The Bag Lady

lonely tree settled

desert fate is determined

I see stark beauty

—

ravaged bark still clings

the insects take advantage

as nature provides

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SenHai Saturday #61

We’re no strangers to wind here in Wyoming. In fact our capital has an air base where planes practice flying in it! Right now our weather is acting up of course, raining a couple of times a day, hot, humid and lightning. I say of course because our small city is hosting our most income driven event, Cheyenne Frontier Days. Rodeos, ten days of concerts, western and historical wares and products galore!

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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS July 25, 2026

The school therapist sat in the corner, sipping his spiked lemonade, wearing a shirt inscribed “I’m Your Coyotee” misspelled with a lustful coyote. Sara knew her lycra diving suit was clingy but she was in the backstroke competition also. A diving suit was a vacuum fit. She winced when her little brother popped bubble wrap he found, thinking she missed the starter pistol. School swimming competitions were supposed to be a family affair. The teacher/therapist definitely unqualified.

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Always a ringer in the words😂👍🏻

Can You Tell A Story In…

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #096

Joe had always wanted a singing career. He finally asked his friend at a recording studio to help him write a melody fitting a poem Joe wrote after he lost his wife. He didn’t want a typical country song, predictable and trite. His poem was beautiful, with all the love and loss he felt poured into the words. His friend worked with him and they were going to have studio time for this last day only. The song was written and a local businessman backed the recording and it became a success. Joe hoped his wife would somehow hear it.

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24 July 2026

Since I’m turning eighty in a couple of months, obituary seems appropriate. I’m not having a funeral, but the people in those darkened smelly institutional halls will probably put something in the local paper. I can imagine someone I crossed paths with uttering “finally!” with a smile. I’ve had three close calls and am still here being my ornery self so my family thinks I’m immortal. When we gathered for Christmas last year we were playing a game with the oldest starting. The kids said “grandma” and of course the old joke passed around again. I’m going to be cremated, a tiny box of ashes buried beside my husband, also cremated. I don’t believe in heaven and hell so as far as I know it’s a final goodbye on the old deathbed. Probably in my last coherent moments I’ll start to fear the unknown, but I hope not. The only thing I would like in my obituary is “she had a fine sense of humor”.

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This Week’s Writer’s Workshop Prompts – July 23, 2026

getting chills

it’s happening now

visuals

scary scenes

my brain reasons it’s a dream

then I stop shaking

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In celebration of Spain’s win, a Spanish poetry form I love, the Shadorma – syllables 3,5,3,3,7,5, unrhymed.

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 74, Oh, to Dream! 7/21/26

Of course we are! It’s Venus! You’re lucky you’re not wearing a breathing tank! They weigh about twenty pounds! And speaking of weight, you could stand to lose a few, man. You need to stop snacking on the local food, and get back on the MREs. I know they’re disgusting but some are tolerable. Jason looked at his teammate with disappointment. Thanks for the advice, brother, as he gave him the bird.

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Fandango’s Story Starter #256

Joe always wanted to join the circus. Ever since he was four years old and first saw a man doing impossible tricks, Joe knew he wanted to do it also. When he grew older, practicing every day was his routine. However, tricks he first saw as a child seemed impossible and he grew frustrated as more injuries occurred without great results. Finally he gave up, enrolled in business college and resigned himself to what he thought was an ordinary life. Joe was sitting in the park eating his usual bologna sandwich for lunch when a woman sat down on the same bench. She introduced herself, began talking to Joe like she knew him. Promises made by her convinced Joe to follow her to a large warehouse where there were many people doing various tricks – tricks usually performed at circuses or similar events. Joe was fascinated. He was hooked, there was only one caveat. Just the one you’re thinking? No, not his soul.

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Simply 6 Minutes – Welcome to the Challenge: 07/21/2026

There are two ways in which you can participate:
Leave your answers to this week’s questions in the comments box below or create your own post and link back to this one.
Ping-backs are activated, but don’t always work properly, so to play safe, leave a link in a comment or if you prefer, leave just the link so that I can see it.
(Instructions on how ping-backs work are found by clicking here. Thanks! )
To make it easy for others to check out your post, title or tag your blog post “Share Your World”.

As always an optional gratitude section is included at the end.

Here are this week’s questions:

1. Did you ever keep a diary? No.

2. Do you use a calendar that is NOT on a computer/smartphone? Sometimes

3. When was the last time you wrote a letter…… using pen and paper, not a computer. Last week.

4. If you had a column of 10 figures, could you add them up or would you need a calculator? Yes.

Gratitude: I am grateful I had a family visit with a surprise of my oldest granddaughter! She is a pediatrician in CO about six hours away.🥰🎉

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Share Your World 20th July 2026