Welcome to today’s blog. I am glad you are here and I hope you enjoy my contribution to this week’s Fiction in a Flash challenge.
When I saw this week’s photo prompt I knew immediately what I would write. This time my contribution will be a one-liner.
“Hurry up, John, you’re holding up the line,” howelled his mother while she gave him a nudge.
My one-liner is in honor of an outstanding author, John Howell, who has won many awards. His blog is always full of interesting, amusing, or heart-warming messages. He has a wonderful sense of humor and a positive, well-thought out perspective on life. Every day I look forward to reading his blog though I am negligent about leaving a comment each time. (Sorry, John) His website is: https://johnwhowell.com/.
Suzanne Burke offers a variety of photo prompts from which everyone is invited to write a short story, one-liner, or poem. Have fun and join in. Go to her website to learn more about it: https://sooozburkeauthor.wordpress.com/
Please leave a comment. I always enjoy reading and responding to them.
Award-winning author Suzanne Burke has presented another photo prompt for this week. To learn more about her opportunities for you to share your responses to a photo go to https://sooozburkeauthor.wordpress.com/. Join the fun!
Here is my Tanka poem based on the photo prompt.
Cherishing each day is an important part of my life. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I made a conscious decision to live each moment with love as best as I could. There is a wonderful song by Jason Mraz titled “Living in the Moment,” which describes my philosophy so beautifully. Here it is for you to enjoy!
Thank you, Suzanne Burke for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this weeks Fiction in a Flash challenge.
It is my pleasure and honor to participate in another flash fiction challenge based on the photo prompt. Award-winning author, Suzanne Burke, has provided these challenges every week. Everyone is invited to write a short story, poem, or a one-liner.
Here is the photo prompt for this week:
And here is my Tanka poem based on the above:
There is a wonderful poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, titled “The Sands of Time.” It is a poem that left a large impact on me when I was in high school. Its influence is obviously still with me.
Thank you for visiting my blog today. I welcome your comments.
Suzanne Burke has provided a new photo prompt from which to write a short story, poem, or one-liner. Come and join in the fun.
When I first saw the photo prompt, it brought back memories of my sister and I swinging side-by-side as children. Looking at the snow, I thought about the analogy of the seasons of the year and the journey of our lives.
Since Covid-19, the preciousness of life is ever more evident; the lessons of filling each day with love are more clear; the gift of memories is precious, and the beauty of love is ever so dear.
May 2021 be a year of lessons learned and lived. A time of putting aside differences and joining together in love. A year of taking better care of our health. A year that the swings of memories will uplift us.
Hope is wanting something to happen, an expectation. If we use it in a prayerful, spiritual way it is more empowering. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope it was a deep and well-intended prayer.
It is HEALTH that is real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver. (Mahatma Gandhi). Health is a state of being free from physical or mental illness or injury. There is a definite relationship between one’s sense of well-being and his/her’s physical and mental health.
Your health is what you make of it. Everything you do and think either adds to the vitality, energy and spirit you possess or takes away from it. (Ann Wigmore) We are what we think.
Happiness is a state of contentment or satisfaction; it is something we do, are grateful for, or fulfills a wish or desire. We will have true happiness when we enjoy the journey of one’s life rather than the destination.
Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. (Joseph Addison)
As we celebrate the New Year instead of making the typical resolutions (lose weight, exercise more, get a new job, etc.), let’s deeply and truly look at how we live. How do we use and live the words hope, health, and happiness?
We can make 2021 and the world better by following the words of this quote: He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope has everything.(Thomas Carlyle)
As is true for everyone, the pandemic changed the traditional Christmas celebrations. Today I am going to share some blessings and memories of Christmases past from which I learned important lessons.
My first memory of the magic walnuts was when I was about 4 or 5 years old. Each year a walnut hung by a red ribbon from the Christmas tree. There was one for my sister and one for me. When we opened the walnut shell, there was a crisply folded one-dollar bill! In the 1940s that was a lot of money. My grandfather watched us with a big smile.
LESSON: It is good for children to believe in magic. It is an opportunity for them to use their imaginations.
