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 |   Second blog -- answers to an ocean of prompts |
 "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." CHARLIE CHAPLIN  Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet confinement of your aloneness to learn anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you. David Whyte        This is my supplementary blog in which I will post entries written for prompts. |
For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  Prompt: In the book, The Berlin Candy Bomber by Gail S. Halverson, a pilot threw down lots of candy parachuted by handkerchiefs to the children of Berlin, during the siege of the city by the Russians at the end of World War II. What are your thoughts on small but kind acts like this? Do they have the potential of bringing about World Peace? === I believe only purpose, compassion, and love by everyone will bring about world peace. Still, kind and small acts by the few may have an impact as they may encourage imitations, which may grow and roll about like an avalanche. It may just be that such an avalanche can overcome all acts that compromise peace and may do everything to restore it. We have to realize that when we reach down and lift other people up, we are also revitalizing our own hearts. There are many organizations that encourage people to do simple acts of kindness, even if it’s only a smile or a kind word to someone who needs it. One such organization is: http://www.onethousandactsofpeace.org According to these people, if everyone did three simple kind acts a day, we will have a better world. We may or may not belong to this or any other organization or a religious sect or idea, but trying for three small acts a day, shouldn’t be too difficult. Who knows, we may just have a better world this way.  For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Bruce.   ’s "Invalid Item" What is your favorite season and why is it your favorite? --- I have been kind of fickle about seasons. At one time, my favorite season used to be autumn, but then at the middle of my life, my body came up with allergies against the pollen from the weeds and the pollen that eked into the air from the falling leaves. Thus, since I despise sneezing and coughing and losing my breath, autumn lost its special place immediately. Summer is too hot, especially where I live now, and winter is too cold and cruel almost everywhere. Until, a short while ago, I thought Spring had to be the best season for its rejuvenation and new life, but then, I realized most of my loved ones passed away in Spring. So, until a fifth season shows up, I have no favorite season left, although I love nature in general. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Lyn's Prompt: Use these words in your blog entry... purple, pumpkin, determine, clock, scarecrow and Shelia. === Shelia the Cat a story for children It was the day before the Halloween night when the old black cat Shelia determined she needed to be owned. So she decided to pay a visit to a witch’s house. Since no one else wanted a black cat, Shelia thought of Amanda the witch might want to adopt her and possibly protect her from the tauntings of the purple crow in the neighborhood, but as Shelia ambled through Amanda’s vegetable garden, the huge scarecrow with the pumpkin head caught her eye. She slowed down, worrying if the scarecrow would attack her, but the scarecrow was standing in the middle of the patch like a frozen statue. So, Shelia turned toward Amanda’s twisted house with puffs of black smoke emerging from its chimney. A few steps later, she heard an unintelligible chant. When she neared a couple of yards more to the house, she could make out the words to the chant. “Come little cat, come! Camouflaged in the witch’s suit, I am a hungry woman. I can eat a horse, or a bat, or even a cat. The blacker the better! I am now drawing one closer to me! Come little cat, come!” Shelia meowed in terror, stopped short, and turned around. How could she be so dumb to let herself go under a witch’s spell? She didn't need her very own personal clock of life stopped like that. Dashing through the vegetable garden, bumping into the scarecrow, and flying with the wind, she ran away from Amanda’s domain. After all, no one needed to be owned for protection. Not by a witch, not by anyone else. Shelia might as well protect herself from the purple crow or anything else that scared her. Hadn’t she done that all her life, anyway! For: "Space Blog" Prompt by Megan: From Don Two  ’s "One Million Stars" Write about the universe and the stars. Sometimes I wonder about the stars and their numbers. Just how many of them exist in the universe, I ask myself. That amount must be so huge that it must far outnumber our systems of counting. Yet, the astronomers say, the stars are not scattered randomly thoughout the space. They bunch together in galaxies, just like us people. There are about six billion people on earth, which is a countable number. Still, can anyone claim to have met all the people on this tiny planet, which is not even a star? Then, why in the world, would I want to know the number of all the stars? Chances are I’ll never meet or set foot on those stars either, and neither would I want to. Who knows what lurks in those darker corners of the universe? Better safe than sorry. I’d rather exist in my tiny little corner than traverse a whole crazy universe. Isn't one crazy planet enough to loiter about? |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Discuss this quote: “I think of myself as a bad writer with big ideas, but I'd rather be that than a big writer with bad ideas.” ― Michael Moorcock ---- As I always say, to each his own. Michael Moorcock can think of himself and his writing in any old way he wishes. As for me, I am not into big ideas or bad ideas. I am into writing. I am not a big writer as far as fame and fortune is concerned, and I never go after fame and fortune, but I am a big writer because I like to write a lot. I always did. Just to be a writer is good enough for me. To be a better writer, though, one has to put up with one’s own bad writing and hope that it will get better. Since day one, I have been working on that one. As to ideas, any idea can be developed into something. When you least expect it, the simplest of the ideas can produce good results. The same can go for bad or big ideas, too. It depends on who is writing it and who gives it the time and effort to develop it. For: "Space Blog" Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? 
