Tag: Short story
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Nicodemus, KS, 2023
African American families stayed in the area, settling on farms in the surrounding township.
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2020, MN, ND, Harvest Hosts and destinations.
Six other RV’ers arrived and we closed down the tasting room.
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Saguaro National Park East, Again
I have returned with more of my desert hiking experiences forthcoming.
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Retiree anniversary
I once was a hard-working, career-minded son, military personnel, husband, father, civil service worker to survive and enjoy the fruits of forty years of work/hard labor since the age of eight. I’m currently a highly-skilled veteran retiree who travels full-time in an RV relishing in the beauty of each day I awake. I have a…
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The wisdom of 4-dating questions. (Short story) 2-parts
Mom, when did you actually know you were in love with dad?
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“My nomadic travel origins,”
One aspect I thought of was my self-diagnosis of having a hyperactive personality with a dose of attention deficit disorder. :-)
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“Fellow World Travelers.”
It is always great meeting fellow travelers who seek nomadic adventures as we are a unique tribe of people whose experiences of the open road brings joys to our hearts.
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“Angry voice of gratitude.”
I will never forget the sunny Monday morning inside the coffee shop, knowing you had seen me dozens if not hundreds of times reading the new paper. But on this particular morning, your cheerful smiling hello sparked my day of depression its hope when you agreed to hike a local trail with me. I was…
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“Table talk.” (short Story)
The town of Creighton New Hampshire was to celebrate the 1948 class reunion of the small towns only high school with 43 of the original 97 class members still alive. On Friday morning the weekend of the festivities at the Jenkins diner, in Creighton New Hampshire an elderly man enters shuffling along in search of a…
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“Fathers Day.”
Today men all over America are celebrating Father’s Day spending time with their families, throwing a ball in the yard or enjoying a quiet day they all deserve. My father, taught me by example that every day is “Fathers Day” because my father worked consistently, rarely taking a day off, never taking a vacation, leaving…
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“Juxtapose, the yearly ceremony.”
Again, as usual, I am seated watching the archaic traditions leaving no assumptions for what is to happen at this ceremony that has been held every year since 1877. I glance around to see the awkward familiar faces and, I imagine many other narcissists have gathered here guiltily pretending to care, making this entire ordeal infectiously…
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“Appreciating natural surroundings.”
Usually, on the weekends mostly during the morning hours, a hiking trail fills with groups of people flaunting their newly purchased hiking and backpacking gear. These groups move along in packs of ten or more resembling a social bubble with verbal noise drowning out the beauty of songbirds chirping from the trees above. Many within…
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“Vaguely bestowed history.” (short story)
Ms, Charlotte Wetzler, was seated on the main stage, looking out upon well over 500-hundred guests who are her former students and the recipients of her 42- years of teaching eight and ninth grade American and World history. Accompanying the stage with Ms. Wetzler are members of her school’s administration, School board members, politicians and…
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“Rubber Mallet.” ( short story)
With each swing of the mallet, I pound the spike deeper into the ground. Anger, jealousy, envy, and hate fuels my swings but, I cannot stop pounding the spike more profoundly into the ground until my arm and shoulder begin to ache as tears and sweat streaming along my cheeks. I hear the faint echo…
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“Identical.”
Every day since forever, I have seen you, and we are identical twins. I look into your eyes, and I see the mirror image of me. I have seen pictures of you, and you look like me. Your cheekbones, lips, eyebrows, and chin are all like mine. We are identical twins? As far back as…
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“Blushed.”
Casandra entered the room, and I could not make eye contact, She walks past my table, and I look down at my paper, I sensed a connection, but I’m too shy to speak. Brian will not notice me when I walk into the classroom. He will not acknowledge me with eye contact. I walk past…
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“The wisdom of patience.”
I can remember as far back as a kindergartener, hearing my mother, father, siblings, friends, and teachers, telling me, or writing in the margins of a report card, “Slow Down.” On many occasions throughout my life, I was told I need to develop and hopefully discover some patience. “Slow down,” is the repetitive word I…
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“Time to return to the trails.”
