The Daily Post/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/afterthought/

The word for the day; Retrospective

looking back on or dealing with past events or situations.

“our survey was retrospective”

synonyms:

backdated, retroactive, ex post facto “the government introduced retrospective legislation”

I have spoken a few times on my childhood here at WordPress. I have examined the events I know to be truth and can see the connections of some of my ways and thinking today.

I used to feel sorry for myself. I had two moms. One didn’t want me and the other; I kept a distance from from stupidity.

I see characters of my parents in me. My father enjoyed working with wood and so do I. My father was an artist. I don’t know if I can call myself an artist but I do enjoy painting, photography and writing.

My mother was definitely smart as a whip. I am not that smart. I would probably classify myself as of normal intelligence. My mother was organized and so am I. My mother loved to bake and sew. I still enjoy baking if I have someone to bake for.

The biggest thing I have learned though and it’s very important to my health that I did learn. The past is the past. The now is today and the future is not concrete.

Who I am today really doesn’t have that much to do with my childhood. I agree, some of it does, but it was and is up to me, to be who I want to be today. Looking back, I understand what and why things happen, but that doesn’t mean I have to carry extra baggage today.

Daily Post/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/juxtapose/

The word for today; Juxtapose

place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.

“black-and-white photos of slums were starkly juxtaposed with color images”

synonyms:

place side by side, set side by side, collocate, mix; compare, contrast “the exhibit juxtaposes works by Van Gogh and Gauguin”

 

The Daily Post/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/famous/

The word for today is; Famous

Who and what is considered famous?

Is it President Trump?

Is it your grandson who graduated with honors from college?

It it a famous chef you knew as a child?

Perhaps it is the famous artist.

What about that swing that you were on when you met your first date and then later married him?

What about the monkey at the zoo that everyone talks about being the smartest monkey all around?

I guess the word famous is actually in the eyes of the beholder.

Daily Post/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/doppelganger/

The word for today; Doppelganger

an apparition or double of a living person.

“he has a doppelgänger named Donald, his invented twin brother”

 

“It’s going to be alright Susan. I won’t let anything happen to you.” These were the words the little girl heard as she hid in the back of the closet; rubbing her legs and bottom.

Susan was being abused physically by her older brother. She didn’t know why he did this. All she knew was it hurt real bad. If she tried to fight what he was wanting to do to her; she got hit by a belt on her legs. This was why she was rubbing her legs.

Her imaginary twin placed her arms around Susan. She stroked her hair and rubbed her back. She gave Susan her favorite stuffed animal; her cat and the two petted it together.

Brother did terrible things to her. He smacked her bottom. He put his fingers in a place that made her cry from pain. He placed the fear of God in her by telling her, that if she ever told mom and dad; he would hurt her even worse.

Her twin saw her tears and wiped them away, promising to find a way for all of this to stop.

It was the last time that it happened. Brother was getting ready to hit her on the legs when suddenly a gun was pulled out and brother fell to the floor. Susan couldn’t move, but with the help of her twin; the two ran to her bedroom.

A bag was waiting for her to be picked up. Putting it in her hand, she ran out of her room and out the back door. She never went back.

It was 13 years later that the words appeared on the front headlines of the newspaper. Woman is released from a local institution. 

After many trying months and years of trying to get this woman to speak; it never happened. The case had been tried. There was never a a pronounced verdict of guilty. The jury’s statement was; There just isn’t any proof.

Susan eventually went back to the old house where she grew up. Her parents were both deceased. The house stood empty. She turned the door handle and it opened. She walked to the closet where she hid many times. It was empty. There wasn’t a trace of anyone or anything ever having been there.

Daily Prompt/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/archaic/

The word for today; Archaic

very old or old-fashioned.

“prisons are run on archaic methods”

synonyms:

obsolete, out of date, old-fashioned, outmoded, behind the times, bygone, anachronistic, antiquated, superannuated, antediluvian, old world, old-fangled; More

• (of a word or a style of language) no longer in everyday use but sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavor.
• of an early period of art or culture, especially the 7th–6th centuries BC in Greece.

  “the archaic temple at Corinth”

 

I am very old fashioned. I never knew I was until I found myself living among 82 other Seniors. We are each different, but most of us around the same age. I think I am one of the younger ones.

I seem to stick to those old-fashioned morals and rules that were grounded into my soul from my parents and grandma. Oh, I swayed like a swing for a long time.

When I was middle-aged, I tried to be more open. Next came a personal friend, who opened my eyes to alternative life styles. I tried real hard to see it through their eyes; but couldn’t complete that task 100%

Today, I try to not judge. I try to see things from younger people’s views. I work on picking out the truth from our politicians and ministers. I listen to the views here during socializing.

I think what amazes me the most is the attitudes of people though. It isn’t their beliefs, or rights and wrongs from their eyes to mine. It is the attitude that forces me to cover my face with my mask.

People want you to believe that their way is the only way, the only truth. There seems to be no more middle ground. I have seen petty things turn into monkey business.

I would rather see a disagreement be spoken about, maybe chewed on a little but in the end there is still a beautiful friendship still remaining.

At my age, I have not given into today’s thinking that things that are wrong are wrong. I don’t want to change some of my views because I take my reasoning from the Bible. From my experience and aging, I realize I am old-fashioned, and I have learned to keep my mouth shut. I don’t like arguments, I don’t like risking friendships, so it isn’t worth it in my eyes.

Daily Prompt Weekly Photo Challenge

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/twisted/

PHOTO CHALLENGE

Twisted

This week, show us something that doesn’t maintain a straight line.

 

 

WHAT PLANE ARE WE ON?

