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 |   This stuffed Beanie Baby dog came tagged "tracker" which fits my search for knowledge. |
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Here are words I like to write All day long 'til it is night.  Best Reviewer & Best Biographical Stories Portfolio |
| Prompt 7 Making the world a better place Since my childhood days, when nearly every night at my family dinner table, I was reminded that children were starving in Africa. For that reason I must eat everything on my plate. The newspapers and television carried pictures of these kids and others from multiple countries with flies buzzing around their eyes and extended bellies. I collected money in UNICEF small milk cartons you get with a school lunch. I thought of the world view. Supporting causes and charity was and still is important to me. Helping out with collecting dimes for the March of Dimes was another way I contributed in my youth. I continued to give as an adult. My city had a March of Dimes walk. My oldest granddaughter was still a toddler in a stroller. I pushed the stroller as I walked. People sponsored me and when it was over they paid their pledge. I had a wonderful day with my granddaughter. I walked for the benefit of cancer and another couple of years for AIDS awareness. UNICEF provided little cartons to collect for them right before Halloween for a number of years. I was proud to fill it to capacity most of the time. Other ways I contribute is to conserve water, electricity, and natural gas. I watched the amount of gas I consepumed in my vehicle. Long before it was fashionable to do so, I would do as many errands as I could in one trip. Most of all I am kind and treat people with dignity and respect. |
| Prompt 6. Day 6. Can you share a secret? small or big, tell us. No? Tell us why not. 369 words The New Merit Badge I will tell my secret. My commissioned badge for my group
 right now. The StoryMistress  took my design and adapted it. There are secrets you tell and secrets you don’t. Once you tell a secret, it is no longer known to you alone, it may morph into a confidance. Both the Storymaster and Storymistress know about the badge, and they aren’t telling.  I am not sure it is semantic, but a secret is different from a confidence. In my mind, a confidence can be share by one or more trusted confidants. I find some confidences are shared to try on situations foe size. For example, someone might tell me they don’t think they are a proficient writer. I will ask them why they feel that way. The reply may be attributes they may think or know they possess. Their goal in sharing is to get affirmation tops things the other person believe not to be true. It probably is not done purposefully, but ultimately that has happened in my experience. I can speak to girls and secrets. We look for opportunities to share things like secrets. It is a symbol we trust that person above all others. The mutual pinky swear not to tell has the outcome of a closer relationship. I think it is impotent to reserve some feelings and opinions to ourselves. Another example is secrets within a marriage. I felt by telling so many secrets with my spouse left me more vulnerable which made me uncomfortable. It rarely happened but during a discussion about a similar topic, the remarks I made in confidence may work their way into a new conversation. It could be regarded as an “I told you so” dressing down. Secrets on a higher level like secrets for National security are necessary. The ones I keep are often a surprise birthday party or someone getting promoted before the announcement is made. I was asked to keep a confidence, which apparently is now common knowledge. I share with you I am expecting a great-grandchild in March. I have two from my daughter-in-law’s first marriage. I am fondly looking forward to welcoming the little one to our beautiful family. tracker |
| Prompt 5 WdC Birthday Blog Bastion: Tell us more about the writer in you. 313 words I started writing stories when I was 8. My fifth grade teacher was an avid reader and gave us a healthy reading list. Her mantra was, “Results, Not Excuses!” Very early that school year Miss McCune gave a writing assignment. There were no rules like word count and the topic was your choice. We not only were required to write the story, but we would read it standing up at the front of the class. I wrote my story, “The Little Pin”and read it to the class. They laughed at the right time and clapped when I finished. That sold me. I aspired to be a writer for years. What blocked that aspiration was boys, basketball, and bowling. In addition to my affinity for words, I was a better than average athlete. My dad worked in the sports biz and I grew up watching and playing. There was so much to do, there weren’t enough hours in the day. My writing was in diaries and personal letter writing. I would resume writing in college. I took a speech communication class and began writing and giving them. I joined Toastmasters, soaring through their program. Fast forward to the late 1990s. The internet with chat rooms and soon after on line journals. I wrote entries every day starting in 1999. My method of writing is to think about the topic or idea for days. When I sit down to write, the words flow. I write, edit, and publish at the same sitting. If words don’t flow, I don’t sit down to write. I will jot some notes and set it aside and move on to other projects. Having a presence at more than three writing sites is time consuming. I keep up as best as I can. I felt a time came to choose. I came back to WdC and felt a renewed interest in writing. I have surprised myself authoring a smattering of poems. I will write until the end. |
