Category Archives: challenges

Pay It Forward

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I just watched the movie of the same name again with a young Haley Joel Osment and was as overwhelmed with the movie today as I was when it first came out.  What a concept.  For those of you that have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it – and for those of you that have seen it, watch it again.

A young boy’s social studies assignment is to come up with a concept that could change the whole world and to put it into action.  His idea is so simple, yet so possible.  It begins with one good deed done for three separate people.   Instead of that favor being repaid, the favor is paid forward to three other unsuspecting, but deserving people.  The ripple effect of such a simple gesture could be remarkable!

The trajectory of human existence could be put into a whole new orbit.  The onus is on you to start the ripple – the rest is putting your faith in others to continue the journey that you began.  Imagine if the human race could single-handedly make the world a better place to live by putting our faith in each other and believing that such a small gesture could make such a vast difference.

It is certainly worth pondering for more than just a fleeting second.  What if the favor you bestow on someone today could start that ripple?  Kindness begets kindness…what we sow, so shall we reap.  But what if we let others reap what we have sown, and pass on that kindness to someone you may never cross paths with?

Pay it forward.  Impart your generosity to someone less fortunate with only one covenant.  They need not pay you for the kindness you have shown them.  Ask them instead to look favorably on someone else in need of that same benevolence that you have shared. The world can seem like an unfriendly and threatening place, but if we could change the outlook on life for three people and they, in turn, do the same, perhaps we can make a difference and make our world a much better place.

Of Mice and Alarm Clocks

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Living in an old out-building of a farmhouse has its perks.  My house has character.  My house has a unique look that will never resemble the cookie-cutter variety of subdivision homes but my house also comes with unwanted roommates who do not pay any rent.

My humble abode is home to a few wasps nests, a veritable plethora of spiders and an array of undefined insects that have yet to be identified on Google.  My basement resembles something akin to the Red Room in Amityville Horror and the holes in the foundation outweigh the number of windows and doors that access the main floor of my dwelling.

For the past six mornings, at precisely 5:30 am, mice, or a similar sub-species of rodent, have entered my home through those portals and begun to prepare for the foreshadowing winter.  My peaceful slumber has been rudely interrupted by the scurrying of tiny clawed feet and the incessant chewing that comes with building a nest.  There is no soft music to ease me from my sleep, merely the echoed sounds of ravenous vermin slowly dissecting the inner sanctum of my shelter.

talented_mice_9

(image credit: roundedoff.com)

As I lie in the comfort of my bed, wrapped in my duvet with my dog sleeping by my feet, several thoughts formulate in those moments before dawn actually meets the day.  I imagine myself engaging in a battle, riot gear at the ready for an all-out war against the dextrous creatures but then reality sets in.  Apart from ripping through the drywall to catch the furry infidels in the act, I am at their mercy.  My best defence is the pounding of my fists on the wall at the location where the noise resonates.  There is an angered rebuttal from the other side of the drywall and the chewing continues.  After many botched attempts to dissuade the whiskered pests from literally eating me out of house and home, I resign myself back to my bed and pull the pillow over my head to drown out the sound of my walls disintegrating.

There will come a day that my alarm clock will once again gently rouse me from my dream state and replace the sound of minute mammal incisors depleting the layer of gypsum board that helps to hold the roof over my head.  Until that day I can only hope those tiny furry creatures will understand the rules of mortgage payments and interest and leave their contribution before they begin another day of padding their nest with my drywall.

Vampire Woes – Trifecta Challenge

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He didn’t know if he could perform his job with only one tooth.  He plunged into her throat and none of her life blood flowed.  This was going to be a long night.

~

Written for the weekend Trifecta challenge: Full disclosure: we’re going a bit weird on you with this weekend’s short prompt.  Trifecta editor Lisa has a son who just lost his first tooth.  In honor of such a creepy event, we want you to write a 33-word response that uses the word tooth.  Your response can use any definition of the word but cannot tell the story of someone losing a tooth.  (Because we just told that story, and it was pretty boring the first time.) – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.IQsRrVT2.dpuf

A Mere Player – Trifextra Challenge

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“All the world’s a stage.”    The words would ring in her ears bearing a remarkable parallel to something she could not grasp.  If only imagination would water her reality and make it grow.

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Written for the weekend Trifextra Challenge:  On now to this weekend’s Trifextra challenge.  This weekend we are giving you three words and asking for you to give us back another thirty of your own, making a grand total of thirty-three words. Your words to work with are: ring, water, stage

Exposing a nerve – Trifecta Challenge

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A slow crack appeared in my composure and I let the emotion overwhelm me.  Tears flowed and the raw  feelings were exposed like nerves in a broken tooth.  To some she is just a dog, but to me she is family.  As she heals from her injury I will tend to her every need.  I will care for her and protect her just as she protects me.  Dogs are truly man’s best friend.

~

Written for the Trifecta Challenge – This week we have a new set of guest judges.  Please help us welcome Mary Beth, Shreya and Yve.  They’ve got a big responsibility this week, and we are confident that they’re going to do an awesome job.

