Can it hurt me?

After having heard strange noises,
seen and felt entities
that were not of this world,
Lana decided to put up obstacles
to keep them away.
She hung sheets and blankets
from the ceiling at odd angles
to create a maze.
This seemed to keep them at bay,
but why was she now coughing up blood?

This is a Flash Fiction Friday 55.

If you want to know what the hell that means visit g-man.
The challenge is on.
______________

Or if you want yet another challenge write a Sunday 160.

Like a text message, the Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
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Boys will be Boys

BERLIN, Germany - According to an Associated Press story, eight teenagers were hospitalized after consuming chili sauce in some kind of 'double dog dare ya' challenge (that's 'zweimal hund wagen du' in German). The sauce was reported to be 200 times hotter than your table top Tabasco which is a relatively mild 2,500 Scoville Units.

The stuff these kids were chugging was a whopping 535,000 Scoville units which for you pepper aficionados is the heat from the juice of a Red Savina Habanero pepper. One of the three hottest peppers known to man and almost a many Scoville Units as pepper spray.

Now here is the real surprising fact about this story - the teenagers were all boys. Okay, so that really isn't all that remarkable. When was the last time you read a story about teenage girls participating in some lame ass, dangerous and stupid activity, not counting the 'pregnancy pact' of 2008 or anything related to Twilight. What female is going to go along with a "let's see how close we can get to burning our insides out" challenge. I'm guessing....not many.

I will admit as a young man, er, boy, I participated in a number of pretty darn dumb ideas. BB gun wars were one such idea. Gather all the guys from the neighborhood who own a bb gun and head off into the woods to shoot at each other. The one thing we never did was go to our moms and say "Hey, Mom. Me, Tommy and Dennis are meetin' up with a bunch of the guys and are going to shoot each other with bb guns until someone cries." Nope. Moms never knew, injuries were hidden and head shots forbidden...we were dumb but deceptive.

What I want to know is - is it the Y chromosome? Is it the testosterone and all the wonderful accoutrements that come with it? Or is it just the underdeveloped mind of a teenager?

hear the rain

The audible rain
landed glancing blows

on all it struck.

Blurring vision

of an odd mix of

naked branches,

bowed fir

and skies

painted in hues

of gray,

blue,

pink and white.

Dusk called the clouds home.

They hurriedly dropped

their heavy wet burden

to hasten their trip

lest darkness overtake them

leaving only

echos of heavenly tears

on a black pallet.

Help!

Brushed my teeth while the water ran,
splashed half a glass down the drain.
These luxuries we take for granted,
while Haitians stand in line for drinking water.

_________________________

This is a Sunday 160. If you wish to take the challenge, here is a quick look at the rules. For the original Sunday 160 post click here.

The Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
Keep on schedule - post Sunday
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___________________________

Helping in Haiti

If you want to help the victims in Haiti check out web sites for Medical Teams International, Mercy Corps, World Vision, World Concern, American Red Cross, World Food Program, CARE or check you local newspaper for listings. Since you are all very computer literate, I didn't create links to the organizations mentioned here. You are on your own. Help if you can.

Real or imagined......

Long bony fingers gripped
the frayed edge of the curtain.
In a corner of the room,
Sara tried to make herself
as small as possible,
hoping she couldn’t be seen.
The curtains fluttered.
The hand disappeared.
Sara glanced around the room
looking for the creature.
Had it been real or was it her imagination
again.

_______________________

This is a Flash Fiction Friday 55.

If you want to know what the hell that means visit g-man.
The challenge is on.
______________

Or if you want yet another challenge write a Sunday 160.

Like a text message, the Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
Keep on schedule - post Sunday
Let me know you have posted via a comment on my site
Visit at least one other Sunday 160 (if they exist)

ebb or flow

Inspiration ebbs and flows.

The flows are exhilarating

like the rush of cold and

powder that strikes

your cheeks during

a fast slalom

down a well groomed trail.

The ebbs are catastrophe.

Wild thoughts enter

and die

as if sinking

ever so slowly

in quicksand.

The more the thought struggles

and tries to get out

the deeper it sinks

into a smothering abyss.

Many thoughts have recently

been under the false pressure

of needing to keep writing.

To keep a presence.

All the wrong reasons.

Forced creative

is as harsh

as a cheese grater

on a knuckle.

It brings back

old memories of

client deadlines,

not the fun of writing

for love

or about love

or about the love

of the dark places

that haunt

the far reaches

of the mind.

Must stop the struggle and just allow the flow.

Who's gonna clean up this mess??

Debris was everywhere.
Carnage had struck
and all that was left now
was to suck up
the emotional feelings
in the aftermath
and clean up.
It was THE great party.

_________________________

This is a Sunday 160. If you wish to take the challenge, here is a quick look at the rules. For the original Sunday 160 post click here.

The Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
Keep on schedule - post Sunday
Let me know you have posted via a comment on my site
Visit at least one other Sunday 160 (if they exist)

___________________________

Okay, I am really late in posting my own 160, but last night was Mrs. MM's birthday party and a Sunday 160 was not my priority. Great food. Great friends. And a very happy Mrs. MM. Life is good.

Left 4 Dead

It was oddly silent
as I walked carefully
through the structure.
I listened carefully
to make sure
my ears were not at fault.
No sounds of continuous gun fire
or screaming zombies.
Sounds that had become
part of life in recent days.

The game was over.

Or perhaps...

...the kids had gone back to school.

_______________________

This is a Flash Fiction Friday 55.

If you want to know what the hell that means visit g-man.
The challenge is on.
______________

Or if you want yet another challenge write a Sunday 160.

Like a text message, the Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
Keep on schedule - post Sunday
Let me know you have posted via a comment on my site
Visit at least one other Sunday 160 (if they exist)

Poor Ady Gil

Some of you may remember my tongue in cheek Friday Flash 55 about the Ady Gil, a high tech boat being used in the "War Against Whaling". If you don't click here for a refresher. If you do remember that post then you will be most disheartened to note the Ady Gil met her match on the high seas. For the full article click here. (Okay, I'm big into "click here" today, but it beats some sort of annoying footnote.)

So, here's the deal. The Ady Gil and her crew are off fighting the war against whaling in the Antarctic and confront a Japanese whaling ship. The usual method of "warring" is to throw ropes at the whalers propellers or stink bombs on their decks...real high school prank sorts of methods. I guess if these don't work they will stuff the Japanese ship into a locker or dunk them in flushed toilets. But what the Ady Gil's crew forgot was that steel is stronger than fiberglass.

Ouch.

No limping home for the Ady Gil. The hole is too big. Five million dollars of high tech boat, sinking into the briny sea. Fortunately no one was hurt. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Love at first site

At first he just glanced.
Then caught himself staring at her curves.
The graceful way she moved.
He trembled with excitement.
He was seeing
his first Jaguar XJ.
___________

This is a Sunday 160. If you wish to take the challenge, here is a quick look at the rules. For the original Sunday 160 post click here.

The Sunday 160 only uses 160 characters (including spaces)
Keep on schedule - post Sunday
Let me know you have posted via a comment on my site
Visit at least one other Sunday 160 (if they exist)