Alayna's Game

"Come on over to the ball park.  Alayna's having a game at 5:30."  

Rusty bid us come, and since it was his birthday, we decided to honor his request.  Besides, we're old.  We don't have anything better to do, right?

And that was re-emphasized when we rounded the corner of the bleachers full of young things laughing and waving to their ball-playing darlings in orange team t-shirts.  We weren't them.  We were the grandparents, sigh.

Anyway, this Pony Baseball game was for 3 & 4 year olds.  

Their heights were tall and short and miniature, LOL.

Their skills were adept, "I got it, I got it.  Get away, I got it!" 

And, inept, "Where'd it go?  I can't see it!"

Of course, they can't see it.  When you're short, when you're diminutive, your baseball cap is oversized, so you have to tilt your head to look out from under your ballcap bill.  By then, birds flying overhead are awe-inspiring.   

Can't you just hear it, "Game held due to UFO sighting."

Depending on the batter, the ball goes 10 feet, and EVERY PLAYER, that's 18 munchkins, ru-u-un after the ball.  It's a pile up!

But wait, there's a kid down.  Flat out on his belly, he is.  What happened?

Mom goes onto the ball field, she's rescuing little Johnny.  He's having a meltdown.  And that was after the meldown in the dug out earlier, "Someone took my helmet.  One of them!" and he pointed to the whole two teams on the baseball diamond, LOL. 

Oh my, have you ever watched 3 year olds play ball?

There's always one overachiever.  You've seen 'em.  They were in your math class, they were the royalty of the prom, and they got all the scholarships!

#3 chased the ball out of bounds, he came from first base, the ball fouled over third base, but he crossed the whole field to chase the ball until it stopped in crabgrass!

Alayna grabbed the ball using her un-gloved hand.  They all picked up the ball with their un-gloved hand.  One little boy looked at his left hand in the glove, looked back at the ball in the dirt, then picked it up with his right hand!

What a hoot!  

So, Alayna grabbed the ball, did a twirl of "what do I do now" when #3, (Remember #3?  He's daddy's trophy.) came up and pointed, "Throw it over there."  And heaved it she did.  

She has a good little throwing arm, and the ball almost landed on first base, almost.  10 feet left, but still, almost.

No matter what, no matter if you're in the midst of performing Shakespeare, or clanging out the 1812 overture, or saying your wedding vows, if you hit the ball and it goes 3 feet, and ALL your teammates scramble to retrieve it, you have to go to mom and dad to get a high five!  Smack!

Her team was back up.  It was her turn again.  She hit the ball, CRACK! went the bat.  It was obvious she knew what to do, she ran and ran and ran.  Now if little brother was running from her, she'd get him!  But here she ran and ran and ran.  Going for first base, she ran.  

Who won?  Who knows.  

Who cares, there's treats. 

And that's game!

A Relaxing Break, Lesson 10

Sit quietly for a few. 

Absorb your surroundings.

Observe everything.

Write, Set Aside, Edit, Revise, Submit per Beginner's Writing Course

THE PROMPT

 

Take a Relaxing Break 

Write from different angles.

THE ESSAY

"Thanks, Rex!" the sign said, "For 20 years service."  We contemplated what service entailed.  Caretaker for a small city park, especially in winter, meant emptying trash cans, disposing of fallen branches, and clearing snow.  

Hubby was sitting next to me in the truck cab, toasty warm.  We were avoiding the cold outdoors.  Though we'd had a snowfall of 2 to 3 inches, it was a bright evening -- the blue sky was full of puffy white clouds.  Hubby had seen a John Deere riding tractor driving down the sidewalks pushing the white fluffy stuff.

Thanks to Rex, I'd assume, for the U.S. flag flying at half mass in honor of last week's fallen.  It waved in the wind while the strong nylon rope bounced against the pole, the snap hooks clanging.  The undulating red stripes drew our eyes.  Beyond it to the west we watched the sun set, taking away it's warmth.

Little white star flowers scattered and sweetened the air as the wind breezed through our slit windows.  

We laughed remembering when he was a teenager in the park washing his Corvette red Camaro.  Now, there were signs, "Stay in designated parking areas."  I thought of ice cream socials in the shelter house -- vanilla or chocolate, sprinkles or Hershey drizzles.  There were memories of miniature train rides, merry-go-rounds, and curly cue slides, now obsolete.  And that special picnic just for him and me before we wed.

