Wednesday's Words on a Friday
The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles. Sadly, Delores has now closed her blog forever due to other problems.
The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.
If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along to read it and add a few encouraging words.
This month the words/prompts are supplied by messymimi and can be found here
This week's words/prompts are:
1. illusion 2. glue 3. strength 4. exclude 5. basis 6. sculpture
and/or:
1. museum 2. unfortunate 3. talk 4. suspect 5. drawing 6. colleague
Here is my story:
The afternoon tea
tables in the solarium were fairly buzzing with conversation. Maude and Mabel
held court over the cakes, while Beryl poured tea and all of them were telling
the rest about the visit to the museum. Some of the older residents had not been
quite up to an outing, preferring to stay in the warmth of the home. They didn’t
mind being excluded, knowing full well the talk later would be all about the
trip.
“Such an unfortunate
happening!” exclaimed Mary. “Three people somehow managed to glue themselves to
the frames of some of the paintings!”
“I heard they used
super strength glue,” said Thelma, “and it was no accident!”
“You mean to say they
did this on purpose?” asked Betty. “Yes,” said Maude. “I suspect they wanted to
be on the television news, there was another of their colleagues who splashed tomato
soup over a sculpture!”
The ladies listening
were suitably horrified at such wanton destruction and behaviour. “What on earth
would they want to do that for?” was the general consensus. Betty said, “by disrupting
others, they somehow give the illusion they are caring more about the planet
than the rest of us, they don’t realise that we all feel badly on a daily basis
about what big businesses are doing, or not doing, about the climate change
thing.”
“By the time they get
to our age and realise nothing much has changed in spite of their actions, they
may be drawing different conclusions about what they did,” said Mary.
.png)
Wow, as I read this the news are on the right monitor. Same subject, just way worse.
ReplyDeleteSome "activists" glued themselves on a road in Berlin, blocking it completedly.
A woman behind that was hit by a truck. The ambulance did thanks to those "activists" not get through in time, the woman died.
An activist just shrugged and said, "we have climate crisis NOW!"
No idea if the woman had kids, a partner, but in my eyes they are murderers. Not even leaving one proper lane for emergencies.
I wish this was an illusion or the woman had more strength. Maybe they make a sculpture of her on a basis with an explanation.
Your Mary put it right....
Iris; a woman DIED?? That's horrifying. Shame on those activists. There has to be some other way to protest.
DeleteYes, it was on Monday. Now some say maybe even if there was no blockade she might´ve died. But. How will you know?
DeleteI understand you need to take the word. But as one said: glue yourself in front of where the politicians are. Block their "palast".
Imagine... you have a job interview, a highly pregnant woman, you are a private person, your partner has a stroke etc, etc, why go at people who live their already complicated lives...
And these "activists"... young people who never worked.
Like the "Fridays for Future"-kids who buy coffee to go for their "march" and litter the streets with the empty cuppas.
Sorry, I can not have it no more.
Sit together, work out strategies that help. Protest does not really help. Or if, attack the people who should take care of it and not the people who live their lives and earn the money... Rant over...
MEETING AN ARTIST
ReplyDeleteIn one of River's school exercise books from long ago, I found these arresting sentences: "Some people think that kindness is an illusion but I think it is the glue that gives us the strength to carry on." And "It is wrong to exclude figurative artists from serious consideration on the basis that sculpture should be representational."
I had arranged to meet River for the first time in the ACE art museum where an exhibition of her most recent work was in full swing. It was unfortunate that I was a few minutes late and so at first River seemed reluctant to talk.
She opened up when we viewed "Suspect", a drawing she had made of a former work colleague who was wrongfully arrested for several arson attacks in the Adelaide area back in the 1980's.
"She was as innocent as hell!" River snarled.
Excellent story, sir! I'm so glad to see your story, this is one hop where "the more, the merrier" certainly applies, as Elephant's Child says.
DeleteYorkshire Pudding; this is wonderful, although I do have to wonder just how innocent "hell" is. I like the "kindness is an illusion" sentence and will borrow it for future use if you don't mind.
DeleteIt is sad the destructive methods some go to to make a point. I hope Mary is right.
ReplyDeleteArkansas Patti; it is so sad that they can't seem to find a better way. Something that doesn't involve glue and destruction.
DeleteSigh. Big, big sigh. I am convinced that there are better ways to express their concerns.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child; there HAS to be better ways than gluing yourself in harm's way.
DeleteHere was mine...
ReplyDeleteThe glue basis gave the sculpture the illusion of strength but would exclude its original essence.
Mike; I read yours at Mimi's, it's good.
DeleteI saw a TV movie long ago about two children hiding in the museum. Here is my offering:
ReplyDeleteThe museum was closing while children Liz and Allen hid in the display of furniture wing and waited for the doors to shut, and guards had moved to the expensive art wing. It took all their strength to shove out the heavy door, and sneak in.
“There! Over there!” They raced to the bust of Michael Angelo. No one had suspected that a great secret lay hidden on the base, the carved signature of the man himself.
They had talked about what to do when it decided. It was unfortunate that the bust was dang heavy. A pencil drawing of one of the most brilliant men in history hung on the wall. Back and forth they looked, decided the sketch made a whole lot of sense. They opened the backpack and they left.
Wondering if there was any stinking chance of success, the two child colleagues sighed, and sneaked out.
No one would suspect two 8-year-old boys, dragging a backpack behind them. Heads down, they talked quietly. "Almost, almost.” They stepped through the door, where their parents waited for them with the museum director.
One dad sighed and whispered, “Did you get it?” With a quiet nod, the family hurried out to the car, and took off like a shot. Now what?
Who would suspect indeed? Good story!
DeleteSusan Kane; they stole a drawing? Oh Dear. Good story.
DeleteSneaky boys - now what? Well written.
DeleteWonderfully done, River! There are good ways to protest, and bad ways to protest. Some don't seem to understand the difference.
ReplyDeletemessymimi; I suspect they have more interest in getting onto the TV news, than finding better ways to protest.
DeleteJust saying Hi, River, I read Cro's blog...and a few others that you do too! My grandparents used to live in Adelaide in the 1920s. I wish they had stayed there!
ReplyDeletegz; welcome to drifting. We lived in Adelaide in the 1950s before moving to Port Pirie where my Dad got work with the gas company.
DeleteYour art imitates life. I am suitably horrified when I read about such actions in the news. I guess that makes me an old lady, heh, heh, though mentally I don't feel like one!
ReplyDeleteVal; we are all "old ladies" in the minds of the activists. I don't feel old a lot of the time either. Just when things get achy, which is not too often thankfully.
DeleteWell written. Crazy activists. We had some trying to do what Iris Flavi tells of during the Tour de France start in Denmark. Luckily some big, grown up spectators removed the wannabe gluees before the glue hardened. What is btw the impact of superglue - and the solvents used to remove it - on the surroundings?
ReplyDelete