OLWG# 364- Tillamook

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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John and his new wife, Ella, got into Reeds Port just after ten PM. Ella had warned him that if they were too late, her mother would lock the doors and go to sleep. Once that happened, there would be no waking her, and they might as well sleep in the backyard or get a room at the Humble Heron. The porch light was dark. Ella asked, “Are you feeling adventurous, or should we see if there is a room at the inn?”

“What did you say the name of the inn was?”

“The Humble Heron.”

“Is that like a country inn, a bed and breakfast, or a motel chain on the Northwest coast?”

“Quaint, country inn is probably the most accurate description?”

John frowned, “What’s the back garden like?”

“I haven’t seen it recently, but I remember it was usually a bit wild and unkempt.”

“Do we have to do this? What’s your mother like?”

Ella pursed her lips and cocked her head to the right, “I haven’t seen her recently either, but the description of the garden would most likely be apropos for Mom, too.”

“We could go to San Francisco.”

“That’s over 500 miles from here, you know. Do you want to drive all night?” Ella pointed out the obvious.

“No.”

“We could leave a note for Mom and go to Tillamook. We could tell her that we went to eat cheese and be back in two days. Oh! Oh, we could spend a whole day naked in bed!”

John pulled the car keys from his pocket, held them up and jingled them. He put his arm around his bride, and they made their way down the walk back to the car. Ella wrote a note on the back of an old grocery store receipt that she found in the glove box. She hurried back up to the front door and left the note under the big brass knocker. Turning around, Ella skipped back down the walk and slid into the car. She rested her hand on John’s knee as they pulled away from the curb.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. Jesus and John Lennon
2. she hunted him down
3. goodnight Winnett, Montana, wherever you are

OLWG# 363- Power Bird

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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The crow took his regular place on the pole
Higher than the telephone and cable wires
Above the lightning arrestors, the secondary wires, and the transformer, but 
beneath the insulators, and 12,000 Volts.

He could feel the energy that surrounded him and pervaded his plumage as if
his kind could take over the sky, to
stiffen the very air with their sheer numbers and audacity. 

He soaked up the feeling until his brain began to buzz.
When the time was right, he lifted his wings and took off to the North,
toward the mountains that held the colder air.

He climbed ever higher
above the clouds till ice began to form on his wings
all the while, his brain continued to buzz.

He flew strong. He was tireless and
energized by the power he had absorbed.
The stratosphere began to imbue warmth again, and he continued to climb;
frost fell from his dark feathers even as the air thinned.

Time passed, the bird began to weary and folded his wings
gravity slowed his climb till he began to fall.
Spinning and rolling downward. Downward until
He flashed into a rising filament of energy, illuminated by lightning from tropospheric thunderstorms below.

At long last, Power Bird achieved eternal life.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. persuasion
2. It gave new meaning to the phrase TGIF
3. Dude, don’t you remember what Isaac told us about the apple?

OLWG# 362- Saint Benedict Hotel

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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Roadhouse John Selden had just eaten at the refectory and was making his way down Davie Street when, for reasons he could not fathom, he glanced up and saw the sign atop the multi-story “Saint Benedict Hotel.” It was spelt out, with fifteen-foot-high letters constructed of large, round, bright yellow bulbs. The “H” was defective and only blinked on and off at about five-second intervals. Roadhouse John knew it would be an SRO facility with shared bathrooms on each floor and no kitchen. He didn’t mind. To him, it represented a bed with clean linens. He adjusted his path and headed in that direction. He was unsurprised to find it was next to the Elevated Train. In Chicago, they called it “The L” he did not know what they called it here.

When he arrived at the Saint Benedict, he pushed open the street-level doors with the hotel name painted thereon in gilded letters, Art Deco Style. Four men were sitting in the lobby near the window. One was staring at the street, one perusing the classified section of the Courant, the other two sitting at a table with dominos spread across the surface.

Behind the counter sat a large man with an open round face. A nametag pinned to his chest declared he was called: Clearance, and Clearance was engaged in conversation with a narrow-waisted, broad-shouldered man on the lobby side of the counter. Behind the large man were several signs taped on the wall.