"She Drives Me Crazy" came from The Waterfront Inn restaurant.  Coated couples, buttoned up to the chin, were crossing the little bridge.  The choppy water slop-slapped against the solid rocks, reverting and returning.

Hubby said, "This is relaxing, thank you."  We were both thankful -- a quiet few, a God-given view, and, somewhere, a civil-servant called Rex.

Show, Don't Tell, Lesson 9

According to the college writing course, there are the usual five types of imagery that correspond to our senses and then there are two more -- motion, and bodily sensations like fatigue.

THE PROMPT

Rewrite one page of your project using the senses named above.

THE REWRITE

She tucked the little container in her pocket, rolling its smooth glass-iness between her fingers like a worry stone.  As a kid she loved marbles for their feel but when she accidentally swallowed one, mom was so upset she threw them all into the bottom of the fish tank.  

She’d need a ploy to get into the office.  Normally she only showed up once or twice a month; Derrick didn’t often request a ride to work.  So, how to get there today?

Make it simple, she thought.

Okay.  Panera Bread.   A frequent favorite; she was well aware of Derrick's and Sheila's likes.  Take a fast food order to Derrick first.  

“Hi, I brought you lunch.  Thought you might be tempted to skip yours with all the party plans.   Anything I can do for you while I’m here?”  A bit surprised, Derrick looked up from sorting paper piles on his desk.  Instantly, this attractive man showed his pearly whites, stood to lean one hand on the desk, other hand in his pocket tagging the left side of his suit jacket behind him, a pose from Esquire, for sure.

“Don’t think so.  Erin helped  me pick out the gift, she seemed to know Sheila a bit better, but thank you.  You’ll be there tonight, won’t you?” He was so engaging, smiling again.  

“Sure.  I might be a little late.  Will there be dancing?”  

His chuckle was soft and sexy,  “Always.  You pretty little ladies love slow-moving to music.”

She returned his smile with a see you later, and sauntered to the office next door.  She shook her head, he sure could make a woman, any woman, feel attractive and wanted.

Now to hand over a sandwich and drink to Sheila, with additives, she snickered to herself.

“Hi, I brought you your lunch.”  The brown bag  crinkled.  Its label “Food As It Should Be” made her chuckle at the pun. 

“Hello, Sheila.  I hear congratulations are in order, you’ve taken a new job?”

“Oh.  Yes.  Thank you.  Thank you for the food, too.”  She opened the bag to enjoy the wafting smells of Bacon Turkey Cheddar.    

Then Sheila took a quick sip of the diet Pepsi, its fizz and sharp sweet taste answering an addict’s crave.   She continued happily, “It’s a promotion with better benefits.  Since it’s closer to home I’m looking forward to shorter drives.”  Silly chit acted like she had a secret.  Sheila was casting a sideways glance, and grinning, before taking another sip. 

Good, she thought, no matter Sheila’s private little assignations, my plan’s begun.

Once back home she made final preparations for the evening’s escapades.

Returning to the office parking lot, watching everyone leave, she slouched in her car seat.   Erin and Derrick left first, probably to set up the fare-thee-well celebration.  Sheila's Chevy Luv was the last one, actually the only one left in the car slots.  The drugs must've taken affect.

"Good riddance. I’ll celebrate, too, I might even click up my heels", she gleefully muttered as she quickly navigated the sidewalk, and the three steps up to the side door.  

Knowing the janitor didn't lock the office until well after closing, she headed for Sheila's office.

Sure enough, Sheila was woozy, face planted on her desk with eyes fluttering — the Pepsi cup empty, the sandwich wrapper crumpled and tossed in the black wire mesh receptacle.

With faux-cheerful encouragement, “Come on, Sheila, we’ve got to get you to that party.” 

MY MOTHER SAID, LESSON 1

Create a writing nook.  Carve out time.   Cement deadlines.

Starting out, Lesson 1, these are the 3 C's of Beginners College Writing Course

The Prompt

 

MY MOTHER USED TO TELL ME ...

Pretty is as pretty does.

What if Jesus comes while you're acting like this?