As the days of March wind down and I continue editing, re-editing and repeating the process of my short stories. The recent cold weather in Southwest Florida provoked a wrinkle in my ability to sit outside and write. So, I traded in my shorts, tank top, and flip-flops for my long pants and long sleeve…
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“Suddenly there is no sound.”
Suddenly there is no sound of the trail, but I feel and hear my heart pounding after my climb to summit the small peak of 2500 feet. My breathing slows matching the calmness surrounding me, and I pause to absorb the silence. I have replaced my forty hour work week noises of voices, car horns…
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Astral Congregation
At the beach, or in the park, the morning blend of sites and sounds coupled with the warm sunrise temperatures to sooth the skin adds to the beauty of the day ahead,. Sparrows, warblers, and finches chirp with enthusiasm along with the morning doves cooing to one another adding to the softness of the morning as I watch…
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“Valentines Day of love”
Well, it has come around again the commercially celebrated Valentines Day of love. It is the erotic, exotic, enticing, inspirational day for the expression and confession of love for one or more particular persons or ourselves. I write this blog post watching the sunrise from Smathers Beach in Key West Florida on this yearly holiday…
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“Wedding anniversaries and a birthday: part #3” (Final)
The twins and Johnathan are in the rear seat of the car with their father at the wheel, as they travel along their driveway from their home to the main road. Johnathan is pitifully staring out the window wondering where they are going when his mother turns around in her front passenger seat to tell…
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“Wedding anniversaries and a birthday: part #2”
At 4:45 pm, their father, Jefferson Wheeler, was a third-generation farmer, who stood six-foot, seven-inches tall, with muscular arms, and a matching barrel chest. He was a hardworking, strict disciplinarian, and his deep baritone bass voice commanded the attention of everyone when he spoke. When he drove his tractor into the barn, he saw the…
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“Wedding anniversaries and a birthday: part #1.”
It was 4:30 pm on a western Nebraska farm, in the summer of 1969 with the humid July winds blowing as usual while the Wheeler twins Jason and Jacob who were age six and digging a hole in the backyard of their parent’s farm. Their 15-year old brother Johnathan was driving one of the families…
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“Inscrutable trill silhouetted in front of me.”
I was scared almost out of my seat when Sister Abigale screamed at the top of her lungs forcing all of the fifth-grade students to stared forward, but it was apparent the class prankster, Abraham Jefferson had been up to no good as he snickered and laughed aloud. Her anger was expected, as her voice trilled…
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“I’m candid, fairly agile living on island time.”
I was born and raised in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York, and the first time I saw photos of a beach, I dreamed of living on an island. As a teenager and college student, I was a formidable long distance runner with the agility of a Gazel, but my burning desire to live on…
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“The next dominant generation.”
I am a part of what some people call the greatest generation. When I consider how my parents who lived with nothing close to the conveniences I enjoyed as a child, progressing through my teenage years into becoming an adult, I’m proud to have survived based on today’s standards. I survive childhood without car seats,…
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“Loophole.”
For twenty years’ or more, the theater’s dancers have taken a ten-minute break every hour during any rehearsal no matter how long they rehearsed. Three months into the theater season a pre-law student dancer read the complete contract and discovered a nutritious meal is supposed to be served during any rehearsals over four hours. When…
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“Winsome Characters.”
When a child is born, they are an unwritten computer program learning from parents teachers and society. M. J. Leake
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“Viable at any age.”
Mel and Susan Hubbard a married couple were sitting on a park bench after walking three miles along the beach which they do every other day when Susan tells Mel, Happy anniversary. Mel reaches into his jacket pocket and hands Susan a wedding anniversary card. As Susan reads the card, Mel says aloud. One hundred…
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“Atmospheric; A Short story”
Three months ago Jill and I decided to take a break with a tropical island weekend getaway. On our last evening, I dressed adorned in my best island attire complete with an island decorative asher blue shirt with large dark blue orchids, a pair of tan Bermuda shorts, and my brown leather open-toed sandals. Jill…
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“Droolling mushroom hunters.”
