Succinctly Yours for May 30 - Mama

Grandma of Grandma's Goulash provides a new photo prompt each week for us to tell a story that we see within it in 140 characters or less (or 140 words if need be). She also gives us a "word of the week" to attempt to work into the story. Join me now for the story I discovered in this photo.

Word of the Week – glisten

Paolo stared at her walking along the glistening street’s divider. Could it really be? He hadn’t seen her since he was a child. “É a mama!” 

Expectations - Whose Are They? (GBE2)

Whose expectations are you living up to? Your parents? Your own? A significant other? Or maybe a blend of all of them? 


Sometimes it's hard to get away from what others expect, even when those expectations are negative. If you tell a child they are a failure from early on, that they will be a failure, that you have no faith in them, that they will never succeed in anything they try, whose expectations do you think they'll follow? In all likelihood, they'll follow yours. Every stumble, every fall, will remind them of what you've said and will only provide more proof that you were right after all. They are failures and always will be failures. 


There are actually people who believe that insults are a way of building someone's self-esteem. They believe that the person will learn to be tough and rise above and stand tall. I find that incredible and mind-boggling. After having been on the receiving end of decades of verbal abuse (and that is what it amounts to), I fail to see how any words meant to tear down can be deemed to be of good value. 


Once you have come to believe that you are nothing and always will be nothing, the rest is self-fulfilling prophecy. You set yourself up for failure because there is no other way it should be. When you do find that you are succeeding beyond all expectations, you sabotage your efforts because that's just how it's supposed to be. You're a failure. How can you succeed? That's not part of the road map you've been given for life.


It's difficult to overcome such a rocky foundation in life. Sometimes, it cannot ever be completely overcome. Even when you realize that the things that were said to you were false and cruel, you tend to relive them over and over and over again every time you hit a bump in the road. You become that child again suffering the verbal blows that reiterated your inability to achieve. You berate yourself and blame the past. 


But, there comes a time when you have to realize that no one has the right to control you. Not someone in your present and definitely not someone from your past! You need to find something in yourself to be proud of, something that you know, without question, is valuable and worthy. And, stand your ground! Don't let someone else knock you down. When you trip, get back up and brush yourself off. Are you a fantastic mother? Be proud of it!! Can you cook? Are you good with numbers? Do you write well? Then, love yourself for it!! Do you have things you don't do well? Embrace them - accept the fact that you won't ever do everything well. Remember, there are things that you do better than someone else, too. Everyone has something they can't do well. EVERYONE!! Don't ever let someone put you down because you don't meet their expectations. 


The only expectations you need to worry about are yours. Believe in yourself. Like who you are. Never again give the past permission to control the present!! 

Book Blurb Friday – May 27

I’m so very late this time, but thanks again to Lisa Ricard Claro of writinginthebuff.net for this opportunity to stretch my brain muscle with yet another imaginary book cover, this time a photo by Kathy Matthews.

SNOW ANGELS

It was still dark when Andy got dressed to shovel yet another load of winter white, so he didn’t see the unusual hump in the snow where the sidewalk normally was. And, it was unusual since their yard was the flattest parcel of land on their cul-de-sac. They had no children, so toys and sleds weren’t likely. It wasn’t until Andy reached that portion of the sidewalk (working in the reflected light of a winter’s night) that he realized something was amiss. Pulling his cell phone out, he shined its screen light over the hump and slowly began to realize that it was no ordinary snow drift. No, this definitely was not a snow drift. Facing a sickening reality, Andy turned his phone around and called 911.

Succinctly Yours for May 23 - I'm late, but so is Isaac.

Succinctly Yours for May 23 http://grandmas-goulash.info/tag/succinctly-yours/

Word of the Week – kink

Isaac’s romantic overtures had put a kink in Rebecca’s plans. Should she accept his proposal or tell him of Jacob’s invitation to the ball?

