tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26535707262613577752024-02-02T02:18:52.895-08:00Fifty-Five 55-Word Stories and Other Stuff!Have two books of fifty-five word stories and one book of six-word comments and such....Not available at this time...http://www.blogger.com/profile/06823834545247410137noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2653570726261357775.post-52148400253646458582013-05-18T08:22:00.001-07:002016-12-07T13:29:42.489-08:00A Few Sample Stories From "Fifty-Five 55-Word Stories"<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span>
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<b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; font-size: medium;">There Was Only One Way Out</b></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />The marriage had gone to hell; struggling to get out of debt for<br />years. The life insurance policy was her only way out.<br />Maxed-out her credit cards.<br />$5000 to the hit man.<br />Lawyer read the will. Everything to her.<br />“Sorry there’s so little.”<br />“What about the $1,000,000 policy?”<br />“Cashed it in, didn’t he tell you?”</span></span> </span></h3>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
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<b>Just My Luck!</b></div>
<br />Forty, shy, ordinary, dateless six years, given up.<br />“Come here often?”<br />Movie-star beautiful.<br />Stammering, “Ah, yes, I like libraries.”<br />“So do I.”<br />Her foot touched his leg.<br />“Do you believe in love at first sight?”<br />She rushed him to the motel next door.<br />Afterwards, “When can I see you again?”<br />“Anytime you want; $500 please.”</span></span></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
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<b>The Long Wait</b></div>
</b><br />Threadbare tuxedo; long mane of gray hair.<br />Boxes and magazines stacked, except the immaculate <br />dining room; table set for eight; a barely recognizable <br />wedding cake centered.<br />Stranger quietly asked, “What are you doing?”<br />“Waiting.”<br />“For?”<br />“My bride.”<br />“How long?”<br />“Thirty-eight years.”<br />“Sad news, sir. She’s dead.”<br />Eyes misting, “I guess my wait will be longer.”</span></span></span></h2>
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<b>They Had Climbed Steadily for Hours</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br />Two friends had climbed together for years.<br />This mountain challenged them the most.<br />For years they’d trained.<br />Struggled the last 100 yards, sweat pouring, no energy left.<br />Barely able to pull themselves onto the summit.<br />At the top, in awe of the view.<br />Struggled out of their packs.<br />“You did bring the water, didn’t you?”</span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b style="font-weight: normal;">N<span style="font-size: small;">OTE: </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In some of the stories the line sp<span style="font-size: small;">acing is more op<span style="font-size: small;">en. I have <span style="font-size: small;">tried <br /><span style="font-size: small;">everything to fix it and nothing ha<span style="font-size: small;">s </span>worked. I <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">apologize</span></span>.</span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></span></span></h2>
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Not available at this time...http://www.blogger.com/profile/06823834545247410137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2653570726261357775.post-15507625113697978342013-05-18T08:14:00.001-07:002013-05-18T08:18:11.981-07:00I'm Now An International Star... Well, Not Exactly!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn96j0yy4nnix40JcUGHWN1xftSp5C6uEET3Mqw9UiDwMaX4c2q6qJdpCEGTHMi_MLcjnQpRHIlBQk8g7rFVctctm5MqiwQf7jHShLA3LYe3nrJ9J8qv2v83fjjIxgQSKY2G9ttx6-7XU/s1600/namak+para.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn96j0yy4nnix40JcUGHWN1xftSp5C6uEET3Mqw9UiDwMaX4c2q6qJdpCEGTHMi_MLcjnQpRHIlBQk8g7rFVctctm5MqiwQf7jHShLA3LYe3nrJ9J8qv2v83fjjIxgQSKY2G9ttx6-7XU/s640/namak+para.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="caption">I was surprised, humbled, and thrilled when I
received an email from Mubashir Zaidi, a well-known Pakistani journalist
and writer, asking permission to use some of my stories. The cover is
his book, <i>Namak Paaray</i>, which is in Urdu and contains a collection of
short stories from writers around the globe. The book is named after
namak para, a salty crunchy snack popular in Pakistan and India. The short
stories could be likened to an intellectual or reading snack. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="caption"><a href="http://namakpaaray.com/">Click here to go Mr. Mubashir's Website which is in Urdu, but has some stories in English.</a></span></span></span>Not available at this time...http://www.blogger.com/profile/06823834545247410137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2653570726261357775.post-56795746188242458122013-05-18T07:55:00.004-07:002016-12-12T05:34:49.615-08:00Book Two, Fifty-Six (Plus 6) is Finished. Click on the Book Cover on the Right Side to go to Amazon,,,,,...<h2 class="title">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Book two is going to be better organized with the stories grouped in categories and, will have a table of contents with all the stories listed. There are also several commentaries. Overall the book will be a lot<i> neater</i> in appearance. It is basically finished except for the editing. Well, it's been basically finished except for the editing for a couple of months. May 16, 2013<br /><br />Here are a few sample stories from book two.