Thursday, January 24, 2008

( Fiction) Friday followed by Sunday Scribblings

This week’s prompt on (Fiction) Friday is My First Brush with Danger. Although it suggests a first person experience, it does of course need to be a complete pack of lies, since the idea of the site is to encourage the writing of fiction rather than fact! I’ve done bit of prose and a nonsense verse. I hope they fit the bill!

My Sunday Scribblings effort on Miscellaneous follows right behind! Comments for both are right at the bottom!

MY FIRST BRUSH WITH DANGER.

It wasn’t dangerous at all. No harm could have come to me. But as a four year old it was absolutely terrifying. Everything happened so fast. My childish imagination taunted me – scared me – frightened me beyond anything I’d ever experienced before.

I froze. My blood ran cold. I was certain that I would never see my Mum and Dad again. Everything started happening in slow motion, yet my mind raced. I needed to say sorry to my brother for breaking his toy car. I needed to own up to taking my other brothers favourite tin soldier and blaming it on my friend. I needed to say sorry to my friend for getting him into trouble for something he hadn’t done. I’d miss my rabbit. I’d miss seeing Bill and Ben on the television tonight. My teddy would miss me. Who would look after him?

You see, I’d been very keen on books. My favourite one was about Africa. It was full of scary animals and one picture was of a huge lion prowling out of the page. I always rushed past it. That picture scared me beyond belief.

And there I was face to face with a lion in my own back garden. Dad said we only had lions in the zoo. I was silly to be frightened. Why did he tell me a fib? Why was I looking into the eyes of one now?

Every night before bed I had to say my prayers. Something about keeping me safe. I couldn’t remember the words, but if I imagined Mum kneeling next to me, surely God would shoo the lion away. But it didn’t work. It came closer.


Just then Dad came out into the garden. “What are you doing here you Leo –you big fat ginger cat?” he laughed. “Mrs. Thomas will be wondering where you are!”
.

Now this is unbelievably bad, but I'm going to throw it at you anyway! My verse!
.

My first brush with danger?
Now let me see.
When I was two
or when I was three?

I had a toy car
which I drove at a rate.
I pedalled so fast
I bumped into a gate

I remember once
I sat on a bee
It stung so much
I started to pee!

There was the time
I got chased by a dog
I slipped on some mud
And got stuck in a bog

Then that horse
that gave me a kick.
It hurt so much
It made me sick

“I think I can swim
I’m sure I can fly
Nothing can harm me
I’ll never die”.

I fell in a pond.
If I’d not been found
My parents said
I would have drowned.

Yes that was the one.
And thanks to a stranger,
I survived
my first brush with danger.

There's a new story at
OnceuponATime

'
''

Sunday Scribblings - Miscellaneous
,
At last. A new expanding file. Now I can sort out that big pile of papers in that box labelled Miscellaneous!
'
What’s this? Ah, an old cutting. Here’s another. I should really throw them away but they could be useful one day. Actually there are lots of odd bits and pieces which are similar. Let’s start a section called Motley.
'
These look interesting. They won’t file under Motley though. Old drawings and doodles. Here’s a page from a note book and what’s this? A love letter! – Ah! I supposed this lot is best described as Multifarious. Yes, that will do.

.
I don’t seem to making much progress. There are still masses of paper. I’ve got a pile of things here that could almost do with a section each! What an enormous file that would be! Best make a compartment called Assorted.

,
It’s looking better now. These papers are quite serious. No two really sit together particularly well though. They are on all kinds of subjects. How can I best describe them? I know – Multifaceted!

'
Now I’ll start a Mixed section. All those can go in there.

.
That leaves me just a few to go. That one can go in Motley, that one Mixed, this one Multifarious, these Assorted.... really cracking on now! Assorted, Motley, another Motley, Multifarious, Assorted, Mixed –FINISHED!

.
Now I need to give the whole expanding file a name. Now, what best describes it?