I remember her sitting beside me on the porch swing saying this as the sun came up the horizon in the east looking at me and sharing its rays of sunshine with the cornfield to reach our green grassy lawn and finally us.  What I'd done is long forgotten, but her words remain 50 years later.

The glory to come is nothing compared to the trial of today.

At first I didn't know that this was scripture, LOL.  Just thought it was my mom.

Look for the big things.  

This is ponderous, isn't it?

I tried to be fair, but life isn't fair.  

She raised 6 children and was the wife of a minister.    

Well, do what he said.

This could be said in regards to my father if I was disagreeing, or she might say it about Jesus' words in some Bible scripture; interchangeable, always apropos.

You'll discover other things I've done for you later on.

She said this after cleaning our house while we were on a long vacation taken after our son passed away.  She did things like sofa diving, and cleaning our parquet floor on her hands and knees.  

But it was prophetic. After she passed, this thought came to mind again and again.   

Often I think of the wisdom she had in raising us; the gifts she gave, and her tried and true sayings that come to mind when I need them.  She gave us more than material things, or acts of love, she gave us coping skills for life -- "things I've done for you."

I miss my mother.

At the age of 19, she left her parents' home in Kentucky to get married and live in Indiana.

Here I'll  say it for myself, "Me, too.  I miss my mother." 

Sullen Man, Lesson 9

Create a mind map.  

Use metaphors.  Try hyperbole.  Use litotes.  

And, just what is the difference between plot and story.

Those are a few guidelines from my College Writing Course.  It not only instructs in all things literary, but has writing prompts.  For the next few days I'll share with you some of those prompted writings.

THE PROMPT

ENAGE THE SENSES, USE LITERARY DEVICES, 

rewite this paragraph.

“Billy was not happy. His mood was sullen and he did not smile a lot. Everyone knew what was wrong. They knew that his girlfriend, Marie, had just broken up with him. That made Billy feel sick to his stomach. Most days he didn’t want to get out of bed.”

THE REWRITE

Billy flung his Popeye-like "muskled" forearm over his eyes.  Sunlight, hall light, any light was not welcome.  He just wanted to block it out, stay the kid in the closet.  

Billy and his girlfriend Marie weren't joined at the hip like poets write, they were tied together at the shoulders with their interlocked arms.  But SHE cut the ribbon!  

About to throw up, he stayed in bed.  It conformed to his body like warm sand on a beach, comforting.  He had no energy for his parents inquisition.   They'd seen his drooped pale lips, and watched him wipe his eyes from nose to ear smearing tears.  

They'd break apart the loving picture that Marie and him had made.  Then they'd put the puzzle pieces back together trying to make a new bright Kincade painting of the future.  He was having none of it.  

And he slammed his eyes shut even tighter!

SPRING BREAK, AGGRAVATION. AGAIN.

"Let's bomb the officers, and abscond with the flag!" It was a wile meant to get my way.

"Power play!" Darling hubby replied.  

A stack of 6 board games sat on the kitchen table, some fun, some challenging, some nostalgic.  There was Clue, an old favorite, Eureka, a gold miners' rush, Zoolandia for kids, fancy Scrabble with a lazy-susan feature, Risk to take over the world, Stratego to bomb the players and claim the flag.

"Which one do you want to play, today?" 

Darling Hubby looked 'em over.  He knows I won't play Risk.  Many people play Risk with him but after beating him 11 times in a row, I feel too guilty, and always encourage others to give him the treat of playing.   To give him his due, he regularly wins Scrabble, though.  

A few days ago he wanted to play Aggravation then beat me three times!  Even though I changed di and even though I traded him for his lucky di, he still won!

Hum, maybe that's why he wanted to play it again today?  

Nonchalantly, I agreed.  It's always fun to play a board game.  "As luck would have it", and luck does, "the tables had turned".  This time I won three times in a row!!!!  What fun! 

Speaking of fun, spying new flower sprouts where I thought were none, was a fun surprise.  

First, I swept the walkway around the gladiola bed.  Next, I leveled the Grecian urns and cleaned them out. That bed along the shed is full of green blades.  Near summer's end I'll have yellow, white, and orange blossoms.  

