Tag Archives: hope

I Don’t Know Art, But I Know What I Like

box of rocks

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

“What do you think, Dad?” Liz proudly showed off her university senior art project resting in a dorm courtyard.

“I’m not sure what to think,” Mike said. “What is it?”

“It’s symbolic of the constraints placed on reality and the illusion that if we were released from our cage, that we would be anything more than inert material.”

“Seems a little dark, Liz,” said Mike scratching his chin.

“We live in a dark world, Dad.”

“But why so grim? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”

“Dad, you grew up in a world of hope. That world is gone.”

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Does Santa Claus Climb Down Broken Chimneys?

abandoned

PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

“Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild…”

Derek crouched by the fire barrel rubbing his hands together while Anna sang Christmas songs to her little girls.

“Another homeless fucking Christmas,” he muttered.

Old Saul backhanded him on the shoulder. “Hush and let those babies dream.”

“It’s all crap,” Derek hissed back. “There’s no blessing being homeless. Fifteen families freezing in this dump. No baby Jesus will save us.”

“You’re young yet, Derek.” Saul’s voice ground like a cement mixer. “Miracles aren’t money. Look around you. Being able to love in this hole is the miracle.”

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Being Superversive in a Subversive World

fantasy

Found on Richard Paolinelli’s blog. No image credit given

Richard Paolinelli has named me on a list of superversive authors (scroll down, the list is in alphabetical order by last name).

Now you may be asking yourself what is “superversive?”

According to Urban Dictionary:

Nurturing; supportive, building up — opposite of subversive

The superversives decorated the object with daisy chains, linked their arms around it and sang “Jerusalem.”

Seems a bit “flowery”.

So how does that translate into writing superversive fiction, and particularly science fiction? Back in 2016, Russell Newquist crafted an answer in What is Superversive Fiction? (I should say that he hasn’t posted anything on his blog since September 2019):

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Livesteam of the Authors of “Impossible Hope” on YouTube

ih

Screen capture from YouTube

A.M. Freeman and the other fine folks from Superversive Press who organized the Bonnie Oliver anthology Impossible Hope, written for the benefit of Bonnie who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, invited all of the contributing authors to a livestream last Sunday.

I wasn’t able to make it for scheduling reasons, but each of the available writers were briefly interviewed by Ms. Freeman, talking about their stories and why they became involved.

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Another Milestone for “Impossible Hope”

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Proposed cover for “Impossible Hope” anthology

I mentioned Bonnie Oliver’s Impossible Hope last February and again in May. Here’s A.M. Freeman’s description of Bonnie and the purpose of the “Impossible Hope” project:

For over a decade, Bonnie Oliver has gone from doctor to doctor seeking answers to her worsening physical and neurological symptoms. It has been a long and wearisome road, and her family has had to watch as her health declined to the point where, at only 28 years of age, she can no longer leave her home unaided, and even then for only short periods of time.

The idea was for authors to donate short stories to an anthology project called “Impossible Hope” so it could be published and sold to fund Bonnie’s surgery for https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/ (click the links I’ve provided above for more).

The project required:

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Bonnie’s “Impossible Hope” Anthology Moving Forward

hope

Proposed cover for “Impossible Hope” anthology

Last February, I mentioned a charitable effort on behalf of a young woman named Bonnie Oliver where authors were asked to donate a fictional story based on the theme “Impossible Hope.” Bonnie suffers from Complex Chiari Malformation, Craniocervical and Atlanto-axial Instability and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type three, which in this case means she requires very expensive surgery.

A.M Freeman organized the project to recruit authors providing stories for an anthology which, when completed, will be sold and the proceeds will go for Bonnie’s medical expenses.

My story is called “The Switchman’s Lantern.”

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Quoting: Never Give Up Hope

“Even if you are in the midst of great suffering, do not give up hope” (Pirkei Avos 1:7; Rashi). Life situations might at times seem so bleak and desperate that you see no hope for the future. You might tell yourself things like, “My life is a terrible mess, and I don’t think it will ever improve.” Such thinking leads to very painful feelings. The Sages advised us never to give up hope. Ask yourself, “What proof do I have that things will never improve?” While you might not have a guarantee that things will be better, you can never be certain that they will not improve. Don’t give up hope when in a very short time your whole situation might change dramatically for the better.

-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Happiness,” p.372

Why Captain America Reminds Me Never to Give Up

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Promotional image for the 2014 film “Captain America: Winter Solder.”

After all the you’re a racist if you don’t believe Colin Kaepernick gave up everything to be Nike’s “Just Do It” 30th anniversary spokesperson garbage a few days ago, I decided I needed to unwind and experience something to restore my spirit. So I again chose to dust off the DVD and watch the 2014 film Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Why, you ask?

I can’t find the quote online, but I recall that actor Chris Evans, who plays “Cap” in the Marvel movies, said something like “Captain America does good for the sake of doing good. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted to be as a man.”

That’s probably not exact, but I’m betting it’s pretty close.

In the film, he says stuff like:

I know I’m asking a lot. But the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it’s a price I’m willing to pay. And if I’m the only one, then so be it. But I’m willing to bet I’m not.

And…

Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free. This isn’t freedom, this is fear.

He didn’t act ashamed of America and, after all, the guy’s uniform is basically the American flag (I’d like to see someone try to stomp on or burn it while Rogers was wearing it). Steve Rogers is a living reminder why it’s okay to still believe that our nation is made up of people who do good and want to be even better.

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Symbol of Hope

justin - flag

Justin Schroeder, 36, in front of his home in Bozeman, Montana – Image found at Blue Lives Matter website.

When the kid walked up his driveway, Johnny recognized him as Randall Berry, who had moved to Boise with his family from Seattle last month. That didn’t surprise him one bit. Johnny got up from where he was sitting on his front porch as Randall approached. “Evening.”

“I see you still have that symbol of hate flying,” pointing at the American flag mounted to the right of Johnny’s front door.

“I see you had the nerve to back up that threat you made in the anonymous note you had the audacity to tape to my front door.”

“You should have done what I told you to do and gotten rid of the flag. I promised you a fight where you would lose.”

“Take your best shot you motherf-cker.”

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Stones

park

© Michelle De Angelis.

The beautiful park, the gentle couple strolling just ahead of him, the cool of the summer evening only made a dull impression on him, all because her blood had added one more stain to his soul.

“She was only three years old, God. Why did that butcher have to murder her?”

Detective Keith Simmons was due to retire soon. This would be his last murder investigation and he thought he’d seen it all. Then he saw the blood and her torn, battered body.

He suppressed sorrow and summoned rage. Prison was too good for that scumbag. There was a better justice.

“Excuse me.” He looked up and saw one of the people who had been ahead of him. “I believe you could benefit from this.”

Keith mutely accepted the note she was holding. As she turned back and started walking with her companion again, he unfolded it and read, “The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.”

Tomorrow, he’d visit the child’s family again. It was his first stepping stone.

I wrote this for the 172th FFfAW Challenge hosted by Priceless Joy. The idea is to use the image above as the prompt for creating a piece of flash fiction between 100 and 175 words long. My word count is 175.

Yesterday, I read a news account (actually several) about how a man with a knife attacked nine people, six of them children, at a girl’s third birthday party. The three year old died.

After reading it, I wrote my own commentary, feeling the hope being drained out of life because of such events.

Today, I’m trying to be a bit more optimistic and not let things like this defeat my spirit. It isn’t easy.

To read other stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.