The exercise:
Write about something that is: unreliable.
Kat was at her Penticton office today so I took the boys with me to drop off my work keys at Public Works this morning. I'd wanted to relabel them as the ones I'd originally put on were pretty well worn off and I only knew which was which out of habit.
I took them around the yard to show them all the trucks and equipment (Miles' fav was the 'dumper truck', though he seemed to think all the trucks were dump trucks by the end) before coming back home.
And now I'm fully finished with the job, for reals.
Heading up to Penticton tomorrow to get a few things done. On my own, even. Should be good.
Mine:
"Will you be there?"
"Of course."
Why did I even ask? Worse, why did I bother believing?
"Okay, see you at nine. We'll be counting on you."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world."
No one is ever going to offer you the world in return for missing anything. And yet you're never there when we need you. For what, then? What are you exchanging for your presence by your family's side? What is the price?
Tell me, I beg of you. I will pay it gladly.
"All right. We'll save you a seat. Love you."
"I love you too."
Sure, throw that lie on top of the heap as well. It acts as a fine blanket.
3 comments:
Klunk. Klunk.
Full stop. Oh, no.
Not again. This little
Car is the most unreliable
We've ever had -- it's unbelievable.
We can't even drive down the street
Now. How much did you pay
For this klunker
Anyway?
@Morganna: I love the matching of 'klunk' at the start with 'klunker' at the end; somehow that really brings out the frustration in this piece. The short sentences at the beginning do a really good job, as well, of suggesting that the car is shuddering to a halt. Excellent work!
@Marc: Relabelling the keys was nice you – this has nothing to do with booby traps and people mistakenly trying to open a locker with the wrong key, does it? It sounds like Max enjoyed his trip up there with you though -- and I hope you enjoy your lonesome trip tomorrow too :)
The juxtaposition between the narrator's conversation and their thoughts works nicely, and the ending has a punch to it that is really well worked: the words seem careless until we see how the narrator perceives them and how they just add unwanted insult to the unintended injury. Great job!
Unreliable
Yellowstone had Old Faithful and Sixticton had a geyser too: Unreliable. Town records showed that it had erupted in 1935, when it was mistaken at first for a burst water main, and then again in 1949, when it was taken to be a sign from God that the Mayor, a feisty lady who collected umbrellas and ended up founding Sixticton's Umbrella Museum and Workhouse, was a witch. Fourteen years later the Historical Society (all six of them) gathered in the hopes of seeing the next eruption, but it didn't come until 1969 when it interrupted the town's viewing of the moon landing. The curses of the Sixticton's Butchers & Barristers Society gave raise at that point to the nickname Unreliable. In 1979 the geyser erupted again, demolishing the Sausage-and-hosiery stand that had been unfortunately built on top of it, and in 1981 it erupted once more during Ronald Reagan's inaugeration. Then it was quiescent for nearly 20 years, erupting next 10 minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve 1999 and completely ruining the Millenial celebrations.
The townsfolk had dealt with it at that point, digging up all around for nearly a mile and damming up any water paths, draining the land, and generally drying everything out quite a lot. A new saying arose for a few years, "As reliable as Unreliable", but it lost ground to YOLO when that phrase finally reached Canada.
It came as quite a surprise then when Unreliable erupted again, this time while the current Mayor was issuing a pardon for Suzie Waspank, the Mayor of 1949 who was tried (and hanged) for being a witch. Initially the eruption was reported as a "small, damp explosion due to a gas leak while the Mayor was apologising for the recent volcanic activity" but this was quickly sorted out by several damp dignitaries who had been drenched so badly that they were later given therapy usually reserved for victims of waterboarding. (One of them was also waterboarded but that's a tale for another time.) The water flooded several small businesses and Asbestos park, which led to a certain redistribution of some of the asbestos in the park, which upset some residents and delighted others (but only because it led to them owning properties now meeting the local fire code, at no expense other than phoning the insurance company to make a claim for water damage).
Sixticton residents have vowed to find the source of Unreliable for definite this time, and put a cork in it.
Morganna - I'm choosing to believe that this is another acrostic, spelling out the noise of the engine as it dies a painful death :)
Greg - nope, nothing at all :D
And thank you for the kind words on mine.
I laughed out loud at that YOLO bit. Enjoyed the whole thing, obviously, but that one stood out for me :)
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