culture and ask, “Is there no shame?”

Seems to me, that pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?

“Tuning in” on Nature

On 01/11/201301/11/2013 By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion..., Sideshows2 Comments

I spent most of my Autumn getting caught up in the political debates. It was a depressing time for me. I felt agitated and angry, as well as, without hope. My journals and photography went from plentiful and bright, to almost nothing.

Today, I posted in my Nature Knowledge category for the first time in months. It made me feel good. Then I happened upon 2 articles that gave definition to my happier endeavors. I’ve entitled the 2 links:

Seeing is Believing

and

Connecting with Nature

Disconnecting from social media in favor of being outdoors is a prescription for true happiness. One of my status posts during the political rumble of last Fall asked everyone to stop labeling each other and look at their neighbors. I dared them to find bigots, baby killers and ugly Americans. In taking my own advice, I noticed charity, compassion and goodwill surrounded me.

The first article, linked above, clearly states that what we see is too often predicted by what we expect to see. The second article is a scientific experiment about our brains and what technology does to us.

I believe spending time with Nature is an awesome learning experience. Mother Nature has no agenda but for life. She can be cruel but never hateful. She can be beautiful but never vain. When I feel depressed and without hope, I choose to listen to Nature with my eyes and heart wide open. I suggest we introduce our children to that wonder for their own happiness and future.

Getting along with Nature (bhittai.wordpress.com)
Your commitment to happiness (presidentialife.wordpress.com)

Survival: A Balancing Act

On 08/09/201208/10/2012 By Susan St.PierreIn Sideshows8 Comments

The Olympics made me consider the age old formula of having balance in our lives. Even our food choices are best when there is balance. The Olympians were outstanding! Yet, I always wonder about their “inner” health when I realize how much of their existence is focused upon a few days, sometimes seconds, of time.

So, I created a chart of what, I believe, is true of life for human beings. As I was creating the chart, I couldn’t help but think of examples of extremes. As for Olympians, they are dedicated people who make sacrifices that I do not understand but who make me endlessly proud.

First, and foremost, our need is for survival. Whatever we do, survival comes first because everything else simply counts upon it.

There is wealth. I define wealth as anything tangible in excess of what we need to just survive. We all want comforts and wealth is not a bad thing at all. Wealth makes for prosperity and, often, longevity. You may call wealth, “comforts and currency”. Greed is at the center of those who lopsidedly surround themselves in wealth but no one should be ashamed of pursuing wealth. Wealth inspires innovation and progress which, most often, benefit humankind. We can easily name world leaders and professionals who specialize entirely in the pursuit of wealth and they are, in my mind, detrimental to us all.

There is discovery. It could be subtitled adventure. Ah, what would science be without the hunger to discover. Many of our forefathers came to this country from the need to discover. And we continue to question and learn everyday of our lives from the engrained human impulse for discovery. The Olympians fall primarily into the “overindulging in discovery” crowd. Their mission is to discover the limits of the human body and to test its endurance. Although many of them become wealthy, I believe that their excessive commitment belongs to a zeal for personal discovery. On the down side, scientists who ignore the ethics of scientific study are guilty of placing way too many “eggs” in the discovery “basket” and are my example of a dangerous group. I think arrogance is their primary motivation but greed also plays a role.

Finally, there is enlightenment. Religion and philosophy are the tools in this search for answers. Most often religion and philosophy are at the center of what separates us from our id of savagery. Generosity, forgiveness, and introspect all come from our search for enlightenment. When enlightenment outweighs the two previously mentioned needs, we have the jihad. Holy wars even misplace the human need to survive. Suicide bombers seem the best current example of the danger to humankind from weighing too heavily upon enlightenment.

So balance is still the key to the “good life”, and in my estimation, the spread of imbalance is a direct danger to our survival.

Warning…a political opinion from the right!

On 04/13/2012 By Susan St.PierreIn Sideshows13 Comments

Cover of "Numbers (Match-the-Flaps)" — Cover of Numbers (Match-the-Flaps)

I dislike numbers…sorry, I just do.

First, there isn’t a poll worth a darn. They are too variable in the way the questions are asked, where and when, as well.

If you agree with the poll, it is a good one.

If the poll is contrary to your belief, well, what do they know?

Another thing, numbers lie. Yup, they do. Darn them!

Go to a bank and ask for a mortgage. Give them your numbers…get the mortgage. Oops…you Can afford the house BUT no birthdays,anniversaries,take-out food,Christmas, auto repairs etc. What the heck?

Numbers can be manipulated more than bleeding heart liberals. You can do the math but why doesn’t it work. Yes, love is NOT the answer to all things either.

Sounds great…who could be FOR war, FOR debt, FOR being poor?

So, why don’t we just all be poor so no one who IS feels left out?

Well folks. That’s where we are headed. I am in political mode today so if you’ve tuned out…I understand.

If you are still listening?

You either agree with me or you are really insulted and want to add another hatefully “paraphrased” rant of the right, just to keep your juices flowing. After all, if you didn’t think the “right” was so evil, you’d have nothing to do but look at the problem?

Ain’t I a stinker?

I just want to know from anyone, how does one continue forever(or happily ever-after), when they spend more than they take-in?

Simple question.

If you answered, they cannot go on forever. What will the eventual outcome be?

Just asking?

Maybe if we spend more money (we don’t have) , we can put off the ugly truth awhile?

Yes, you just may…

OK kids, this is tough. If everyone is poor and the government shares the wealth, what is that called in the encyclopedia?

Fairness? No.

Brotherhood? No.

Can you say Socialism boys and girls?

Ha! Wish it was that simple to explain…our kids will know it all too well one day.

Wish they could see this headline. “Bad ole conservatives tried to ruin your day so we liberals ruined your future.”

I’m spending the weekend in the woods. At least, my head won’t be in the sand…

Worry Not our Children

On 04/04/2012 By Susan St.PierreIn Sideshows2 Comments

A fellow blogger ( Backward222.com) posted some interesting scientific facts in her blog.

The facts came from: http://www.mindjunker.com/random/17-amazing-science-facts-to-discover.html/

The one that rattled my thoughts most was the one in the image above.

Let’s say it is even half-true.

Is that a matter for humankind to handle?

Humankind has absolutely made an impact on our Earth. Myriads of people run shouting and waving and warning. The presumption is that humans will cause Nature’s premature demise.

Conservation of our resources and mindfulness of our place on this Earth is, not at all, foolish.

Still, I keep feeling that we are way too arrogant about assuming what we can do and should do to prop-up ecosystems. Human influences, have not been the only destructive forces on the planet. Our existence is a pinprick in time compared to Earth’s existence.

Mother Nature has experience in birth, death,extinction, and renewal that I dare say, we could not possibly understand.

Predictions about the time needed for recovery from oil spills has been traditionally over estimated. In fact, there is much evidence to support the premise that our efforts at “clean-up” interfere with Nature’s recovery.

I want kids to learn to recycle.

I want kids not to litter.

I want kids to treat water as an exhaustible resource.

My problem is the message we send kids. The above poster is a shining example of the urgency and frightening way we, humans, have appointed ourselves guardians of the natural world. Even someone who could not read would understand that we are considered responsible for extinctions and caretakers of all living things.

Please think about the scariness of the messages we give kids today. The burden of debt will all too likely be their inheritance. I’d like the kids to feel the world will turn and Nature will continue in spite of us not because of us.