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 111%;">Two Years He’d Been Obsessed With Her</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 111%;">Had been at the desk across from him.<br />Couldn’t stop thinking about her, dreamed of her.<br />“Have a surprise; I’ll be at your place at 7PM.”<br />Tonight’s the night, why else would she call?<br />Towel wrapped around him, he opened the door.<br />She stood holding a cake, surrounded by his co-workers all singing Happy Birthday.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 111%;">What Goes Around Comes Around</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 111%;">“Believe that?”<br />“Yes. Universal Law.”<br />“How do you know?”<br />“Look around. You see it happen every day. If you’re nice to someone you will be rewarded.”<br />“Sure?”<br />“Yes.”<br />“A year ago I stopped to help a stranded motorist.”<br />“What happened? “<br />“He stabbed me and took my car.”<br />“Oh. You must have bad karma.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 111%;">My Kid’s a Computer Whiz!</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="line-height: 111%;">“What do you mean?”<br />“At 16 he can work an I-Phone.”<br />“And?”<br />“Can really get that X-Box going.”<br />“OK?”<br />“Scores high in <i>Kill Them Until They’re Dead</i> combat game.”<br />“Wow.”<br />“He can send those sex-text messages.”<br />“Can he sit down with pencil, paper, and add two numbers?”<br />“He’s a computer whiz, not a math genius!”</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="line-height: 111%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What Really Happened in Garden of Eden?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 111%;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 111%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Hey, Adam. Taste this.”<br />“Apple from the snake?”<br />“Yep.”<br />“He said not to.”<br />“It’s good. It’s <i>real</i> good, Baby. Trust me.”<br />“Yes, it is.”<br />Voice boomed from above, “Leave the garden and forever be cursed.”<br />“Wow, nice boobs. What should we do?”<br />“Heck with him, let’s take off these stupid fig leaves and fool around.”</span> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 111%;">****************************************</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>My Third Book is Finished.......</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 19.26px;"> Life, Relationships, Religion, and the Human Condition In<br />Six Words </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 19.26px;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 19.26px;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 19.26px;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 19.26px;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 14.124px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are some samples. </span></i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 14.124px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; line-height: 14.124px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">There are approximately 288 of these....</span></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 28.5333px;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b>Religion</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;">Elvis, the little-known 13<sup>th</sup> disciple.<br /><br />His perfect image? Why an appendix?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;">Where in the hell is this heaven?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /><b>Relationships</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Great date? Yes, I was alone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lust or love? That’s the problem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />First date. Best time to quit!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Guys’re crazy over you know what!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />See you again? Sure, $500 please.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Surfboard of romance, headed toward rocks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b>The Human Condition </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;">Magic 8 ball can be wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />There’s no antidote for magical thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Elixir of life. Drink cautiously, sparingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;">Is cracked plaster an artistic enhancement?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Looking at life through fogged windows.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt;">For some, implausible, a step up.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Uninformed rarely question or seek evidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b><br />Superstition, Myths, Pseudoscience, and Such</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;">Truth, can’t be altered or changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Chiropractors and churches. No more needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Mother Nature is not actually fickled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Believe anything. Remember, Santa loves you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br />Respect your rights, not your beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><b><i>NOTE: Yes, I know some of the above stories are "bigger" than the others. I've tried everything to fix it, to no avail. Sorry!</i></b></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 111%;"> </span><br /><span style="line-height: 111%;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 111%;"></span></span></span></span>Not available at this time...http://www.blogger.com/profile/06823834545247410137noreply@blogger.com0