Hiking in the great northwest of the US brings you into contact with many types of people. My first encounter with mushroom hunters began with the honk of a horn from a passenger van when I slowed on the roadway searching for a turn to a hiking trailhead near Mount Hood National Forest. I pulled…
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“Music’s dubious riffs.”
During our annual concert, my high school’s jazz ensemble was playing before a packhouse of parents, students political dignitaries. We played several pieces that excited the whole audience who stood to applaud our performances. Our final piece was always my favorite as the first chair trumpet began their solo riff followed by the dueling solo…
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“Faintly simmering and being beckoned.”
I stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching my mother cooking and preparing the Thanksgiving dinner as I drooled with excitement wanting to sneak a lick of the bowls she recently mixed the german chocolate cake and its accompanying frosting. Although the aromas of faintly simmering pots filled with potatoes, assorted greens, and the…
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“Identifying Trademarks.”
The identifying trademarks were visible when the border officer lifted the tarp to reveal the cylindrical barrel. This story began after my best friend Charles and I attended the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders Football game Nov 16, 1997. Charles and I met and became close friends when we were 23-years-old, in the Marine…
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“A tentative short story.”
Recreating a time from the past can be an adventure. Malcolm & Ethel Marshall, lived thirty-three wonderful years in a beautifully appointed retirement transitional housing community. They both retired at the ages of 67 and 65, and they are parents of three adult children, grandchildren and a couple of great-grandchildren. They were veterans of the…
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“By the Comma”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “By the Dots.” We all have strange relationships with punctuation — do you overuse exclamation marks? Do you avoid semicolons like the plague? What type of punctuation could you never live without? Tell us all about your punctuation quirks! Comma, comma, comma, comma! Every time I write,…
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“The New School”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The New School.” You get to redesign school as we know it from the ground up. Will you do away with reading, writing, and arithmetic? What skills and knowledge will your school focus on imparting to young minds? If I was given the opportunity to redesign the…
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“A True Saint”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “A True Saint.” In 300 years, if you were to be named the patron saint of X, what would you like X to be? Places, activities, objects — all are fair game. Three hundred years into the future scientist read my legendary historical blog “The Nomadic Adventure.”…
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“Singular or Multiple Sensations”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Singular Sensation.” If one experience or life change results from you writing your blog, what would you like it to be? My blog has morphed from “Retiree Lifestyles,” on to “An Aspiring Writer” and continues to evolve. My retirement is the one experience in my life to…
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“Connect the Dots”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Connect the Dots.” Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that. The scheduled J.N. Ding Darling Days will take place October 18-25 2015, which is located on Sanibel Island in Florida. Many people will not be interested…
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“Good and Evil”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Wicked Witch.” Write about evil: how you understand it (or don’t), what you think it means, or a way it’s manifested, either in the world at large or your life. The opposites of Good and Evil, Love and Hate, Night and Day, or Ying and Yang, are…
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“Papa Loves Jazz”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Papa Loves Mambo.” What sort of music was played in your house when you were growing up? What effect, (if any) did it have on your musical tastes? “Music Speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it a rest, heals the heart and make…
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“Our House”
y In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Our House.” What are the earliest memories of the place you lived in as a child? Describe your house. What did it look like? How did it smell? What did it sound like? Was it quiet like a library, or full of the noise of life?…
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“Mirror ,Mirror, On the Wall!”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall.” Think of your blog as a mirror: what does it reveal? Consider your blog name, theme choice, design, and bio post. What does every element tell you about yourself? Nomadic Traveler, speaking to his magic mirror, Mirror, mirror, on the wall, do I have…
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“Flangipropt and Whatchamacallit”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Flangiprop!.” Invent a definition for the word “Flangipropt,” then use the word in a post. The invention of words is something my mother did not allow in her home. My sister and I challenged this rule from time to time using the word, “Whatchamacallit.” As a child, I…
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“Ode To A Playground”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Ode to a Playground.” A place from your past or childhood, one that you’re fond of, is destroyed. Write it a memorial. You have served me very well for two years. I climbed, swung and slid on my playground set, and now my parents have decided to move…
