Saturday, January 1, 2011

Plans of Mice and Men...



This is Saturday Centus . The prompt must be used word for word somewhere in the story on not more than 100 words.The prompt is highlighted. For complete rules see:http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com.

                                  Today's prompt:Her crumpled up list of resolutions

                                           
Plans of Mice and Men



Kate followed Ronnie up the basement stairs, her heart still pounding like a bass drum. Gray light showered her dining table, now dusty with sheetrock crumbs. Cold air wrapped around her shoulders as she counted the four walls that still stood. Looking out the kitchen window she saw her neighbors huddling where their house, now a pile of matchsticks, once stood.



She looked down and saw her crumpled up list of resolutions still clinched in her fist just as Ronnie’s face began to register the damage.


She smiled slightly, reached for his hand, and found her voice. “I guess I will have to rewrite these.”



The scene is inspired by all those unfortunate people who lost their homes in the St. Louis area and Arkansas yesterday in a very freakish New Year's Eve tornado.




22 comments:

Unknown said...

My heart goes out to those people! Good centus!
Peace & Blessings,
Anna
Anna's SC#35

Susan said...

God bless those dear people who lost their homes, Bookie. That was a difficult start to the new year for them. May the rest of the year be good for them and for all of us. Susan

noexcuses said...

I live in St. Louis and was at work during the storm...right next to floor-to-ceiling windows. I was lucky. Thank you for offering your words up for those who were affected.

Susan Anderson said...

Poignant and well done.

Such a difficult time for the people affected, but the human spirit always seems to triumph, doesn't it?

An excellent Centus.

Unknown said...

oh my...heartbreaking yet full of hope! I agree...very well done!

Judie said...

Claudia, you certainly did an excellent job with the prompt! I really feel for those poor people.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful way to show support for those who were affected! It offers hope and shifts the focus for all of us to what is really important - family, friends and loved ones rather than our possessions.

Maybe we all need to change our list!

The Game Store Guy said...

This is terrible. I hadn't even heard about this yet. I will have them in my heart and in my thoughts.

Unknown said...

Hi again!
I wrote a second version of this centus. Please visit again if you have the time.
Best wishes,
Anna
Anna's SC#35 + second text

Kat said...

What a great use of the prompt. Very clever way to focus on what's important. Great job. Kat

Viki said...

Very timely. It was very frightening to see the damage done to those homes on TV. It's so weird that it happened in wintertime.

Unknown said...

Hi Claudia/Bookie,
I did not see that Claudia and Bookie are one and the same!
Thank you for visiting my SC-post!
Hugs,
Anna
Anna's SC#35

Unknown said...

Hi Bookie,
To answer your question about my protagonist and her lawyer. It is more complicated than what 100 words can say. She has no money, no job, two kids to take care of and she decides to divorce her husband because he is so mean to her. He tells her openly, in front of the children how bad she is etc. He has a job and money. The court can decide to make him share his fortune with her once in a settlement. There is no alimony, so she will have to take what she can get now, and find a job to continue on her own.

Most law firms what money upfront. As long as she is legally married, she can not receive support from social services. The law says that he is legally obligated to support her as long as he is legally married to her. But he refuses to help her. He has already left her by his way of thinking.

Where does her lawyer come in? She needs someone to help protect her interests, because her husband is trying to get off as cheaply as possible. He has his own lawyer to help him do this.
This is an ongoing 'soap opera'. I don't know how it will end.
Thanks for asking!
Anna
For the benefit of other readers:
Anna's SC#35

jfb57 said...

Brilliant!Really liked it!

Jo said...

Brilliant use of the prompt ... and those people ... how horrible for those that are faced with total disaster to start the new year off with ...

jeff campbell said...

Resolve...resolutions...ever changing to meet the demands of life...well done! Peace and blessings

cj Schlottman said...

Wow! How's that for a reality check? And you wrote it so well with so much feeling. I could see the remains of the house next door. Excellent.

Namaste..........cj

Susannah said...

Oh yjis was so well done. Good writing. :-)

Tgoette said...

A really wonderful take on the prompt, Claudia! Sad yet heartwarming and hopeful. Excellent job!

Kaelin said...

Love what you did with this prompt & the last line was unexpected & perfect!

Ames said...

That's terrible! Not your writing, but the tornado. My heart goes out to those people. And you did an excellent job incorporating this prompt into this unfortunate tragedy.~Ames

Jenny said...

What a poignant and perfect little gem of a story. I love how you pulled us into the emotion of this catastrophe...and gave us hope at the end.

Really brilliant!

Thank you.