A Boat in the Water

A little fiction for the day. ;) I posted this over at Pictures, Poetry & Prose with a photo prompt of a boat sitting in the harbor. Hope you enjoy it.

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That brother of mine! What does he know?

Comes into town all highfalutin and showing off all of his fancy electronic toys and sleek looking car. You'd think he was a superstar on tv the way this town is acting about him. The whole town's done lost their minds! Hmph! If they even had 'em to begin with.

Now, don't get me wrong, there has never been any real competition between John and I. We're just cut from different cloths, I guess. He preferred to run to the big city and become a hot-shot-whatever-he-does and I chose to stay right here and run the family boat.

I never did have much taste for wanting much out of life besides what I have...which I think is everything. My wife, my kids, a decent man's work and a roof over our head.

Well, some may say I'm simple but there's nothing like this moment right here. Ready for the first wakes out into the water just anticipating a big catch for the day.

Ahhh! There ain't no salt in the city like this!

My Friend

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Wow..I am practically falling all over myself with excitement because I won an award over at The One-Minute Writer blog. It's a great site that I love and please take a second, or a minute, to go check it out.  It is exactly what the name implies; there is a writing prompt for the day and a timer for 60 seconds.  It's fun, creative and a blast to see what I can come up with and then also see what others contribute to the prompt.

The prompt yesterday was "Reflect on how your life has changed since March 5, 2004" and my entry (remember, I only had one minute) was this:

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the gulf coast of Mississippi in August, 2005. The storm wreaked havoc, chaos and loss for many people but for me it brought a mom and her two kids into my home and into my heart. The family stayed with me for about six months before returning home to Mississippi.

The hurricane: awful beyond words.

The friendship: God-given.

Coincidentally, I had intended on writing about my friend, Angi, today anyway so I think it's great to add the award about her on top of a tribute to her.

This chick from the hurricane, now my best friend, just came into town for a few days to help me while I recover from back surgery.  So I thought I would make some "What I love about her is..." statements so that maybe you'll get to know her and realize how special she is too!

What I love about Angi is ...

• how she loves God with all of her heart.
  
• her ability to throw down a fantastic meal!
• the way she sings a song to someone to make them feel better.
• her innate ability to appreciate and affirm others.
• how you can see her tonsils when she throws her head back laughing!
• how readily she offers love and support to her friends.
• that she's crafty and scrapbook'y and really good at it!
• when we Skype, words are barely needed because of the funny faces she makes!

So, Angi ... here's to you, my friend!

Creative Block

I am experiencing, and trying to escape from, what is commonly known as "writer's block".  I have many topics and creative thoughts rolling around cerebrally but when I go to lay my fingertips on the backlighted keyboard...I have nothing!

I'll start to write a piece and then halfway through the process realize that it would offend someone and immediately delete it.  It is frustrating to sit before my computer screen and just be.  I want to write.  I want to express.  **ugh**

There must be a really, really good story coming as it must be brewing somewhere in my being. So, I guess it's a game of wait and see until the story is ready to be birthed.

Until then, I'll stay here looking at the screen who's looking back at me. 

An Award!!

If we get honest with ourselves for a moment, we find that we all desire some small portion of recognition or affirmation in our day.  I'm not talking about winning the Nobel Peace Prize or something of that grandeur.  I'm talking about that compliment that comes out of nowhere from your teenager who says, "Wow, Mom, you look cool today." It's the kind of recognition from your boss who says, "I see how hard you've been working on this project and I really appreciate your efforts."  Or, the warm touch of a friend in crisis who lays her hand on yours as she says, "Thank you so much for being here when I needed you."

It's the positive feedback we get from living life at our full potential and the result of reaching others with who God made us to be.   

So, imagine my delight when I realized I won an award!  Someone thought enough of my writing not only to read my stuff but to publicly acknowledge my writing!  And, it's not just any old award but an award from Pictures, Poetry & Prose. It's a blog I visit often to contribute thoughts and love the creativity push that Laura Jane's site gives me.  Please go check it out....it's really cool.  The actual award is on the right hand side of my blog. :)

Before your day runs out, purpose yourself to acknowledge someone around you.  See them, compliment them and most of all, let them know your life is being touched by them. You see, it really does matter that we "do" life together and part of that journey is to encourage each other.  

Here's the actual piece that won the award...

 

Photo by S. Kay Murphy

Kay's Pen

The writing prompt:  Cross the bridge.  What is on the other side?

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Dense fog had made the journey quite tough.  She saw the outline of the bridge from a distance but couldn't make out its detail.

With each step she took, another detail filled in.

With each step she took, she was closer to her past being past.

With each step she took, she was closer to her future being now.

And, the bridge was change.

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