Pulling weeds, raking up old autumn leaves, removing brittle stalks of yesteryear's, adjusting the rocks to keep the mulch from drifting away, I discovered that clump of new flower sprouts!  Yay!  Wonder what they are?  LOL.  

After a good wash (don't want chiggers) I'm all for a sit down.  Let's go back to playing games, LOL, I still want to bomb some players and capture a flag!  

SPRING BREAK, CANDY LAND!

Darling Hubby's spring break is coming to an end and the weather's turned.  Doesn't it always this time of year, as in April Showers Bring May Flowers?

And my flowers, especially the daffodils, have been looking bountiful and brilliant.  This day I weeded and purged the small daffodil bed with holly hocks in it next to the gate.  I dug up dandelions and adventursome crab grass.  With it's decorative rocks and red mulch it looks pretty good this morning.  

As for yesterday, the grandkids came over.  Bright Me thought I'd teach Miss Lilly how to play Candy Land.  Enlightened Me was told she already knew how.  Well, we played anyway.  She's either a clever little 4 y.o. or she likes to win.  When she'd draw a double orange or a double blue card invariably she's skip and effectively advance 3 not 2!

It was funny, and actually I was glad of it, otherwise the game was going to be a long one.  Why?  Because I got a go-back card, and it sent me all the way back to the beginning -- back to Plumpy under the Plum Tree, just 9 squares from start.  I like a little competition but this was just sad, it cried, "Loser!"

She got stuck on Gooey Gumdrop but didn't want to lose a turn.  Can't blame her.  It's yuck being stuck in goo.

Just a few color squares away from the Candy Castle I told her that soon she'd be King Kandy.  

"King Kandy?"

"Yep, you're gonna be King of the Castle, the winner.  But first we have to get away from Molasses Swamp and Gloppy" which made her giggle, "Gloppy."  And she rolled the word around on her tongue and her eyes looked at the picture while her brain digested it all, "Gloppy".

Since this is a new-improved board, I mean the pictures have changed since I was a kid, I suspect there'll be more changes.  I looked at her and thought of the new generation, and what her generation might incur before she's mature, and just between you and me, King Kandy may one day be Queen Kandy!  

How are they gonna spell that with a K?

The playing board was covered in flowers, my yard has many a flower, and my kitchen has precious flowers -- they giggle at funny words.

SPRING BREAK, SORRY!

It's still Spring Break.  

John, a school bus driver who's off for these days, said, "I see you've already got that sorry game out.  Get it?  A pun."  And he chuckled. 

He'd looked over the pony wall to the kitchen table to where the game of Sorry was all set up.

It'd been years.  I'd forgotten the rules.  There's 4 colored markers on the start that have to go around the board to home.  Drawing cards numbered 1 and 2 get you out.  But a 4 makes you go backwards.  A sorry card lets you switch places with an opponent.  I thought we'd never get around that board!

When I got the card directing a switch with an opponent, the song "I'm sorry, so sorry" by Brenda Lee ran through my head. "Please accept my apology."  Now, her song is running through your head, too, I'll bet.  LOL.

Anyway, at last, we were each 1 space from The Finish.  Who would win?

Like a horse racing on an circular track we were neck in neck most of the game.  And then, I got a 1 to get my last yellow guy into home, "I beat you!  Barely, but I beat you.  That was wild."

My flower pots on the deck were wild, too.  

They needed purged of debris and freshened up with new soil.  That's my second goal for each day of spring break, to work in my flower beds.

So, I blended in some topsoil and potting soil before adding some pretty pink flowers, a couple pretty purple ones, and one that was white with purple edges.  There was room in the big one for some freesia bulbs.  I've never grown them.  We'll see if the soil and weather conditions on our hill are conducive to their growth.

And then, my winning day took a turn.

I had to dig up those flowers.  Dig them back up!

Silly me, thought I'd bought begonias.  That's what I reached for in the  store's displays.  But, they must've had other potted flowers mixed in the same spot because while I was matching colors and setting one next to another for compatibility, I bought the wrong ones.

They weren't begonias.

"Hey, sis," and I was hoping against hope since I lack experience and knowledge of this flower, "can African Violets live outdoors."

She cut to the quick, "Think of it.  They are named AFRICAN violets!  Sorry, sis."

She was sorry, the flowers were sorry, and I was sorry.  

Time to change games.