No Credit
Please don’t ask

No Refunds

No Overnight Visitors

No Personal Cheques

No Bills Over $20

Roadhouse John exchanged $10.50 for the single night use of a room with a view of the train tracks right outside the window. The lift sported a sign declaring it was “-closed for maintenance-” John took the stairs.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. the part that you don’t see
2. in the backseat of my car
3. Liberté toujours (freedom forever)

OLWG# 361- Adrenaline Junkie

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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It was dark, the overhead light was out, when Yelizaveta Belyayev, known to her few friends at Elizabeth, slid the thin piece of metal between the window and the weather stripping on the 1969 Dino 246GT. The car sat, parked in spot 12D of “THE 74,” an all-new luxury condo tower on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The lock popped, and she opened the door. There was a momentary bleating of the alarm as she reached beneath the dash to snip the wire, which silenced the noise before she slid into the driver’s seat. Less than 17 seconds passed as she coaxed the car’s engine to life. It started with a deep, throaty growl. The key card for the parking garage fell into her hand when she lowered the sun visor, like she knew it would. She pulled her tweed county cap down low to cover her distinctive white hair and conceal her eyes. Putting the car in gear and revving the powerful V6, she pulled to the gate. She waved the contactless card at the sensor and the gate rattled up. Yelizaveta drove out onto 3rd Ave accelerating towards FDR Drive. She caught the Midtown Tunnel to Hunters Point and followed the Long Island Expy. She was doing 135 when she reached Van Dam Street and didn’t slow down until she got to Old Country Rd. The engine screamed when she downshifted and turned into Tanger Mall. She left the car next to a dumpster at the edge of the car park. Getting out, she pumped her fist three or four times. What a rush. What a car. Tonight would be a tough night to beat.

It took Liz about three and a half hours to get home on the bus. The adrenaline was still pumping strong when she slid between the sheets next to Feliks. He must have felt her return, as he stirred and reached out to her. Liz lay on her stomach and put her arm across his chest. She snuggled in close, slid her hand down and pushed her tongue in his ear. He liked that.

They made love and fell asleep.

In the morning, he brought her a cup of tea. “What got into you last night, Liz?” He asked.

She smiled her crooked smile. “I was dreaming of you, and when I woke, there you were. I couldn’t resist.” She kissed him on the cheek.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. uh huh
2. don’t wake me too early
3. Three words: grenadine, sodden, lace

OLWG# 360- Lilly, The New Dog in Town

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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I’m currently not at home. My sweetheart and I traveled just over 1100 miles (>1700 km) to collect a new family member, Lilly, who is approximately 5 months old. Not a lot of time for me to write.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. night sweats
2. after dark you can try again
3. I can see the mountain, and nothing else

OLWG# 359- More On 14th Street Coffee Bar

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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She was a native girl from Calaveras County, just north. She wandered into town and strolled through the door of the 14th Street Coffee Bar. She wore an unbleached muslin blouse atop billowy, blue and white batik Palazzo pants. The trousers were high-waisted and very flattering on her, but she had trod on the backs of the legs. This made the hems a little bit ragged and a little bit dirty.

Shelly looked up at the clock over the big Venezia machine. She pursed her lips and shook her head before she looked up and smiled, “Good afternoon,” Shelly greeted her.

The girl’s expression held sombre, and she said nothing but studied the drink menu on the wall. Her hair was as dark as her ebony eyes.

Shelly let her study a while before asking, “Can I get you some coffee?”

With a faint, unrecognisable accent, the girl replied, “Yes, please; something strong?” She nodded her head ever so slightly.

“I have a nice dark roast espresso. Will that do?”

The girl nodded again as Shelly moved behind the counter and got to work on the ordered coffee. She broke into her ‘new customer’ patter. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you new here or are you just passing through town?” Shelly pressed the coffee into the basket and twisted it onto the machine.

“I might not mind being new in town, but I’d need a job. I worked as an outfitter and river guide in Calaveras.”

“There is a lot of Elk hunting here but not much in the way of river rafting. That might be tough. What do you know about coffee?”

“Are you hiring?” the girl asked.                         

This time Shelly just nodded, then said, “I can’t keep this place open seven days a week, by myself, anymore.”

The girl grinned wide and held up one index finger. She turned and went back out on the pavement, shutting the door behind her. She turned, opened the door and came back into the coffee bar. The big grin was still fixed on her face. She marched up to the counter, and held out her hand, “Hi,” she said, “My name’s Lozen. I grew up in Calaveras County. I’m looking for work here. I don’t know much about coffee, but I’m a quick study. I heard that you might be looking for some help and I could use a cup of strong coffee about now.”

