Tag: gossip

OLWG #290- Flash Fiction- Happily Ever After

On By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts4 Comments


So – here’s the deal.

  1. I maintain a file loaded with at least 50 writing prompts, at all times.
  2. Weekly, probably on Sunday’s, I will post two or three prompts from my collection.
  3. Take those prompts and, choose one of them, choose all of them or, choose none of them and incorporate them into a story or poem. You can wax poetically, or you can write fiction, non-fiction, stream of consciousness, or whatever else strikes your fancy in that moment of that day.
  4. If you want to apply a bit of pressure to yourself – limit your writing time to 25 or 30 minutes. You can tack on extra time to edit, if you want or you can have that time include editing. Your choice.
  5. Post your work on your blog with a link back to the prompt page that inspired you.
  6. Choose a number between 1 and 50. These choices will determine the prompts used for the next time.
  7. Have fun, take risks with your writing, and ignore any or all of these guidelines from time to time.

This week’s prompts are:

  1. here we go again
  2. postcards from Paris
  3. it replaced wine tasting

    Happily, Ever After

    “Does anyone know what’s gotten into Pricilla? I saw her outdoors in jeans and a t-shirt yesterday! I hope she’s okay.”

    The Ladies Artisans and Antiques Auxiliary meeting was about to begin and one of its founders was conspicuously missing.

    “I’ve noticed a change in her too. I approached her last week with our ‘sister’ group’s postcards from Paris and she hardly acknowledged them! She mumbled something about being too busy. Perhaps her maid quit, and she needed to interview a new one or… I’ve got it! She has a delightful surprise planned for us. I’ll bet it’s a wine tasting with her second Cousin Eugine again.”

    “That wouldn’t explain her dreadful attire, Claire. Something’s wrong.”

    “Here we go again! Pricilla has most likely reconciled with her Ex. Remember when she first met Carl. She started drinking beer and shopping at Walmart!”

    “Poor, poor, dear Pricilla. She’s so easily led into the dregs. That uncivilized man really has an unholy influence on her.”

    “We may have to perform another intervention and hire a private investigator again. All in favor say, ‘Aye’.”

    A unanimous affirmation came from the group of 7. An investigator was hired, and the results were earth shaking!

    Pricilla was photographed in the company of Carl at a skeet shooting range. That barbaric activity had more than replaced wine tasting because Pricilla appeared giddily happy in the photographs, something that those ‘ladies’ found profoundly uncouth. Pricilla had betrayed them, and her name was not to be ever mentioned again. How dare she live Happily Ever After!


    [I choose #11]




    https://aooga.wordpress.com/2022/12/11/olwg-290-mad-mouse/


SoCS 9-17-22 Ring- Warning

On By Susan St.PierreIn In my humble opinion...11 Comments

What came to mind immediately was the idiom “ring true”. I looked up its origin:

Ring false and the antonym, ring true, which means “seem genuine,” allude to the old practice of judging a coin genuine or fake by the sound it gives out when tapped. This practice became obsolete when coins ceased to be made of precious metals, but by then the idioms were being used to refer to other matters. [Mid-1800s]

The phrase ‘ring true’ takes on a lot of weight these days. Our media has worked overtime sensationalizing everything and simultaneously has avoided doing much factual investigation.
I don’t know about you, but I feel as though I’m in a never-ending game of “Gossip”.

To anyone who is unfamiliar with the game of Gossip, it starts with a phrase whispered into a person’s ear then that person hastily whispers it to the next and so on around a ring of several people. By the time it reaches person #1 again, the phrase’s words and meaning are completely different. It’s comical as a game but tragically lacking as a source of reliable information.

Our media is a ‘for profit’ group of businesses that rely on getting the public’s attention. So, using flashy, salacious, material, and misleading headlines, works well for them, especially in our fast-paced (short attention span) American society.
Clever a-moral people have discovered this lovely way to spread ideological propaganda AND make money. Worse than that, social media companies are “in” on it too by manipulating search engines and censoring sites who might ruin their hypnotic promotion of a single ideological message. I fear that a large number of people are becoming unwitting tools of a totalitarian movement. I also fear that our Constitutional Republic is in grave danger. Freedom of Speech and ‘thought diversity’ are the most essential elements of a free society. We’re losing them both at an alarming rate.
Those who question mass media information as not “ringing true” are being cancelled, arrested, and destroyed (many are now labeled domestic terrorists!) while a comfortably numb public doesn’t even notice… most don’t care to know. Seeking comfort, a group belonging, and a sense of virtuous superiority, has replaced the need to be ethical, reasonable, and truth seeking.
I know this sounds like a finger wagging rant and I suppose it is. Telling-it-like-it-is and pursuing Truth aren’t things I will watch die off without speaking my own mind.

Have a nice Saturday and please keep your ears, eyes, and minds open. Our country’s future needs your support. ❤

https://lindaghill.com/2022/09/16/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-17-2022/


Sunday Poser #64-Feeling Uncomfortable

On By Susan St.PierreIn Writing Prompts3 Comments

This is an excellent question posed by Sadje.
I hadn’t actually deeply considered this as I usually greet people on their own terms. But there are people who gain favor in my eyes quickly by doing some simple things.
1. I find making eye contact especially appealing. The eyes, after all, are the “windows to the soul”.
2. Someone who is quick to smile is always endearing.
3. People who discuss ideas rather than gossip or complaints, are my favorite types.
And?
4. A healthy sarcastic sense of humor just seals the deal for me.
I know this kinda turns the topic on its head but, like I said, I’m not fond of complaining. 😉

https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2022/01/23/sunday-poser-64/