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“Immortalized in a Hologram”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Immortalized in Stone.” Your personal sculptor is carving a person, thing or event from the last year of your life. What’s the statue of and what makes it so significant? At 82 years of age, I was in Patagonia South America, blogging about my travels and photographing…
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“Out Of Reach”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Out of Reach.” Write about the one X that got away — a person, an experience, a place you wanted to visit. How much would you change about your life to have it within reach again? For several years, I dreamed of seeing her. When the opportunity…
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“Night and Day”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Night and Day.” Have you ever had an experience that was incredible the first time, but terrible the second time around? Or vice versa? What made it different the second time? Night and Day experiences are measured by time. When Six Flags over Mid-America opened April 10,…
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A Storybook Day
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “A Storybook Day.” You have to spend one day as or with your favorite fictional character. Which one would it be and what would you do? My storybook day began before sunrise when I decided to ride my bicycle to the park to take some morning photos of…
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“Take Me To the Moon”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Take Me to the Moon.” How far would you go for someone you love? How far would you want someone else to go for you? When I read the prompt, “Take Me to the Moon,” I immediately thought of the song, sung by Frank Sinatra. The question, asked,…
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“Mountaintops and Valley”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Mountaintops and Valleys.” Describe a time when you quickly switched from feeling at the top of the world to sinking all the way down (or vice versa). Did you learn anything about yourself in the process? The yearly July, fourth, five-kilometer fun run and walk is held…
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“Phobia, Shmobia”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Phobia, Shmobia.” Fears evolve over time. What is one fear you’ve conquered? During the holiday season, at the age of five. I watched the “Wizard of Oz” movie and after viewing the wicked witch and those flying monkeys. I was terrified of going into the basement of…
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“Decisions or Gut Instinct” (A couples Weekend Short Story)
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Decisions, Decisions.” How are you more likely to make an important decision — by reasoning through it, or by going with your gut? All critical decisions require reasonable contemplation, however, “gut instincts” requiring little thought or reasoning, and is some times exciting and adventurous. Most gut instinct…
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“Helpless”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Helpless.” Helplessness: that dull, sick feeling of not being the one at the reins. When did you last feel like that –- and what did you do about it? On a plane trip some years ago, I was aboard a flight from Chicago to Washington Dulles International…
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“The Perfect Game, A Short Story”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Perfect Game.” You’re set to play poker (or Scrabble or something else . . .) with a group of four. Write a story set during this game. Or, describe the ideal match: the players, the relationships — and the hidden rivalries. I played golf for five years without…
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“Sunset Bicycle Ride, Dead Insects & Some Photos”
“Sunset Bicycle Ride, Dead Insects & Some Photos” I was enjoying a beautiful warm summer evening viewing the sun settling in behind the trees when I found the urge to take an evening bicycle ride. Normally I do not ride in the evenings due to a lot of insects occupying the bike trail. This tidbit…
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“Brilliant Disguise”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Brilliant Disguise.” Tell us about a time when someone had you completely fooled, where the wool was pulled right over your eyes, and you got hoodwinked, but good. Was it a humorous experience or one you’d rather forget? What was the outcome? Many times in my community…
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“The Kindness of a Stranger & Honoring a Bet”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “The Kindness of Strangers.” When was the last time a stranger did something particularly kind, generous, or selfless for you? Tell us what happened! Many times as I commute to work, I, like so many other commuters, eye contact is avoided and never made. Seated across from me…
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“Hear No Evil”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Hear No Evil.” Tell us about a conversation you couldn’t help but overhear and wish you hadn’t. I usually use Southwest Airlines from the Washington DC area to fly west, and they’er connecting hub is located at Chicago’s Midway Airport and I always had at least an…
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“State of my Year”
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “State of Your Year.” How is this year shaping up so far? Write a post about your biggest challenges and achievements thus far. As the aspiring writer, 2015 for me is traveling along word by word, sentence by sentence in the right direction. My challenges are reading through…
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