Wednesday's Words on a Friday



On Wednesdays, Elephant’s Child has been putting up a selection of six (or twelve) words which is called “Words for Wednesday”.
She had taken over this meme from Delores, who is gradually retiring from the blogging world.
This month the meme continues here, at Drifting Through Life

Next month the words will be provided by Jacqueline who writes at Randomosity

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.   

Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme.   
If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
 
I’m hopeless at poetry so I always do a story.

It’s a fun challenge…why not join in?

This week's words are:
1. normally
2. dysfunctional
3. mullioned
4. hurricane
5. fry-cook
6. viewing
and/or
1. whimper
2. projector
3. chef
4. knucklebone
5. bungalow
6. unexposed

Here is my story: 

My Uncle Hugh Rowland clung to life for several weeks, during which his sons and I visited daily and my mother a few times a week. When the day finally came that he drew his last breath, he went peacefully, with my mother, Olivia, holding his hands.

The funeral was a quiet affair, tears were shed, but people generally spoke of the good life he had led, the good he’d done, there was no mention at all of the early dysfunctional years when the family had been torn asunder, anger and accusations on both sides, with Uncle Hugh’s own uncle, Francis, declaring he never wanted to see any of them again. He’d left town the very next day, taking his wife and two children. Hugh had been six years old, his cousin, Edward, seven, almost eight. 

The lawyer was present at the reading of the will, and when the cheques had been presented to the recipients, a small projector and a roll of slides were handed to me. A roll of unexposed film was also given with instructions to get it developed as soon as I could. I invited the family to join me in viewing the slides once the housekeeper had said her goodbyes and left.
The roll of film would have to wait until I had it developed.
 
The first slide showed a small stone bungalow with mullioned windows, the home of Uncle Hugh’s grandparents, his father, Hugh senior and the long-lost brother, Francis. 
The boys could be seen standing on the porch, Francis being a shorter, younger copy of Hugh. 
They’d been good friends growing up, with problems not beginning until Francis’s wife underwent a sudden personality change. Francis refused to see it. 

The rest of the slides were of the boys birthdays, graduations and weddings, then there were pictures of babies as they were born. Francis’s son Edward, Hugh’s son, Hugh junior, Francis’s daughter, Molly. Finally, years after losing hope of more children, my mother Olivia had been born. 
By this time, Francis and his small family had been long gone. 
There’d been no letters, no phone calls; no one knew where they were, until one day, out of the blue, a letter arrived, addressed to Hugh Junior. It had an Alaskan postmark and contained a photo of baby Molly, now grown, in her wedding gown, with her brand new husband, Jake Raven. 
It bore no return address, simply stating Edward Rowland on the back of the envelope.
Molly had been training to be a chef, and met Jake while he was moonlighting as a fry-cook, earning money to pay for his mountain rescue training.

Uncle Hugh had consulted his wife, Elizabeth, and they had decided Hugh should travel to the town where the letter had been postmarked. Perhaps a lead would present itself and his cousins Edward and Molly could be found. He took Molly’s wedding photo with him.

*There's more, but I think this is a good stopping point :)

Comments

  1. Ooooh.
    I so hope that Jacqueline's words lend themselves to the next segment of this story. Or that you just go ahead. Please. Pretty please.

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  2. A family story needs to be pieced together to form the whole. As E.C. says, "that you just go ahead. Please. Pretty please."

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  3. Now we want more, River! We demand more!!! We will sulk! We will riot if we don't get more!!!

    A good story evolving there, River. Well done! :)

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  4. A bit of a cliffhanger! You have me hoping for more, soon!

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  6. A cliffhanger indeed. What will happen next??

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  7. Elephant's Child; there is more coming, the words are churning in my head. I'll get them down on paper as soon as I can, but if Jacqueline's words don't fit, I may post something completely different. unless I can work them in.

    Susan Kane; and it's been a long, long time since this family was whole.

    Lee; demands now is it?? Hmmm? I'm working on it, but please don't sulk, it puts unwelcome lines on your face.

    Karen S; I'm working on it, unfortunately I don't know much about Arizona or Alaska.

    Zoanna; What happens next has me stumped. Temporarily.

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  8. I'm waiting with bated breath.... and I hope my words will fit in your story as well!

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  9. Very good...I like that and wait for more :)

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  10. I sure hope next week's words fit into the next part of your story.

    Another good one, River. Great start!

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  11. Amazing the way you always come up with the perfect story for the "words." Good suspense.

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  12. Jacquelineand; if they don't I'll write something different, a whole new story beginning.

    whiteangel; I'm waiting too, to see where this story goes next.

    Susan; this is chapter two, did you miss the first bit last Friday 24th?

    Manzanita; I think the stories are in my subconscious just waiting for their turn on the page. The words trigger something and the sentences just flow.

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  13. Late coming to it but I loved your story and the meme words were so seamlessly integrated. Well done! Will put up my post with the words today.

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