Shelly laughed out loud and shook Lozen’s hand, “Ha, Matter of fact I am looking for some help around here. I need someone independent, someone I can trust, someone to work the store and isn’t afraid to work hard. Do you know anybody like that? I can’t pay too much, but there’s a room upstairs that’s available, rent-free. And, there’s always food, and coffee available in the shop if you don’t eat too much. Why don’t you come set a spell at the window table? We can discuss it. The first rule is ‘stay away from Toby’.”

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This week’s prompts are:

1. this is the last time I’ll dance with you, Mr Kerr
2. those shoes
3. love, and revenge… with snakes

OLWG# 358- Sailing Into Tulsa

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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Edouard “Pioche” Matisse was a multitasker. His eyes continually scanned the terrain for threats and watched the skies for the weather. His ears listened to hoof beats, creaking leather, and the clatter of more than a hundred wooden wheels as he led the wagon train westward over the grasslands of what is today known as Oklahoma. He was good at his job. “Pioche” Charron had left France for the Americas more than 20 years before as a passenger onboard the sailing vessel Lapérouse, named in honour of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. Edouard’s dream had been to become a miner, for which his fellow passengers nicknamed him “Pioche” or Pickaxe.

As fortune would have it, Pioche never got the opportunity to become a miner. Instead, purely by chance, he became a wagon master, leading settlers to the western frontier in their Prairie Schooners.

On one trip, the band of pilgrims and farmers he lead, found themselves beset by blinding dust storms. Pioche quickly organized his charges into a defensive position. Circling the wagons was the best defence against any native Lochapoka people who inhabited these lands.

There was no attack, but the wind was relentless, and it looked as though it might keep up for a time, Pioche, as the effective leader that he was, visited each pilgrim family, in turn, and advised, “When the wind dies down, we’ll move on.”

Today, Pioche Oklahoma is a railroad town that was, at one time, headquarters for the Atlantic and Pacific Rail Company.

The town of Pioche lies just east of Tulsa, Oklahoma on US Highway 412. The wind still blows.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. but the front yard looks good
2. that’s one of my favourites
3. mermaid avenue

OLWG# 357- Ice Cream

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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Nyx Beckett and her sister, Millicent, ran away from home for the first time when Millicent was four years old. Nyx was three. They made it almost to downtown. They made it to Five Points. The girls had walked over five miles west on Montana Avenue, a busy thoroughfare. Cab driver Salvador Alejandro Palma recognized that it was unusual for two young girls to be alone on such a busy street in the middle of the day. He pulled over and convinced them to get into his cab. He took them the few blocks to the downtown police station, pulled to the curb and laid on the horn until someone came out to see what was up.

Who came out was Patrol Officer Hectór Santiago Díez, a five-year veteran of the Downtown Regional Command, a husband, and father of two young girls, Renata and Mariana.

Patrol Officer Díez got the names of the two sisters and found over fifty Beckett families in the phone book. He got them some ice cream and went to work on the phone. Nyx and Millicent’s parents were the thirty-fifth call he made.

Jennifer Beckett answered the phone in a breathless panic, “Hello,” she almost shouted.

“Mrs Beckett?” Hector began, “This is Patrol Officer Díez from the Downtown Regional Command, Five Points Precinct.”

She interrupted and took a deep breath before asking, “Have you found my girls? My husband’s out driving around looking for them. I was about to call 911. They were supposed to be napping. The bedroom window is open, and they’re gone.”

“Yes, ma’am, Millicent and Nyx are safe and sound. You and your husband can come downtown and collect them. Or I can bring them to you in my patrol car.”

“Could you do that? That would be wonderful. Thank you, thank you.” She gave him the address on Honeysuckle Drive in the Cielo Vista Neighbourhood.

“We’ll be there in,” he glanced at the clock and considered, “this time of day, it might take us about twenty minutes to get there, with traffic and all.”

“I’ll find Robert. We’ll be waiting here for you.”

The next time Nyx and Millicent ran away from home was about three days later. They, again, made it to Five Points. This time, they went into the station house and asked the Desk Sergeant if Officer Díez was there. They explained that they needed more ice cream.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. listen to the pages turning
2. at the Sublette Theatre in Santa Fe
3. Hill Farmers

OLWG# 356- La Cantina, Madre Dorada

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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Leila Flores dressed in a simple yet sophisticated style that evening. She wore a dark-coloured skirt in a Michoacán style that stopped just below mid-calf. The skirt displayed ribbons, coloured red, yellow and green circling near the hem and her dress was topped with a long, off-the-shoulder, white gauze blouse. The blouse featured embroidery of a red flower design at the bottom and the top. That night, Lila chose to forgo the rebozo. Her head and shoulders were bare.

