Monday September 26th, 2011

The exercise:

Write something to do with: celebrity.

It rained on us for most of the local harvest this morning. I was not impressed, especially with the world still moving randomly (dear body: we're on land now) and a migraine coming on. But we got 'er done.

Oh, here's a picture of the lake I mentioned yesterday:


We really had no idea it was that big when we started hiking around it. Elsewhere, here's Kat and I posing in front of a waterfall by the Mendenhall Glacier, just outside Juneau:


I'll share a few more randomly selected photos tomorrow.

Mine:

So by the end of day three of our trip, Kat and I were cruise ship celebrities.

You see, on day two they announced they'd be doing something called The Marriage Game the following night - ideally with one couple that had been together for a long time, one that was as close to newlywed as possible, and one somewhere in the middle.

Kat and I decided to be the newlyweds and showed up at the on-board theatre in the hopes of being picked. We were, so they brought us up on stage with the two other couples and we answered a bunch of questions separately and were able to match up on most of them. We ended up tying for first, and had a pretty good time of it, too.

We thought that would be the end of it.

The first time we were recognized was about two hours after the show. Fair enough.

The next day we were stopped two or three times. About the same the day after that. We had not bargained on this happening.

But we weren't the only ones.

On the fifth night I ran into the husband of the other winning couple in one of the many men's rooms on the ship. We preceded to have the following conversation:

"Are you guys getting it too?" he asked as we washed our hands at the sink.

"Oh good, it's not just us."

"Everywhere we go."

I found that rather comforting.

5 comments:

Greg said...

Congratulations on winning the Marriage game! It certainly sounds like you had fun on the cruise despite your unexpected celebrity. Will be seeing you auditioning for bigger roles in the future? ;-)
The lake is beautiful, but I really like the waterfall. I need to find a way to be able to collect geographic features....

Celebrity
Silhouetted by lightning,
Applauded by thunder,
She stands alone at the top of the hill
Remembering the days of celebrity.

As the rain pours down
The long-forgotten audience
Cannot tell if she's laughing or crying,
And they ovate her anyway.

Drake Davenport said...

Being that I'm currently reading the Hunger Games, everything I come up with for ideas these days involves something related to post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction.

---
Thunderous applause. Jeremy Kasai couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was famous.

When Jeremy had lead the revolution, he had done it with the sole purpose of ending the tyrant king's reign and bringing some justice back to the universe. But now... now the nine provinces were virtually worshiping him.

He had never meant for this to happen. He could barely stay on the high pedestal everyone was placing him on. And there was no way out.

Somewhere within himself, though, Jeremy felt that he shouldn't try to fight it. It wasn't everyday that he got to help take over the known worlds from such a horrible ruler.

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, though, it happened. The first thing he registered was ringing in his ears. Then the pieces of debris burned their way across his cheek as the light blinded him. The crowd began to scream.

Then the security team was there, pulling him off of the stage, wrapping him in a blanket as they lead him to the medics. Jeremy heard gunfire. He tried to look back but he could barely move his neck.

As he was being driven to the hospital, he learned what had actually happened. Apparently, there were many that were still loyal to the king, and just as Jeremy served as a figurehead for the rebellion, he was also a focus point for loyalist anger. He would forever more be not only a celebrity to the people, but a target for the enemy stragglers.

Marc said...

Greg - no, I think we'll be staying off the radar from now on :P

Collecting geographic features sounds like an interesting premise for a story to me.

Beautiful imagery, especially in your first stanza.

Drake - I haven't actually read that yet. I shall have to get around to it eventually. Are you enjoying it?

Another intriguing vignette that could definitely be continued. It seems you've got a talent for getting your hooks into your reader very quickly. That's a good one to have!

Drake Davenport said...

I've read the first two books, and I'm finishing up on the third. I've been really enjoying them, myself. The third one had a bit of a different feel in the beginning, but about half way through the book it really picked back up in my opinion, and now I can't put it down again. I heard about the movie they're making, and I'm just waiting to see how much they mess the story up.

Marc said...

Drake - excellent, I'll definitely add them to my reading list :)