Daily Prompt/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/guilty/

The word for today is; guilty

 

“You’re guilty!” the crowd screamed as they stood in a circle, hovering over the old man, who lay in a fetal position on the ground. Chanting and name calling could be heard in the heavens.

The old man had been drug through the muddy streets. The goal was to drag him to the outskirts of town, taunt him, then hang him.

It was the year, 1953 in the state of Alabama. A negro worked on a family’s farm. He tended to the animals; feeding and cleaning the stalls. He worked the garden. His name was Mike.

He loved children and when he saw them playing out of the house, he hid behind the bushes and watched them running and skipping; his smile widening. Mike had his own family. Two boys and a girl.  His wife was expecting their fourth any day.

Mike was a good, God-fearing man. He was from a poor family and was poor raising his own family. He had run into a lot of snags in his life but had always made a way.

The months passed and it was winter. A harsh and brittle cold seemed to be in the forecast. The newest baby had been born. It wasn’t an easy time this year at Christmas. His wife’s milk wasn’t any good, and real milk was hard to come by.

The baby cried often and Mike just knew in his heart; his child was hungry. He felt such a pang in his heart. He felt helpless. He loved his kids so much. His wife looked at him in ways he had not seen prior.

It was Christmas day and he made his way to the back, swinging door. Each year he would make the same trip to the main house. On the steps he would find a basket with a cloth over it. Inside were baked goods that the Mrs. had made special for him and his family.

He leaned over and picked up the basket. On standing back up, he heard laughter. He peeked through the windows and saw the children playing with their toys. On the table sat the bowls of cereal and a box of cereal. Right beside the cereal was a pitcher of milk.

Someone must have called the children’s names because they all scampered from the table. Without thinking, he sneaked in quietly and took the pitcher of milk. Picking up his basket, he took the two items home.

His wife didn’t say a word. She heated the milk and the baby quieted from a full belly. Someone had seen what had happen. He told some others and before an hour had went by; he was being drug down the muddy street.

What do you, my readers, think should happen next?

 

Daily Prompt/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/disappear

The word for today is; disappear

 

The bird with knowledge

 

A large bird with built in overdrive wings

Swung down beside me and began to sing

I tried to wave my hands for him to fly away

But he wouldn’t disappear; he was bound to stay

He cleaned his feathers; I made pictures in the sand

There wasn’t a sound anywhere in our land

I got tired and looked out over the sea

He read my mind, said,” Hop on top of me!”

I did as he said and we went up high

We flew through clouds all through the skies

I saw where I grew up as a child

Back in the days when I was wild

Then I saw these golden doors

I wanted to go in and see some more

Mr. Bird said,”No, we’ll be going back to shore

It’s not your turn to visit the golden gates

You need to find yourself, until then, you’ll have to wait.”

Written by,

Terry Shepherd

05/22/2018

 

 

Daily Prompt/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/awkward/

The word for today is; awkward

 

I wonder how the kid feels about taking those ten lives.

 

By Julie Turkewitz and Jess Bidgood

May 18, 2018

Dimitrios Pagourtzis was seen entering the low-slung building at Santa Fe High School on Friday morning, armed and wearing a trench coat.

Like others who’ve terrorized American students, the 17-year-old planned to kill his peers and then himself, the authorities said.

He opened fire, and the school erupted in chaos. An alarm clanged, and in the art room, bloodied students cried for help.

But once the bullets pierced his classmates’ bodies, the suspect surrendered, said Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, and admitted “that he didn’t have the courage to commit the suicide.”

On Friday, as a small Texas town grappled with the deaths of 10 of their own, a sketchy profile of another violent young man came to the fore, the disturbing details of his life blurring with those of the school gunmen of the past.

“Born to Kill” appeared on a T-shirt he posted on his Facebook page, along with images of the trench coat and an explanation of its decorations.

 

The family says;

Suspect’s family: He’s a ‘sweet boy’

The family of 17-year-old Pagourtzis, accused of killing 10 people and wounding 13 others at the Texas high school Friday, issued a statement expressing condolences to the victims.

The family members said they are “as shocked and confused as anyone by these events that occurred.”

Pagourtzis is a “smart, quiet, sweet boy,” they said.

The statement, issued through a law firm, says the family is cooperating with investigators and will make no other public comments until the fact-finding stage is completed.

“While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday’s tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love,” they said.

Pagourtzis is being held without bail and is accused of capital murder of multiple people and aggravated assault on a public servant. He has not entered a plea.

Robert Barfield, the attorney for Pagourtzis, said his client is “not doing well” and is “confused.”

The suspect won’t face the death penalty if he is convicted. Under Texas law, offenders who are under age 18 and charged with a capital offense face a maximum punishment of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years, according to Robert Dunham of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Suspected killer, 17 years old.

Do you think he feels awkward after the fact? Did he feel awkward when he planned and plotted this killing scheme?

Daily Prompt/ One Word Prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/complication/

The word for today is; complication

 

Life can be complicated and for some life can be full of complications. I don’t understand most of it; but I do understand some.

We start out wishing and dreaming. Who said there is anything wrong with those two things? Certainly not me, but on some grounds, it can be a bad thing.

There are those who wish for growing up quicker. Why? We don’t know at that age. We just know we want what they have. We want to date like our older siblings, drive a car. The list can be for miles long.

Next, before we know it, we are old. We suddenly wish our lives could be at an earlier point. We wish we perhaps would have married for different reasons. We wish we didn’t understand death or perhaps how little we could end up receiving in our SS checks.

Wouldn’t there be a lot less complication if only we accepted where we are and were and who we stand for? I am sure my own life would be much smoother. Maybe I would even have less gray hair. Who knows, but the point is; let’s accept whatever we are dealing with today, now, right this moment!