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Sue Spitulnik

Writing, Sewing, Travel, and Thoughts

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#99WordStorues

Michael’s Secret Collection

Seeing Michael get a box out of the van when he got home, Tessa opened the door.  “What do you have?”

“It’s the best collection ever that I kept secret while in grade school so I didn’t get teased.” He set the box down and opened it.

Tessa looked inside. “Rubber Ducks?”

“I loved these things. They’re all sizes, colors, and characters, yet still qualify as ducks. Now that we have two grandchildren, I figured it was time to share my passion.”

Tessa grinned. “You might have to convince Jester they aren’t his.”

“Dang. Didn’t think about the dog.”

Written in response to Charli Mills July 18, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about a rubber duck. Where is this duck — somewhere typical like a tub or somewhere surprising like a roller derby. Who is with the duck? What is happening? Go where the prompt leads!

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New England Colors of Hope

A yellow sun, blue sky day

Purple, orange, and white crocus bloom

Hope for a warm spring

Children laughing, playing on new-mown grass

Green, everything is green for a time

Hope for a good harvesting season

The yellow and green squash and beans

The pink and orange-centered melons

The cucumbers and golden onions

The gold, red, and yellow leaves of autumn

The red geranium continues to bloom

Hope for a good hunting season

Skies turn grey, and the sun hides

White snow falls

Hope for an exhilarating ski season

The snow is again melting

And purple crocus burst forth

Written in response to Charli Mills April 24, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about the color of hope. Who is in need of hope and why? How can you use color to shape the story? Pick a color, any color. Go where the prompt leads!

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Off the Grid – Parts 2 and 3

The policemen, still in the car, looked at the growling dog. “You mind leashing that.”

“Beast. Heal.” The dog ran to the man and sat, quiet. “Stay.”

The police got out of the car. One said, “Are you a veteran?”

“Yup. One tour in Iraq and two in Afghanistan.”

“How about the dog?”

“Yup. Now he’s a stud to my ex- old-lady’s bitch. I take the pups I think are trainable, and she sells the rest.”  

“You have any visitors we might be interested in meeting?”

“At first.” He whistled one note. Three more dogs charged out of the RV.

***

The policemen flinched.

The veteran held his hand to his side, palm facing Beast. The three other dogs stopped short and sat behind Beast. “Folks don’t like my pack.”

“I can see why. Do you have permission to be here?”

“Yup. It’s my ex-in-laws property.”

“Can we look inside?”

“Nothin’ to hide. ” He added, “Beast. Down.” His dog and the three trainees hunched down.

One policeman went into the RV and soon came back out. “Looks good.”

The veteran smiled. “I could donate one of the pups to ya.”

“You would?”

“We’re on the same side, guys.”

3

The Maple Tree Speaks

I love you, Mother Nature, for you nurture me. You give me sunshine and enough raindrops so I can thrive. I happily talk to my family via an underground synapses system. My bare branches grow leaves in the spring so birds, bugs, and critters can make homes in me, and I can shade the humans who sit on the ground under me. My life cycle allows my green leaves to turn beautiful colors and float to the ground when the summer air chills. I can even withstand the storms of winter. I wish you could protect me from chainsaws.

Written in response to Charli Mills February 6, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story as a love letter to nature. You could reach back to more pastoral times of writing or enter into the future. Who is writing the letter — an ant or an aunt? Is it a lifetime of love or eons? Go where the prompt leads!

6

Michael Treats the Dishwashers

In the special occasion restaurant, one server said to the other, “Any idea who the party is on table ten? Every time I take something to the table, one of the older ladies comments how many dishes she had to wash to enjoy it; and everybody laughs.”

The dishwasher, being a veteran, overheard and went to look. The next time he saw the servers, he said, “The younger man on ten is the band leader at the No Thanks. He treats his bandmates’ parents to Valentine’s dinner for doing the dishes during the bar’s annual veterans-only Thanksgiving eve meal.”

Written in response to Charli Mills January 30, 2023, prompt at Carrot Ranch Literary: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about the dishes. It can be the every-single-day activity, a precious collection, or any other interpretation of dishes as objects or activities. Who is stuck with the dishes and why? Go where the prompt leads!

5

Out of the Sky

After Mac’s comment and respectful silence, the talk about jumping continued. Tyrell was nodding his head in the affirmative. He took a swallow of his beer and then spoke softly, unusual for him. “I once witnessed some jumpers training for a night landing. It was just before full dark when I heard the plane, and it sounded like it might stall for going too slow. I looked up and could just make out bodies and chutes floating silently towards me. They looked like a frightening swarm of giant bugs descending. I was glad I knew what they actually were.”

Note: Tyrell is the African-American drummer in the Band of Brothers and an Iraqi veteran.

Prompt – swarm

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