When I was 12, I sneaked a peek at a gift when no one was home. I was terribly disappointed to discover it was NOT a cashmere sweater. My mother discovered what I had done and the present disappeared from under the tree.
LESSON: Do not cheat or lie or sneak a peak. You will only hurt yourself and others.
Christmas 2020 has an uninvited guest: Covid-19 virus. Our annual trip to MN to spend a few days with family was canceled. Anger, disappointment, and tears were part of my private pity-party.I decided to put my “big-girl pants on” and celebrate this special holiday with love and gratefulnessfor all that I do have.
LESSON:Life is not perfect. Adapt and cope. Be a better person by reaching out to others who are not with their families, bake extra cookies, and send cards with meaningful messages.
I have been remiss in keeping up to date with my blog, supporting authors with tweets and reviews, and not commenting on blogs I follow. I have had two priorities that have taken my time away from the above: writing my fifth book and setting up my involvement with ovarian cancer awareness and fundraising more efficiently. I have made strides in both areas, but have more to do.
At a recent Zoom support group, we each shared a favorite Christmas memory. I invite you to do the same in the comment section. Wishing you each a blessed Christmas.
Suzanne Burke once again has provided an interesting photo prompt from which to write a short story, one-liner, or a poem. This week’s photo was not only beautiful but quickly brought to mind the following Tanka poem. I hope you enjoy it.
THE MAGICAL FOREST
THE YOUNG PRETTY LASS
HAD BICYCLED FAR FROM HOME
SEEKING HAPPINESS
IN AN ENCHANTED FOREST
OF MAGIC, FAIRIES, AND ELVES.
HER BIKE STANDS ALONE
WAITING FOR HER TO RETURN
BUT EACH DAY PASSES
WITHOUT THE YOUNG, PRETTY LASS
EVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.
LAUGHTER AND MUSIC
FLOATS AMONG THE TREES SO HIGH
HEARD BY THOSE WHO PASS
BY QUICLY WITH STEPS, FEARFUL
OF THE MAGICAL FOREST.
THE ONLY MAGIC
IS THE HAPPY BEATING HEARTS
FILLED WITH LOVE AND JOY
FROM THE YOUNG AND PRETTY LASS
WHO LIVES WITH HER PRINCE CHARMING.
My thanks to Suzanne Burke who provided these Fiction in a Flash Challenges. I invite you to follow her website and join the fun in writing something based on the photo prompt. https://sooozburkeauthor.wordpress.com/
There are no other words that completely express what I feel each Thanksgiving Day: THANKS & GRATITUDE
T: TIMEH: HEALTHA: AGE
N: NATURE
K: KIDS
S: SUNRISES
&
G: GRANDCHILDREN
R: RELATIONSHIPS
A: ART
T: TEACHERS
I: INVENTIONS
T: TRAVEL
U: UNDERSTANDING
D: DESIRE
E:EACH OF YOU
I am thankful for each of you who have supported, followed, and encouraged me. Your friendship crosses over many miles, yet it is no less treasured. I pray that you will be blessed with thanks and gratitude every day, all year long.
Award-winning author, Suzanne Burke, presents photo prompts encouraging and inviting anyone to write a short story, one-liner, or poem inspired by the photo. Here is my Tanka poeminspired by this charming photo.
THE MAGICAL TEDDY BEAR
HOW SOON WILL HE COME?
WHEN WILL I SEE HIM AGAIN?
HE LEFT IN A RUSH
ON A STRETCHER WITH DOCTORS
SURROUNDING HIS FRAIL BODY.
HE CRIED OUT MY NAME
BUT THEY SAID "NO BEARS ALLOWED"
I CALLED OUT HIS NAME
IN MY MAGICAL METHOD
THAT ONLY HE AND I KNEW.
SITTING BY THE FIRE
EACH NIGHT I WAITED FOR HIM
PRAYING FOR HEALING
OF MY DEAR FRIEND WHO I LOVE
AND IN RETURN LOVES ME TOO.
AT LAST HE RETURNS
WRAPPING HIS ARMS AROUND ME
HIS BODY IS THIN
BUT OUR LOVE WILL HELP IT HEAL
THE SAME AS IT HAS EACH YEAR.