'
'
I know! MISCELLANEOUS!

'
''

29 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Keith both of these are great reads and they made me giggle.

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  3. Ok I am back again great outlook on danger that brought giggles and tears and all kinds of emotions..

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  4. Shu Shu away with the lion. Great story and poem

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  5. hah..ha...i loved the cute twist in t tale....bad cat...frightening lil boys...tsk..tsk...

    really enjoyed both...the story and the poem...wonder where you get the time to come up with such gems!

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  6. *giggles* You are funny Keith

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  7. Keith, both are priceless! Keep it up, man!

    swaying dandelions

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  8. LOL! This is similar to my first brush with danger. When I was two or three I walked out onto the cover of my Grandparent's swimming pool, and was astonished when it began to sink. I don't remember anything past that, but I'm told my aunt had to rescue me, and she was just getting past her own hydrophobia.

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  9. Love the last two stanzas in particular, and I can totally see the little kid scared by the "lion". Your two pieces reminded me of this photo of me many, many years ago. I was comfortable with cats, of course, but I think I must have run that little pedal car into stone walls more than once.

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  10. Ahhh.. the "MISCELLANEOUS" file - I have one of those :). Enjoyed your post on this :)

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  11. Ahhh.. the "MISCELLANEOUS" file - I have one of those :). Enjoyed your post on this :)

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  12. Both were great reads. The term "Miscellaneous" is a procrastinators best friend, isn't it?

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  13. Hahaha... I loved both the posts.. the story about leo was so hilarious :)

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  14. well i too loved them both,,, and the lovely leo the lion story that proceeded them and the who ever they were and the grasshopper over on your other blog... good god keith!!! i think you have found your adolescent muse!!!!! isn't it fun when it just comes bubbling out of you??????

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  15. Sunday Scribbling got me chuckling. Last year, I bought myself a neat looking file holder to sit on my desk. My hope was that it would help me become organized. But, it has become a place to stuff all my miscellaneous papers.

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  16. LOL, you are hilarious!
    I love the little warnings between the sections - beware, my fiction is coming next!

    Well done and, you know, with fiction practice makes perfect. :)

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  17. The first one -- wonderful
    The second one -- wonderful
    third one -- wonderful
    Did I happen to mention how wonderful they all where!?!

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  18. These are all excellent reads - as usual!

    The seriousness in the last two lines of your poem hits just where its supposed to. Especially how in recounting its considered to be just as 'run of the mill' as all the other potentials for dinosaur bumps and scratches - there's isn't a sliding scale of seriousness in the eyes of a child - it just 'is'.

    And Miscellaneous - well I'm with you on that one. I am completely useless that throwing away stuff and it tends to accumulate. At least its a partially sorted expander file of stuff ... and loved the names for each section!

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  19. Love it! How the paper clutter and useful someday seems to accumulate!

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  20. Your poem had me laughing out loud, and I love how your efforts at filing culminated in yet more piles and still more paper!

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  21. Keith you are so amazingly creative.
    I can't wait to say I knew you when.
    Get thee to an agent on the double - there's big royalty checks with your name on it.

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  22. motley, multifarious...thanks for sharing those categories!
    i felt the challenge with organizing random yet very important stuff!

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  23. Very humorous. :-)

    I see that you are doing Helium too. I am there.

    Cyn

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  24. Superb miscellany! Makes the circular file seem obsolete! :)

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  25. Superb - still smiling at the poem and Mmmmm comtemplating so M filing too, love your writing as always!

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  26. Loved it! I am seriously in love with your blogs and writings and pictures and everything! Great work, Keith!

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  27. oh Keith! I am just lost for words again...as I am after reading your postings...coz I always try to come up with words that are better than just 'superb' or 'cool' or 'wonderful'...I know what I will use today...

    "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

    though God knows, what I will come up with tomorrow.

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  28. Your poem reminded me of Shel Silverstein. I enjoyed your miscellaneous entry as well. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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