99 word prompt : Old photo
July 1, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about “the old photograph.” What is captivating about it? Where did it come from? How does it incite a story? Go where the prompt leads.
If you want to participate, here’s the link: CARROT RANCH
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Back straight, a model’s figure, a stand-out next to her best friend, a cousin, her youngest brother, mother and maternal grandmother; my mother posed for a multi-generational photo somewhere between the Great Depression and World War II.
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Her brother, who marched with Patton’s third army to Germany, never told anyone about the grueling experience. Her best friend married a domineering Englishman who’d used her to enter the USA. My mother, at 29, married a wounded soul.
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So much hope for reality to crush. It seems that only the delusion of a brighter future pushes us forward into old age.
The pain of high hopes for the future. This line hits sharp: “So much hope for reality to crush.” The social worker at the Vet Center says, “There’s always hope.”
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Hope: That carrot on a stick we chase throughout our entire lives. Some people love the thrill of that chase while others see the carrot for what it is, a reason to run another mile.
My “carrots” are writing, my 4-footed companions, and my job.
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Life is full of shit 💜
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Some people see the cow pooping it out, others see the flowers growing from it. 😊
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Yes indeed 💜🤣🤣
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Yikes. Yeah… snapshots and delusions…
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We all have delusions about our future. Think back to childhood when we wanted to be doctors, soldiers, actors…believing we could be anything we wanted to be.
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Wars leave so many wounded. So much generation-spanning depth in so few words. So much unseen but still felt.
In reading the comments, my own hope is for our kids, my writing and in science. One day we’ll be connected enough to surpass a desire for wars.
Great take on the prompt. Thought provoking and powerful.
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Thanks. 😊
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I like the line about the delusion of a brighter future. Sometimes I wonder if life is nothing but a giant delusion or a bunch of delusions. We get them when we’re young and nurture them until we can’t nurture anything anymore. But for things to be a delusion that would probably mean that someone out there is correct, or that we’re all insane. Very nice (and sobering) story.
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Thanks. 😊
My mom was raised during the great depression and her motto was “every cloud has a silver lining.” No matter how badly her life fell short of her dreams, she always reached for the silver lining. She designed the house I’m living in and passed away only 7 years after it was fully completed. I’ve been living in her home now for 28 years.
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