| Photo Prompt 4 Art Painting 401 words The Missing Artist Olivia stared intently at her cousin’s painting hanging in the dining room of her palatial home. Her cousin James painted the gripping countenance of his great-grandparents’ hands. They are kin to his mother’s side of their family. Olivia understood why their index fingers were outstretched pointing toward each other. James, her cousin, took a great interest in family history. He painted numerous portraits, his specialty. She was not surprised when Prince Harry commissioned him to paint portraits of his children. Olivia received a puzzling text from James. It seems the Prince missed their appointment. While leaving the place alone, he was accosted by a gypsy name Sherry and taken to an unknown location. James’ text pleaded for her help. She was at a loss how to proceed. She had no information about where the meeting was to be held. How could she find him? Who could give her information? Aunt Annie would know. Her father long described his sister Annie as peculiar in a psychic kind of way. She could use her powers to locate James. She phoned only to find out her aunt was gone on holiday to the Gold Coast, Australia. Hoping she would return her call, Olivia moved on searching the internet. She scheduled an appointment with a psychic for later in the evening. Madame Victoria was feeling poorly. One more appointment and she would take to her bed for the night. Olivia arrived at the appointed hour. “Did you bring his handkerchief? “ “Yes, ma’am, here it is.” Olivia watched and waited. The psychic fingered the white cotton handkerchief, turned, and said, “Look behind the painting of the hands. You will find your answer there.” “Cut!!!!That’s a wrap, people. Nice work. Check your call sheets for tomorrow. Call times start at dawn.” |
| Prompt 3 Blogging Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt: Talk about significant other (don’t have one) and loved ones who support you. My ex-spouse passed away ten years ago. He supported me in every endeavor. Shouted praise for my accomplishments and comforted me when challenges came. My support cast of characters include: #1. My daughter. Currently I tell her all of the positive things going on in my life. She has worked in the same office with me at a large company and had to live with people telling her how wonderful her mom was. Growing up she said u was a hard act to follow. She has a quieter more reserved personality. She supports what I do. She recently supported and encouraged me earning my college degree. She has a loving spirit. Some days I look rapt her and am enchanted at the beautiful, inside and out, person I raised. #2. My son. He lives in another state now and is supportive if I let him know what I am up to. #3. My oldest granddaughter. She is the grandchild I spent the most time with. She thinks rpevery move I make is spectacular. She is my biggest cheerleader and I am her number be fan. Yes, I brag that she win a real life Daytime Emmy award for broadcasting 2 years ago. She is a broadcast engineer for Fox Sports TV. The engineers was once an all male fraternity. She broke her way in and has one other woman in that position. I guess you could say we belong to our own mutual admiration society. #4. The rest of the family beginning with one if my 3 sisters, my 10 other grandchildren with various spouses and significant others. And not to forget the friends who support me here on writing dot com. And in March I will add a great grandchild. I will let you know if boy or girl after the gender reveal party. I liked this prompt a lot. tracker |
| September 2, 2024 Monday 10:15 pm Prompt Blogging Birthday Bastion: Tell us about an earth shattering Life-or-Death situation in your life. What happened, how did it change you, if at all. I was 10 years old. Our town’s recreation director planned an outing for children from the age of 10 to 16. It was a trip to a lake for the day with a picnic lunch. When we arrived I noticed an area where swimming was allowed. There was a thick blue rope stretching parallel with the water’s edge. It was shallow for new and beginning swimmers. Fifty yards further out there was a simmer’s platform. I saw teenagers out there laughing and jumping off and climbing back on. On the land to the right of the lake was an in ground diving pool with low and high diving boards. I saw very young kids jumping off. They went in and moments later bobbed above the surface. I remember talking to another wader in the shallow end. I told her that those kids jumping off looked like they were having a blast. With that, I waded onto the shore, walked toward the pool, determined to jump in like the others. And I did. The thrill of jumping ended with my body sinking to the bottom of the pool. I saw the person who waited behind me appear above and swim to the side. I could not hold my breath. I looked up and saw the sun shining brightly. Many pairs of legs were beyond my reach. I felt a pressure in my chest and lungs that tightened until I thought my whole head would explode. I opened my mouth, water rushed into , my mouth and I was suffocating. I felt myself being grabbed