Well having said that, I think we can forego any political references. I’m sure you’re heaving a sigh of relief.
In our family, living close to me, we have eight children and their parents of course, my daughter and husband. They range in ages from 13 to 26. They are all different, each a unique person and the family as a whole has lived on a roller coaster for 24 years. Each family goes through ups and downs of course, ours just more than some. At present we’re on a roll, so Murphy, stay out! My mom used this expression and I use it often, for whatever troubles begin, all’s well that ends well.
Choices, so many to choose from today and that just makes me a happy camper. Cheyenne winds are blowing hard, keeping the warm temperatures at bay and I’m here late because I had no sleep last night. I thought I fell asleep after looking at the clock and abruptly woke up, why I don’t know, and it was only fifteen minutes later. Woe was me. So I’m dragging along this morning. I am glad to see a lot of prompts and challenges here to wake up my brain. Fingers crossed😳😄
The wind cut into his skin and grey skies pressed down on the rotting town, but at least he was home. The wind smelled strange, was too warm and the threatening clouds caused goosebumps on Riley’s arms. He saw his parent’s home, seeming to peek up out of unkempt brush. Remnants of a road crew were present, but nothing workable remained.
This was the scene after the last raid on earth’s suburbs. The cities had remained untouched by the aliens, and even the weather had returned to normal sunny days. Outside neighborhoods were the main targets. Possibly they thought the youth housed here would be more easily turned to agree with them; maybe they thought they were easier targets, no one will ever know now.
The nearly abandoned homes remain under surveillance disguised by ominous clouds. Only the very old and feeble remain, slowly starving to their lonely deaths. Middle aged and younger suddenly disappeared with the coming of the overly sweet smelling wind and heavy clouds. The cities now were dome covered, housing the elite members of society of a certain age. There was no social interaction or communication between the two factions.
Riley donned his Hazmat suit and proceeded to check for any survivors.
Before I put on the first thing I thought of, a very old song, “Shineon Harvest Moon”, I should explain I am a lover of music. It probably started when listening to my dad playing songs by ear on the piano, or playing his fiddle or banjo. There wasn’t much he couldn’t play. We all watched, listened and sang along. I think all of us enjoyed this very much. Music means a lot to me and different songs create different moods. Being a hopeless romantic, I like old and new songs about love the most. Some of the lyrics or the way they are sung, with powerful voices, really “hit home” and can make me cry.
My dad used to play at the local dance hall on some Saturday nights. My mom and I would sit and watch, sometimes dance. I can remember my mom being upset by some unpaired couples sneaking out to the parking lot where, as a child, I imagined them doing terrible things. What those were I had not a clue, but seeing my mom’s demeanor, it must have been bad! Most of the people there knew each other.
I would wear thick socks and run and leap the length of the kitchen, dining and living room floors. Seemed quite a distance at that age. A child’s imagination can take them anywhere and believe almost anything.
I watched a lot of dance and musical movies also. Pretending to be Ginger Rogers or Cyd Charisse was a favorite pastime. And CC legs! How long were those beautiful legs? I only wished mine would get as long as hers. But no, definitely not. I have a five foot friend and our legs are the same length!
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In “Girl Hunt”, Tony plays Rod Riley, a hardboiled detective. Gaby has dual roles; she’s the blonde and the brunette. The blonde is a troubled innocent (or is she?!), ethereal in a floaty periwinkle dress. The brunette, with her dark, blunt bobbed hair, is the femme fatale of the piece, slinking about with feline movements.
“She came at me in sections, more curves than a scenic railway. She was bad. She was dangerous. I wouldn’t trust her any farther than I could throw her. She was selling hard but I wasn’t buying.”
One of my favorite parts in this video is Cyd Charisse slinking in where Fred says the above quote.
Trudging along with their picnic basket of peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies, the two children turned to wave at their grandma. She was quietly rocking in her favorite chair on the old wooden porch, humming a familiar tune as she watched the Jesse and Julie walk into the woods.
Packing the picnic for her two grandchildren was an easy task as she had done it many times with her own children. It didn’t seem at all strange to her that even with present day technology, her grandchildren preferred the adventure of the woods to sitting in front of a tablet.
Julie and Jesse had their favorite spot picked out, under the huge comforting oak tree. They had spent many afternoons playing around the old tree and often imagined stories it could tell them. Nothing violent or vile ever occurred here in their safest of places. They knew in their hearts that the tree would protect them if necessary.
The forest itself was so familiar to them, they could play there for hours, read books, draw, or have conversations with tiny imagined creatures. Their grandmother was familiar with the old oak, and relied on it when her children were young, remembering times she loved visiting the tree when she was a child herself.
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