Is the prompt today referring to when you had only one child, no children, or earlier? :-P
The good old days The radiators were turned on full and the curtains were drawn. The room -- standard for veterans -- had a single bed pushed up against the beige-painted walls, two ratty armchairs upholstered in burgundy against the other wall, a television mounted on brackets on the wall and a buzzer by the side of the bed in case of emergencies. The floor was covered by an old orange carpet that was threadbare in places, and there was a smell of mildew barely covered by the smell of urine. "I remember the good old days," said Jack. He was sitting in one of the armchairs, his milky eyes staring sightlessly in front of him. "Back when you had your legs?" asked Arthur, who was sitting in the other chair. He was wearing stained pyjamas, and a fresh stain was spreading across his thighs. "No, those days weren't so good," said Jack. "Back when you had both your arms then?" "They were better," said Jack. He nodded, and his tongue flopped out of his mouth. "But still no." "Wow," said Arthur. "Back when you could still see then?" "Those were the days," said Jack. He sighed. "I can remember watching the sun come up over the forest, bringing the mushroom cloud behind it. That was fun." "That wasn't the sun," said Arthur. "That was the nuclear explosion." "Was it?" "Yep. That's when you lost half your liver, remember?" "Oh." Jack was silent for a moment, then he belched. "When did I lose my kidney then?" "Prostitute in the bar three days later," said Arthur. "We told you she had a knife." "She had more than a knife," said Jack. "Chilly bitch." "You're thinking of the bath of ice she left you in," said Arthur. "Oh yes," said Jack. "The good old days," said Arthur.
2 comments:
Is the prompt today referring to when you had only one child, no children, or earlier? :-P
The good old days
The radiators were turned on full and the curtains were drawn. The room -- standard for veterans -- had a single bed pushed up against the beige-painted walls, two ratty armchairs upholstered in burgundy against the other wall, a television mounted on brackets on the wall and a buzzer by the side of the bed in case of emergencies. The floor was covered by an old orange carpet that was threadbare in places, and there was a smell of mildew barely covered by the smell of urine.
"I remember the good old days," said Jack. He was sitting in one of the armchairs, his milky eyes staring sightlessly in front of him.
"Back when you had your legs?" asked Arthur, who was sitting in the other chair. He was wearing stained pyjamas, and a fresh stain was spreading across his thighs.
"No, those days weren't so good," said Jack.
"Back when you had both your arms then?"
"They were better," said Jack. He nodded, and his tongue flopped out of his mouth. "But still no."
"Wow," said Arthur. "Back when you could still see then?"
"Those were the days," said Jack. He sighed. "I can remember watching the sun come up over the forest, bringing the mushroom cloud behind it. That was fun."
"That wasn't the sun," said Arthur. "That was the nuclear explosion."
"Was it?"
"Yep. That's when you lost half your liver, remember?"
"Oh." Jack was silent for a moment, then he belched. "When did I lose my kidney then?"
"Prostitute in the bar three days later," said Arthur. "We told you she had a knife."
"She had more than a knife," said Jack. "Chilly bitch."
"You're thinking of the bath of ice she left you in," said Arthur.
"Oh yes," said Jack.
"The good old days," said Arthur.
Greg - no comment :P
Actually, the prompt was inspired by a song I'd heard on the radio (Good Old Days by Macklemore & Kesha).
Thanks for posting on the yearlong, by the way. I'll add to it soon, just need to get some Christmas stuff done first.
Wow. This just keeps getting more and more depressing as it goes along. Good job with the unrelenting bad news :)
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