and p ulled fast follow by being rolled over onto the cement. The lifeguard swept my throat which scraped and hurt. He pushed on my stomach and water gushed out. I started coughing and tried to stand up. The guard said whoa not a good idea. A collapsed back down and gulped in air. Air never tasted so sweet. After the dizziness waned I stood up. I was woozy and my entire body was tingling. I took notice of the man who saved my life. I smiled and he said something about how dangerous it was to come to the diving pool when I couldn’t swim. My dad built us a 3 foot deep pool out of cement blocks and plaster. I could swim but not in water over my head. I was perspiring profusely, wrapped in a towel, and only then I felt embarrassed. I had drawn attention to myself in a negative manner. The lifeguard confirmed that when he said, “Young lady, if I was not here you would have died. Do you know how bad that would be for your parents? Did you think of that when you came here and jumped when you had no business here. Go back to the wading area and don’t ever come back to my pool again.” I was forever changed. I briefly went over to the other side in the moments between looking up at the sun and feeling myself pulled through the water. I proceeded to never do anything dangerous. The most risky thing I did was ride the Matterhorn roller coaster in Disneyland. I was never a strong swimmer and more often than not did not go in the water when near any pool or other body of water. tracker |
| September 1, 2024 Sunday 10:45 hpm Day 1, Prompt 1 Blog Birthday activity Talk about what you love about writing.com, what makes it wonderful, and why you are (still) here. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WDC!! I am an eight year member of WdC. I stopped in from time to time but did not participate. I was engaged and invested in a different writing site. The person on that site who told me about our community also told me WdC was for real writers. Serious writers most of whom were published authors. She said I would not fit in, in her opinion. Very early last year I came and Schnujo's in Alabama found me by responding to a question I asked. She sent me a 125 word email answer and I was hooked. I stuttered and stumbled along the way. She did not give up on me. I was pretty vocal. She took it in stride and focused on encouragement. I would later learn I was not alone being mentored by her. If it were not for her patience, knowledge, and eagerness to help, I would not be writing this today. I brought five people with me who became members. They did not follow my directions to be able to show credit, but I am proud to share WdC with anyone I run across. Many have said they came; how many stayed I don’t know. I was dizzy when browsing around. There is so much to do, so many words to write, and so many fine people to do it with. I need to give a shout out to Jeff. I did not know there was a difference between colored boxes but when I had a question and I knew Jody would be sleeping at that hour, I think Jeff was first in the instant message list. “What do I need to gain favorites,” I asked him. He replied briefly and followed up emailing me with more information encouraging me to use Writing.Com 101. The StoryMaster and The StoryMistress are paramount in providing a safe environment for each member to perform to his or her maximum potential and beyond. The state of the art technology and technical support process make it number one in my eyes. That is the primary reason I stay. Secondly, the awesome friends I have made are priceless. Today I received an email from a friend attaching his book about to be published. I had given him some encouragement during the writing phase last November as a sponsor. A totally fabulous activity Jeff facilitated. He is the only one of the five I sponsored to reach 50K words. I felt rushed for time as the birthday activities are buzzing. I got as far as reading his book’s dedication. I about dropped my iPad seeing my name in there. I have no words to describe how good that feels. That is what I love about WdC. We are each other’s cheerleader, mentor, and reviewer. I know I have become a more accomplished writer. Moreover, I am a person who has grown in a couple of ways. I am more open with personal matters and don’t feel I need to censor myself. Secondly, I have gained a lot more patience. I no longer compare writers to other writers. I don’t gauge others by my standards. We draw on our strengths and bring up those who strive for more strength. We taunt muses until they are prolific. We praise success and comfort those who need some tender loving care. Where else do you get your own email address, blogs, and recognition when you do a good job. I collect every trinket I can find. The merit badges are unique and an honor to give and receive. It took me a bit of time to look up c-Notes and how to give them and I use them frequently. Last, my mission is to do as many quality reviews as time permits. I feel the responsibility of reading and reviewing words someone has carefully put together. You have a big impact in giving feedback to others. Writing is not a team sport. You go in alone and your name alone goes on the work. There is help with, for example, NaNoWriMo prep activities. You can ask anyone anything and get help. There is no place like home at WdC. No place on Earth. tracker  439 Words |
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