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| << September30, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - When It's Time |
October18, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - I Stood in the Rain >> |
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Hi, Gang! I have another fall story for you tonight. I hope you enjoy it. Last weekend I entered the Writers Weekly 24-Hour Short Story contest. My entry is not suitable for this group. I always come up with something dark. If anyone is interested, please email me. I'll send you my entry. The topic I had to work with was: TODAY'S TOPIC! The vivid hues of the foliage seemed to bring the painting to life. Intrigued, she leaned closer. Blowing rapidly down the cobblestone road, the artist's yellow leaves were a dazzling gold, the red leaves burned a deep, unnatural maroon, more beautiful than reality, and the dark orange leaves faded around their edges, as if they couldn't decide which color they wanted to be. She peered closer still, desperately wishing to be there, in that place so far away, and so long ago. Her senses seemed to respond to her subconscious desires and she blinked back startled tears when she suddenly inhaled the scent of wood smoke, felt a cold wind stirring her hair, and saw a movement in the distance... ~~~~~ WORD COUNT Stories for today's topic must not exceed 1100 words. (Your story's title is *not* included in the word count. We used MSWord's word count function to determine the final word count in submission.) I need a few volunteers. Zinester doesn't work well these days. My stories are not getting to those who signed up. I found another service and need a few of my family of readers to volunteer to check it out. I signed up for a 60-day trial run. I can't do the trial with all my readers. They will allow me only 100 members in the trial. If you are willing to help me, please email me at msmith4@nj.rr.com. Be warned, while I check out this new service, you will receive my stories twice - once through Zinester and once from the new service. I really need your help in checking this new system out. I Love your comments. Send them to: msmith4@nj.rr.com If anyone is interested in greeting cards or crafts, Ginny belongs to a group of artists. They've teamed together to market their products. Check them out at: http://www.etsygreetings.blogspot.com Ginny's cards and other crafts are at: http://www.ginginsgoodies.etsy.com Be sure to check out my collection of inspirational sites at the end. There's something for everyone. Now for today's story. The Fall of Life The nights grew longer - the air cooler. Leaves changed color. Migrating birds made their way south - fleeing winter. Fall is almost here - my favorite time of year. A walk through the forest - a trip to an art gallery. The trees compete, each a work of nature's glorious art. A canopy of color shaded me. I stood under them, looked up, and saw sunlight streaming through the branches. It struck each leaf. They reflected it with an un- imaginable brilliance. In the quiet of the forest, I heard a small snap. A single leaf floated delicately to the ground. A light breeze stirred the branches - a multicolored snow storm. The colored flakes landed on my head and shoulders. They cover the seeds and nuts the trees dropped earlier. Some had small sprouts already reaching to the sky. The seeds of new life were soon buried under a cover of delicate and dying leaves, a cover provided by the tall trees standing over them. The leaves protected the future from the cold winter to follow. In spring, the leaves decomposed and provided rich nutrients to nourish the young - new generation. A week later I was back. I wanted to enjoy the season before it is gone. The leaves rustled under my feet. The air was scented with the odor of dampness and decomposition, as the leaves began to decay - a pleasant smell. I shuffle along, pushing the leaves in front of me. They parted and swirled around my feet like the water on a beach. My heart was heavy. Another year was gone. At home, I looked in the mirror - a hint of grey at my temples. I noticed a few more in the whiskers on my chin and a few chest hairs followed suit. The hair on the top of my head, like the leaves, were mostly gone. I'm in the fall of life. Could my winter be close? I sat in my chair, tried to watch a game on television, but I couldn't focus. Where did my spring and summer go? My son walked by. He was a tall, healthy, and good looking young man. "See ya, Dad. I'm going to work." The door closed behind him. I thought of the trees, the seeds, the nuts, the leaves, my children and grandchildren. Like the trees, I spread my seeds and protected them. They grew from seeds and sprouts, to tall, strong saplings. The trees and I have weathered many storms. We swayed and bent under their force, but we stood over our young, sheltered them, and covered them when they were cold. My heart felt lighter. Fall was not the beginning of the end. It is the past protecting the future. One day, a storm will blow in and I'll topple over - winter. The young I sheltered, free of my shadow, will take my place to protect the next generation - my job complete. Michael T. Smith If you enjoy a story, feel free to pass it on to your friends. My only request is that you include the link for your friends to join our family. To join our family, go to: http://subs.zinester.com/86758/ As promised, here is a list of great inspirational sites. I subscribe to all of them. You will love these sites. A good friend of mine has a new book out. You should check this out. Carol's been through rough times. She tells it all in her latest book. Carol Roach M.Ed, B.A. Publisher: Storytime Tapestry Author: Angels Watching Over Me:http://www.lulu.com/content/644485 Picking up the Pieces: A Woman's Journey: www.publishamerica.com To join Carol's story site, go to Storytime Tapestry at: http://archives.zinester.com/98907/ From my wonderful writing friend, Jan. She writes wonderful stories about her life and losing her sight. Janet Perez Eckles Faith and Love with a Latin Flair www.janetperezeckles.com Here's a good one by Linda Della Donna Freelance Writer www.littleredmailbox.com www.griefcase.blogspot.com www.storybone.blogspot.com "...and sometime when I wasn't looking, I got a new life." By my good friend Keith in Australia: http://www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/ My friend Phil runs http://www.peoplestuff.com.au/ Phil's awesome and brutally honest Zev, yes another friend, runs http://empoweringmessages.com/stories/ Heart Catchers is a wonderful site. www.DianeDeanWhite.com www.Heartwarmers.com and www.petwarmers.com are two wonderful story sites. http://hodu.com/ http://www.mydailyinsights.com/ www.ripplemaker.com http://www.sermonillustrator.org http://www.SkyWriting.Net Here's a newly discovered one I like: http://www.archive.zinester.com/9516 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WarmFuzzyStories/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WithInSight/ If you, or anyone you know needs prayers for health concerns, struggles,etc visit www.janetperezeckles.com Janet's prayer group will respond. That's all I can think of right now. If I come up with more, I'll add them. Enjoy!!! I love your comments, Send them to msmith4@nj.rr.com. I'll include some in every post. Now for a few comments on my last story: (I'm running late tonight. I will post the comments on the weekend) To unsubscribe,go to: http://www.zinester.com/cgi/unsub.cgi?86758&0& |
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| << September30, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - When It's Time |
October18, 2007 - Hearts and Humor - I Stood in the Rain >> |
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