Book Blurb Friday - May 20

Lisa Ricard Claro has given us a tough one this week thanks to Sandra Davies' photo. Book Blurb Friday requires that we "write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) so enticing that potential readers would feel compelled to buy the book." Whether or not I've done that is up to you.

Brass Knuckles

Woodland Hills has had an interesting crime log lately. A rash of burglaries has taken place throughout the area. The only things stolen have been musical instruments…brass instruments. So, when local artist, Phillip Sousa, is found dead in his studio full of brass sculptures along with a French horn, police think they’ve solved the burglary case. But, have they? The set of brass knuckles lying next to the body says something else to local PI, Rick Tracy. Phil was his friend and “he was no burglar”, Rick tells investigators just before being forced to leave the scene.

Are the two crimes coincidental? Or is there a connection? Rick plans to find out, whether the law wants him to or not.

Succinctly Yours for Monday, May 16

Succinctly Yours for May 16 

Thanks go out to Grandma of Grandma's Goulash who is sponsoring this fun little writing exercise.

We are to use the photo as inspiration for a story of 140 characters OR 140 words. It doesn’t have to be exactly 140, but it can't go over. 

If we want more challenge then we can use the word of the week in our stories. But, this is optional.

Word of the Week – tempt

She tried to tempt him with a hot toddy, but the lure of the lens and what lay beyond were too great. She envied his maritime mistress.

TGIBBF for May 13 - America's Dust Bowl Diaspora

Thanks to Lisa Ricard Claro for her bringing us Book Blurb Friday through her blog, Writing in the Buff and to Lynn Obermoeller for the photo.

America’s Dust Bowl Diaspora

On the heels of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the American and Canadian prairies suffered a drought of Biblical proportions followed by dust storms that decimated their fields. These two events became known as the Dust Bowl. In response to this life-changing natural event, many people migrated to California to escape the combined damages of financial and natural ruin. 

Join us as we retrace this modern-day diaspora and learn the histories of several families who pulled up stakes and made new lives on the west coast of the United States during the worst period of economic decline in the world.

Alternate Post for Succinctly Yours on May 9

Funeral over at last, the cemetery now got to work putting Big Bad John to rest. It had been a very long day.

Succinctly Yours for May 9

Grandma of Grandma’s Goulash is hosting a weekly microfiction meme wherein a photo is posted for us to use the photo to create a story of 140 characters OR 140 words. It doesn’t have to be exactly 140, just not more. If we want a greater challenge, then we are to use the word of the week in our stories, but it is optional. This week’s word is aquatic.

The aquatic center, the largest in the world, begins construction in upstate New York. It will allow public and private use once completed. (139 characters)

Book Blurb Friday - May 6

Here is the "book cover", courtesy of Becky Povich, for this week's Book Blurb Friday. This writing challenge is sponsored by Lisa Ricard Claro. We are to write a book jacket blurb (150 words or less) to entice potential readers to buy the book. Anyone is welcome to join us.

2011 Complete Guide to Retreat Centers

Do you feel spiritually drained, in desperate need of a re-charge and revitalization? Are you looking for a place where you can get away and be with those of your faith or others seeking spiritual awakening? Are you looking for a retreat that offers the opportunity to rest, commune with nature, get in tune with your spiritual self and escape the harsh realities of the world? If you are, then we’re here to help you.

Find your ideal getaway, whether you are Catholic, Jewish, Charismatic, Spiritual, 
Evangelical, Pagan or non-affiliated. Sectioned by belief system, this guide will help you find just the right place; for women, men, children, couples, families, disabled, or the elderly. Only retreats with stellar reviews are included, so shed your fears (and your anxieties) today.

Succinctly Yours for May 2 - Lenny

Grandma’s Goulash’s Succinctly Yours offers a weekly photo and word as inspiration for writing microfiction. How low can you go? Choose the 140 character or 140 word option.

And here’s the pic for Monday, May 2nd.

Word Of The Week:invade

Look, Lenny! LOOK! Do you see the lengths they’ve gone to invade my privacy? Can you imagine the headaches? Lenny, are you looking??!?