She pushed through the door into the lively Cantina, “Madre Dorada.” Stopping inside, Leila took a moment to look around and get her bearings. She hoped to get a little drunk and, if she was lucky, meet a man, a real man, not just another boy or a poser from Maruata. The men in this seaside town did not impress Leila. She was looking for someone different, a real man, and not just part of the herd.

There were men gathered at the bar, but one stood out. Broad shoulders with a barrel chest, long dark hair, tall, and slim-waisted. Leila headed in his direction and pushed her way to the bar, his eyebrows raised when he saw her, and he smiled and introduced himself. Taking her hand, he shouted above the crowd noise and introduced himself, “Soy, Adalberto,” he said, “¿Cómo se llamas?”

She bent her head downward and mumbled, “Leila, Leila Flores.”

Adalberto signalled the cantinero by raising two fingers and saying, “Charanda. Dos copitas de Charanda, por favor.” He ordered two traditional Michoacán rum drinks.

“No, thank you,” said Lila, “A Bloody Mary for me.”

Adalberto immediately caught the eye of the bartender and changed the order, “Haz esa Charandra y una Bloody Mary.”

The room grew dark, and the noise of the crowded barroom faded into a hush. Adalberto dimmed into the gloom, and Lila found herself facing a dead woman, una muerta. Her hair was thin and stringy. Her face was nothing more than a skull that was smiling at her.

Lila drew back, “Who are you,” she asked.

“Bloody Mary,” the dead woman replied. “You asked for me. How may I be of service?”

“Can you find me a man?”

“What is wrong with this one?” She pointed into the gloom where Adalberto stood, staring at nothing as if entranced.

“He’s a little too old, but other than that, nothing, I guess.”

“Why would you summon me, if all you wanted was a man? Your request is a little beneath me. I am a guardian of the spirit world. Take my hand, and come with me. I can show you some very nice dead men. Men with a lot of skills, and a lot of stamina.” Mary held out her hand to Lila.

Slowly, Lila reached out and took the proffered hand. When their fingers touched, she heard a loud wind and closed her eyes. As she opened them again, she realized she had awakened in another dimension.

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This week’s prompts are:

1. fill your heart with sadness
2. lightning rent the night sky
3. tell me what laughter means

OLWG# 355- Pelican Aire

This week’s prompts are at the bottom. Feel free to seize the prompts, twist them, form them, play with them as you will. All comers are welcome. The words below are just practice for me. I had a lot of fun writing them, and you know what I always say, “Practice makes perfect.”

Here’s how to play along, if you are unsure.

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Dolores was angry when the alarm sounded. She hit the snooze button. Then hit it again, and again, and again. When she finally crawled out of bed, it was because she had to pee; she couldn’t hold it any longer. After she took care of her business, Dolores pulled on her robe, made coffee, and collected the letters that the postie had dropped through the slot in the front door. She was excited to see a letter addressed to her from Pelican Air.

Pelican Air was a commuter airline that flew all over the country, punctuated by occasional hops to Normandy. Dolores had filled in an online application with them about a week earlier. She slit open the envelope and found a handwritten note:

–

Dear Ms Jardin:

We received your recently supplied CV and would like to discuss a unique post at Pelican Air. Would it be possible for you to appear, on Monday next, 02.06.24, at half seven, in person, at our offices:

#7 Chipping Barnet
New Pensal
Kins, WF12 9AQ

Check-in with the reception and tell them you have an appointment with me, I will come to collect you there.

Please do not hesitate to phone me direct should you have questions.

With kind regards,

Abbigail Kaine
Assistant to the Vice Chairman
Tel: 01632 960348

–

Dolores smiled. Might this be her dream job? But, half-seven? That had to be a cock-up. That’s way too early in the morning. Then she thought about it some more. Some of her friends worked early in the morning.

“I could become a morning person.” Dolores thought to herself, “If morning started around midday. Perhaps I need to contact Ms Kaine.”

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This weeks prompts are:

1. not really something to hang on the wall
2. boats to build
3. he’s grown old