I’M NOT JUST A BEAR
MY STUFFING IS MAGICAL
I CAN HEAR AND SPEAK
ONLY WITH MY YOUNG OWNER
WHO I WILL LOVE FOREVER.
Like many children, I had a Teddy bear which I played with, dragged around, and shared my secrets. He was cuddly, never judging, and always there. This poem is in honor of my Teddy and all the other Teddy bears who have brought joy and comfort to children around the world.
I encourage you to go to Suzanne Burke’s website at https://sooozburkeauthor.wordpress.com/and discover her books, blogs, and fiction in a flash challenges. You won’t be disappointed.
The Perfect Novel to Celebrate Native American Heritage Month!“The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon: Cheyenne Spirits”by Marcha Fox and Pete Risingsun
“Containing a fascinating combination of Cheyenne and Dine spiritual practices seasoned with astrology, the novel is educational as well as entertaining.”
–Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Review
BLURB
Charlie Littlewolf knows there’s something suspicious about the accident that killed his best friend. Determined to solve the mystery, he must return to a way of life he’s shunned for decades. Will the Cheyenne grandfather spirits respond before a black ops team kills him, too?
BOOK TRAILER
EXCERPT CONTEXT
Charlie uses a variety of ways to obtain guidance from the Great Spirit (known to the Cheyenne as Maheo). In this scene he’s employing the medicine wheel coupled with small stone carvings of animals known as fetishes, which serve as proxies for spirit animals.
EXCERPT
Charlie set the medicine wheel on the floor, the cross separating its red, yellow, white, and black sections oriented to the cardinal directions. Next he set the fetishes facing center from their guardian positions: Mountain Lion, North; White Wolf, East; Badger, South; Black Bear, West; Eagle, Upper Regions; and Mole, Lower Regions.
His mind wandered back to when his grandfather taught him about spirit animals. They could manifest as spirits, in real life, dreams, or even symbolic form. Not only these six, but all living things: Turtles, frogs, ravens, rats, lizards, snakes. He taught him where the creatures lived, what they ate, whether they were dangerous, and how they cared for their young. The lessons weren’t rote, but experiential.
He met Eaglefeathers for the first time when his grandfather came to New Mexico for an extended visit, several years before his father went back to Colorado, never to return.
Charlie was a boy, going into his seventh winter, and awestruck by the man’s stature and demeanor. How ancient he seemed, with his long, grey braids and colorful clothing adorned with quill work, beads, and feathers.
Lots of feathers.
He remembered sitting with him by the fire, warmth caressing his face while the chill of desert evenings assaulted his back.
“Tell me about lizard,” Eaglefeathers said.
“He has four legs and crawls on the ground. He eats bugs,” young Charlie replied.
“Yes. But what does lizard know?”
He squinted at his grandfather as if he were crazy.
Eaglefeathers patted the ground. “Lie on your belly. Flat on the earth.”
He obeyed, sneezing when dust tickled his nose.
“Now, make your arms and legs like lizard.”
He cocked his elbows and spread his knees a bit, getting into the role play.
The old man’s voice grew softer. “Now walk. What do you see?”
“I see rocks. Grass. A sage bush.” He sneezed again.
“How does earth feel beneath your belly? Do you hear anything? Feel anything? Something that might be good to eat? Or might eat you?”
He giggled. His grandfather cleared his throat, not amused in the slightest. He focused back on his task as he realized this wasn’t a game. By the time the exercise was over, he felt as if he did understand what lizard might know, how it might feel.
The lessons continued over several nights before the fire, eventually covering not only animals known to inhabit the area, but more exotic ones as well. The tutorial taught him to be observant. Not only to their presence, but to recognize their strengths, vulnerabilities, talents, and unique wisdom. To know which to consult for answers. More importantly, to ponder its meaning upon seeing one in the wild.
More wordstouched his mind like a breeze through tall grass.
There are no coincidences.
Like raven, on his return from Tomahawk Creek.
He began the ceremony by lighting a sweet grass braid. He smudged himself and offered its smoke to the four directions. He set the smoldering braid in a shallow pan, then focused all his attention on his cadre of advisors.
Which were calling him? All did not always have anything to say. Mole had demanded his attention with the earthquake. He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes, and became a mole.