SPRING BREAK, SCRABBLE

Spring Break, a scrabble day!

We're also fated to have company on our Spring Break days; NICE.  

This time Clint and Jessica came over with Miss Lilly and Master Jacob.  They're so lively.  Miss Lilly squeezes between her mother and brother to get to me, "I win!  I win!" she grins, getting hello hugs and squeezes.  So, I twirl the winner, "Whee!"

Earlier in the day, a lot earlier, about six-thirty in the morning actually, I'd weeded two flower beds.  The rectangle bed by the fence got weeded, the flower bushes got trimmed, and the small green yew bushes got a good shaping.  

But the saplings were too much for me.  Since Clint arrived I enjoyed watching him heave and dig.  Up by the roots they came.  One year old Master Jacob enjoyed it, too.  He kept his eye on the shovel and when his dad dropped it, he dropped his toy, toddled up and grabbed the handle, LOL.

Piper, the cat, enjoyed my weeding of the iris bed.  She crouched lower than the sprouted blades and did some stalking.  When she snuck off behind me, I tossed weeds at her.  She likes a little bit of a tease.  She came rubbing against my pant legs to prove she was happy to play.

Scrabbling with some weeds, scrabbling in dirt, and scrabbling kitty antics naturally leads to playing a board game of Scrabble with hubby, right?

Unlike the game of Aggravation, this is one game I can sometimes win!

It was a horrible struggle.  My first set of tiles were 6 vowels and one consonant, an X of all things!  So, I complain, "Look at this!"  

Hubby chuckles, "WOW!  E, I, E, I, O!"

My only hope is to take over the special squares -- double, triple, etc.  So the word "equate" on a triple letter square got me 31 points!  Yay!

Then he plays the word "zoos" on a double word square which crosses another word netting 35 points!  Oh, boy he's keeping me on my toes.

Just as I landed on a triple word square, Clint came in.

"Look, John, Clint's here!"

Clint chuckles, "She distracted you so she could get more points."  Clint mimics me in a little girl voice, "See that!  See that!"

Boom!  My tiles are down. I win!  296 to 248!  I had to scrabble to do it, LOL, not a landslide, but like Miss Lilly said, "I win!  I win!"

SPRING BREAK, IT'S AGGRAVATION

Spring Break!

Yes, we're in our 60's and looking forward to Spring Break.  When you're a bus driver's wife, those days are noted on the calendar with magic marker hearts "pretty little red ones all in a row."

We're feeling giddy.  What shall we do?

Well, this first day, we shook our heads in disbelief -- we had 75 degree weather and a gentle breeze!  How lucky could we be!  Outside we went --weeding flower beds, spray painting planters that'd suffered from the winter, planting potted hyacinths into the damp earth, filling the birdbath with fresh water, digging up saplings that sprouted in undesirable places, and replacing the rubber snake back on his rock.

Hey, sunning snakes dispell birds and rabbits.  And even little kindergarteners!

Jayden came, Jayden saw, Jayden recoiled, "I ain't touching no snake."  He was the kindergartener.

After trying some unsuccessful convincing I picked up the snake and rolled it over between my fingers to prove the green skinny critter wasn't real.  It worked. 

When our work was done, we spent the evening in aggravation.

LOL, Aggravation, it's a marble and dice game where players go around the board from base to home and can aggravate their opponents by sending them home to start all over again.  

When John went to get the board he made me chuckle at his pun, "You got your marbles in the kitchen?"  

"My mind is just fine.  I've got my marbles, do you have yours?"  Ha, ha, ha.

Even though I was obviously loosing, he had no sympathy for me when his white marble knocked one of my red marbles back home, "I had to run you down like a dead chicken on the road."

"Ma'am, I'm so sorry 'bout your luck." 

Would you believe John kept winning.  I changed die before each game just to change my luck.  In desparation, because he kept rolling sixes and I kept rolling fours, before the last game I took his dice.   He STILL kept rolling sixes and I kept rolling fours.  Grrrrrrrrrr!

Finally, the agreed upon three games was over.  He still refused to sympathize.

"I won three games in a row, humph."

"I even changed die, humph."

"I even let you go first, humph."

That's okay.  When he left the table a winner, the pretty little red ones were all in a row -- I still had all my marbles!