PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox
“This will be fun, Grandpa,” said his youngest granddaughter. At fourteen, she was as full of silliness as when she was four.
“I’m seventy-one, not seventeen. What do I care for glow-in-the-dark strip and macramé parties?” the old man groused. “This is worse than Chuck E. Cheese.”
“Relax into it,” said his oldest grandson. “It won’t be so bad. Besides, the pizza here’s pretty good.”
“Well, maybe for a little bit,” Grandpa said.
“We have a surprise, Grandpa,” said one of the middle granddaughters.
Then they brought out the blond stripper in the glow-in-the-dark macramé.
“At my age?” he groaned.
It’s Wednesday and time once again to participate in Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ 9 May 2025 edition of Friday Fictioneers. The idea is to use the image above as the inspiration for crafting a poem or short story no more than 100 words long. My word count is exactly 100.
I drew a blank when I saw the photo and decided to do a Google image search hoping to find a location. Instead, I found a bunch of adverts for glow-in-the-dark party products and supplies.
I also found this Instagram account. I apologize to the model for what I did to her and her outfits, but it’s what popped into my head.
Also, I really will be seventy-one on my next birthday. These days, it’s usually celebrated with a quiet dinner (fortunately).
To read the other stories based on the prompt, visit inlinkz.
My crime noir short story “Last Wish of a Dead Man” is now available in the Raconteur Press anthology Dames, Derringers and Detectives: Moggie Noir. The story requirements included a hard-boiled detective, a murder, and especially a cat. The third in my “Margie Potter: Haunted Detective” series made the cut.
Also, my horror short story “Haunting Chloe” is now available in the ghost story anthology Haunted Places (universal link) by Blackbird Publishing. Pick up a copy of each, give them a read, and don’t forget to leave honest reviews at Amazon and Goodreads.
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I think your process was as interesting as the story! Thank you for sharing.
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Thanks, Violet.
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I have to wonder if the oldest grandson was enjoying the “surprise” more than Grandpa was 🙂
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Possibly, but the granddaughters were also delighting in pulling one over on the old man.
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Haha, Grandpa was in for a surprise of one sort or another!
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Unfortunately. Thanks.
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Kids these days! Their appetite for sensory overload is cultivated by the land of electronica. It is a shock to the system for us oldsters. Good story that made creative use of the image.
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Thanks, Lisa.
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You’re welcome, James.
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Dear James,
I’m kind of surprised the old man didn’t enjoy the bikini clad girl even just a little bit. Wait, I’m the same age as Gandpa. I relate to not enjoying sensory overload.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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He might have enjoyed her more if A) the grandkids weren’t around and B) if there wasn’t so much sensory input accompanying her. 😉
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grandpa’s not too old. i bet he’s rise to the occasion. 🙂
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Possibly. Thanks.
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Young people are always dismissing every character trait of senior citizens simply as “old”. They don’t understand what they haven’t experienced.
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Very true. Thanks, Dawn.
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I agree, at my age. Are they trying to give Granddad a heart attack, but then again he has seen it all before.
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Nothing new under the sun. Thanks, James.
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I liked your story and we are going to chuck-e-cheese later this month – so I smiled with that – and could also feel the connection
However, why would a 14 year old be at a strip club? Did I miss something here, but how did such young children get into the strip club?
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Good question. I think it was just a generic black light venue and they hired it exclusively for the evening, then the grown ups brought a stripper in. If it helps, she doesn’t really get down below her bikini.
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still, not appropriate for any children – hmmmmm
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