CRACK 1a : a loud roll or peal   b : a sudden sharp noise 2: a sharp witty remark : quip 3a : a narrow break : fissure      b : a narrow opening —used figuratively in phrases like fall through the cracks to describe one that has been improperly or inadvertently ignored or left out 4a : a weakness or flaw caused by decay, age, or deficiency :unsoundness   b : a broken tone of the voice   c : crackpot 5: moment, instant – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.By3O27Ol.dpuf

Getting by-lines with a little help from my friends

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I wrote a post a few days ago about submitting some of my writing to a local magazine in an attempt to get a chance to do some freelance writing.  Many of my blogs are written in the first person and I need to submit something that resembles more of an article including quotes.

This is where I ask for your help.  I would like to write a piece about blogging and was hoping to use some quotes from my blogging friends.  If you are so inclined, I would love to get some of your words about what blogging means to you so I can quote you in the article.  I will post the article here and link to your blogs once I have it finished.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

The Write Way – Trifextra Challenge

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  • Silence
  • Inspiration
  • Release

Written for the weekend Trifecta Challenge: One of our editors was recently lucky enough to slowly roast on a bouncy, mechanical floor thisclose to nearly 900 other Portlanders for a reading (of the third chapter of his new book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane) and subsequent Q&A by Neil Gaiman.  One of the questions asked of him was, “Can you tell us your writing process in three words?”  He replied, “Glare.  Drink tea.”

This weekend, we’re asking for you to sum up your own process with just three little words.  Give us dry wit, pathos or otherwise.  And remember, we like your blood on the page.  Put it there. – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.9taUYsHh.dpuf

When worlds collide

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I have a friend, not the imaginary kind that you invent to talk about yourself, but a real friend who has recently begun dipping her toes back into the dating pool after leaving a bad relationship.  Trust me, if I were talking about myself I would be splashing the headlines of this blog with the water from that pool.

Like all swimmers, she has been testing out different areas of the dating pool, attempting alternate swimming strokes to see which swim is most comfortable for her.  Recently the seemingly Olympic sized swimming pool shrunk down into an inflatable pool you would find on any front lawn and a few worlds collided in the process.

pool

(image credit: xminflatable.com)

When you live in a small town, anonymity and dating do not go hand in hand.  Even if you find a secluded spot to spend some time getting to know each other, inevitably someone you know will be a witness to that moment and your secret rendezvous is no longer a secret.

She has been casually dating a few men sporadically and had accepted an offer to go out for drinks from a new potential suitor.  Being the aforementioned small town, we really have only one restaurant / bar that is a desired spot to take a date.  They decided to begin with a  cocktail on the outside deck, shades on, and enjoy the view of the water but her view suddenly shifted to one of her other swimming partners on the deck with a new date of his own.  The waters may have churned momentarily but her date was moved indoors for dinner and avoided any further discomfort.

On the way to the table she noticed a familiar face seated at the bar.  Another swimmer from her dating pool was deeply ensconced in a conversation on a date of his own as well.  Worlds collided again and the size of the dating pool had just become a Dixie cup!  Like mature adults, each of them went on with their dates never revealing that anything was strange about the three of them being in the same restaurant, each on separate dates.

Being in the dating pool is a challenge.  You can tread water for great lengths of time before encountering another swimmer or the pool can immediately be inundated with other swimmers also testing the waters.  There is no judgement, only curiosity.  There are no rules only requests for safety and respecting the others swimming space.  I admire her for being in that pool and can only hope she will find the one swimmer that will match her speed and agility throughout her life!

To my mom – Trifextra Challenge

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Your strength and tenacity plagues yet amazes me.  You defy the odds of modern medicine and diagnosis.  Despite expectation you continue to thrive and live to see another day.  The gates will wait.

~

Written for the weekend Trifecta Challenge and dedicated to my mom who is in failing health, but continues to fight with every ounce of her determination.

The challenge is this:  Last weekend we gave you a super prescriptive prompt.  We also promised you we’d ease up this week.  As such, this weekend we are asking for a thirty-three word free-write.  Any topic, any style–just give us your best thirty three.

Common Sense

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Common sense may not be as common as we would like to think.  Common sense is described as the basic level of practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.  Although that seems like a very simple idea there are many people who are unable to harness the that basic level of sense.

I have had this discussion with many friends on many occasions – would you rather be book smart or have common sense?  My answer was always the same and always will be – I would far rather have common sense. People with book smarts that lack that aspect of common sense are few and far between, but it does happen.  They can memorize an entire year of law reviews and quote Roe v. Wade verbatim but when it comes to simple, common sense decisions they lack the ability to put things into a functional perspective.

I am fortunate that I was born with a quick, analytical mind.  I can take a situation and process it quickly to come up with a viable solution.  This to me is common sense – being able to scrutinize your surroundings and make a valid decision based on your opinion.

Common sense allows you to interpret and respond to a situation within seconds.  It may seem like a snap judgement but there is stronger force helping guide you to that decision that you feel in your gut is the right thing to do. Book smarts can only get you so far but common sense will guide you seemingly and effortlessly through this journey we call life.  I can’t tell you the details of Roe v. Wade but I can certainly get myself through any situation with some careful thought and conscientious decision-making.

There is a profound satisfaction in knowing that, although I may not be entirely book smart, I can navigate my way through life with a sense of knowing that I will be able to conquer whatever arises with a bit of common sense.  I can always pick up a book or Google the answers that evade me in certain circumstances, but situational awareness and the comfort in having common sense will far outweigh being my own Encyclopedia any day.