He meditated on the Earth, the smell of rich soil, the texture, far below, where moisture resided.
Her vibrations were disturbing.
Anger. Rage. Exploited.
She’d been violated. Neither honored nor appreciated. Her power rippled through him. The earthquake a warning. A reminder. All life depended on her. Humans were mere guests. Nothing compared to her. She could cast off offenders as a dog shook off dirt and fleas.
He absorbed Earth’s unrest, then regarded the others. Did they, too, have a message?
Eagle and Mountain Lion were silent, but White Wolf beckoned. He imagined four paws, a thick coat of fur, an acute sense of smell for seeking prey. Unfailing loyalty to family and the pack, the many inflections and meanings of its soulful howl.
As Guardian of the East, he pictured himself as Wolf sitting tall and confident on an outcropping awaiting the dawn. Wolf didn’t know what would happen that day or any other, but he faced it with courage and accepted its lessons.
He must do the same.
He didn’t have the truth, but must sniff it out. Watch with a sharp eye for it to make itself known. With gratitude he released wolf’s persona and regarded the remaining fetishes, Badger and Bear.
He sensed Badger’s call. He contemplated the energy he sensed in its hide, the animal’s link to Novavose. He assimilated its sleek, muscular body that hugs the earth, long claws and razor-sharp teeth. One of the few animals ferocious enough to take down a bear. A diet mostly comprised of prairie dogs, carrion, berries and other vegetation—whatever was available.
Badger’s unconquerable spirit coursed through him, strengthening and comforting his wounded heart. Since his arrest he’d felt helpless and ashamed, then humiliated by Sara’s assistance.
Badger reminded him not to feel like a victim. It was within him to be deadly and aggressive when the time was right. A time he would recognize as more truth was revealed.
His attention turned to Bear. He, too, remained silent. Thus, he meditated on what he’d received from Mole, Wolf, and Badger.
His conviction expanded. The curse was culminating in a way that wouldn’t be mistaken for anything else.
Neither myth nor coincidence.
Bryan’s death started it, he would finish it.
Startled by the impression, he’d barely absorbed it when another followed.
He had much to do. Much to learn.
Could he do it on his own?
MEET THE AUTHORS
Marcha Fox
Marcha Fox earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Utah State University in 1987, which facilitated a 20+ year career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Her interests expand far beyond the world of aerospace and hard science, however. The esoteric realm of metaphysics and all things weird and wonderful hold her interest as well.
When her attempt to debunk astrology backfired, she pursued knowledge in that field as well. She graduated from the International Academy of Astrology’s professional development program in 2012 and is the sole proprietor of ValkyrieAstrology.com. Much of the popular website’s content can be found in “Whobeda’s Guide to Basic Astrology.”
Her previous fiction work includes her epic Star Trails Tetralogy series, which has been highly acclaimed for its family-oriented plot as well as its palatable and STEM-friendly science content described in detail on http://www.StarTrailsSaga.com.
Born in Peekskill, New York, she has lived in California, Utah, and Texas in the course of raising her family of six children, now grown. Besides writing, she pampers her two cats, maintains an active astrology practice of international clients, and tries to keep up with her home, yard, friends, and family.
Pete Risingsun is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who has served as a spirit helper to medicine men in ceremonial sweat lodges. He’s a proud fifth generation descendant of Chief Iron Shirt, who was a lodge keeper and powerful medicine man.
Born in 1950, he was raised on a small ranch east of Busby, Montana. He attended Montana State University, then worked for Exxon in Billings, Montana for a year before returning home to the reservation as adult education director for the Northern Cheyenne tribe where he also raised black angus cattle and bred championship Quarter horses. He has served as a Tribal Council member and was the first Northern Cheyenne elected to serve as a Rosebud County Commissioner.
He’s the proud father of one daughter and grandfather to two. Pete is currently retired, but in addition to co-writing The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon: Cheyenne Spirits” he makes and sellssweet grass braids, a sacred plant used in various ceremonies.
It has been my honor and pleasure to host two outstanding authors on my blog this week. Please show them your support with a comment, questions, and a purchase of this book.
KAREN INGALLS, AUTHOR, BLOGGER & SURVIVOR 