Write about that day in 2001. 9-11. What were your thoughts? --- My husband and I were watching CNBC that morning. On the screen, Sue Herera said something like, “Something’s going on behind us at the twin towers!” Then she turned a little and asked the cameramen, “Can you direct the cameras there?” That’s when we saw the first plane half in and half out of the first building. The rest bothers me way too much to write about. Each time I think of what followed, that horror attacks me and doesn’t go away for days. Suffice it to say that, we followed each step the New Yorkers took and every darn thing that happened after that. What I can add is that, on a personal level, my older son was working in downtown. He lived on Long Island and took the train to be at work at 10 AM. He had to be just in the train then or barely out of it when the first plane hit. He called us from his cell, asking us what was happening. The problem for most of the people on the streets was that no one knew what was going on. So, we watched that catastrophy step by step and informed him as to the goings on, with him calling us every five to ten minutes or so. The trains had stopped, then. He couldn’t go back. So, with everyone else, he began walking uptown. Then, he got into some bar around the Colombia University where people were watching TV. He was thinking he could get a ride with someone and go over one of the bridges. His father told him to go back to the train station and wait till the trains would start working. I was even afraid of that. At that point, like us, everyone thought it was war and we were being attacked. The trains began working sometime around 4 PM and my son went home, after that. We were all affected badly. The sorrow lasted even to this day, and those images still haunt me. My son stopped working in the city for good. That trauma caused some kind of a PTSD in him, and since he refused therapy, I am sure he still feels the effects of it. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Would you rather write poems, short stories or news items? --- All of them. Non-fiction comes more easily because I am more experienced in it, but this doesn’t mean that I prefer it to others. Quite the contrary. I like poetry in general. I write poetry a lot on my own just for the sake or it, but I do not post what I write either here in WdC or somewhere else. Most of the poetry I have on this site were either written for slams or for some occasion or contest. Stories--short, long, or novel-size—are intriguing to me the most. Through them I can experience more of life and more of my own internal potentiality. Despite the blood, sweat, and tears of it all, I find stories to be excellent emotional outlets that lead to improved and improving communication, thinking, leadership and organizational skills (by that I mean because of the proper handling of the characters and other story elements), and facing personal difficulties. Talking about personal difficulties, writing in general and reading, too, have saved me some from truly bad moments in my life because they gave form to my ideas and suppressed the negatives my mind could create so easily. Reading and writing! I think they always stick together to become best friends for me. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Dr Gonzo  ’s "The Way I See It" How do you see earth? --- I have never been up in space to view the earth in its absolute fullness. I can only see with my eyes little parts of it at a time. From the pieces of the planet that I have physically seen, the earth can be a place as hot as hell, as colorful as the entire spectrum bound together , as fresh as newborn anything, and as cold as the look in a killer’s eyes who is dressed all in white. The way I see it from what I have read and heard about it, the earth fosters all kinds of beautiful and amazing animal and plant life, cruel sometimes and kind at others, set on vast oceans and blue seas, lakes, and all types of waterways, and deserts, valleys, flatlands, and majestic mountains. What I don’t like about the earth is that most of the species and humans are extremely selfish. If only to survive or to feed their egos, people and species have to eat one another, war with one another, and grab things from one another. On the more positive side, just about anything on earth adapts to a new place on it, that is a living thing--plant, animal, or human--not indigenous to a place but can be naturalized with some success. Coming to humans, as much as organizations, Nobel laureates, corporate partners, citizens, and world leaders claim to work for unity, there is no global understanding of shared concerns even though some scream their heads off about globalization, which in essence, means trade and commercial gains, and means nothing where true human values are concerned. If a true unity of humans were to be possible, there would be no wars and no divisions. This warring, divisiveness, and chomping on one another, I think, makes the earth a place of shame. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Write about a closed door and what's behind it. --- Funny you should ask! Right now, I have two closed-doors in the house. One is to my bedroom and the other to the study. The reason is a cat. I sort of adopted my son and daughter-in-law’s wayward cat, Noche, a black, eleven-year-old disturbed cat, who I taught I could train. Do I have a big head or what! My son was going to take her to a no-kill shelter, and I didn’t have the heart to let her in there as they had declawed her when she was a kitten, and I had also read that the unadopted cats in such shelters were handed out to medical research. In my bedroom, I have my bed, bedroom furniture, a few books, e-readers, and Kindle Fire pads. The room also has an adjacent bathroom and a walk-in closet. The reason Noche isn’t allowed in there is because she kept punishing my kids by peeing and pooping in their beds. Their crime was adopting another cat and a Cheshire Retriever after getting Noche. In the study, which used to be my husband’s, are his books, file cabinets, and a desk, and also the internet modem, which at this point, I am guarding with my life. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to write this. Do I get Noche’s peeing and pooping? So far, some pooping not on furniture but on the floor, which I clean easily. She does pee in the two litter-boxes I put in an extra bathroom, and sometimes, she poops in them, too. I also found out that she misbehaves when she’s afraid of something. In my son’s house, I think it was the big aggressive dog that started the whole thing. Noche needs a lot of love, now. At least two to three times a day, he meows to me for love and I pet her and play with her for at least a half-hour, each time. Last night, I was tired and cut the session short. Then at 5 AM in the morning, I heard her cries. I got up and played with her. This morning I found poop on the tiles. I guess it happened at 5 PM, when she felt bad. Noche is, in fact, a very loving cat, and I won’t give up on her, although I promised my son I wouldn’t take much from the cat and should she become unmanageable, he could take her to wherever he wants. Yet, I am quite sure that Noche is going to stay with me now. and the two closed doors will stay closed. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: Roari ∞ ’s "To My Muse" What do you do for Writer's block? Writer’s Block? Is there such a thing? I think we should be able to write whenever we wish, regardless of the outcome. In my opinion, Writer’s Block may happen when we expect perfection first, and second, while we are composing something and we hit a snag. That snag is not Writer’s Block. It is our mind asking for extra time and space to think out the problem in that specific work. When this happens, it is a good idea to leave that piece alone for a time and go to other projects. Searching for ideas is usually a good ploy to keep off the nervousness about writing. Another one is getting into the habit of writing every day, no matter what comes out of one’s pen. When all else fails, we can always write a review, a book review, or a letter. Just sitting down and noting whatever the eyes can see and the ears can hear is another thing, also. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: “Art completes what nature cannot bring to a finish,” says Aristotle. “The artist gives us knowledge of nature’s unrealized end.” What do you think about this connection between art and nature? --- It is said by those who study humans and human bodies that viewing art has the same effect of reducing stress levels as being in nature. I think this is because, even though we may live in crowded cities, we humans are not separate from nature. Then, as beautiful and fresh as nature can be, our assessment of it adds to it in a great way. In other words, what nature opens to our senses, the artist’s interpretation of it adds to it and makes it a collaborative experience. As an example, imagine yourself looking up at the sky on a starry night. Then look at Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Do you see the revolving energy and dynamism in those stars? This is what art brings to our senses and to what nature endows us with. Nature might have been here before humans arrived, and I can't help but imagine that it was created by its Creator partly to make it a source of inspiration for us to create, also. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From PandaPaws Licensed VetTech ’s "Invalid Item" Saluting the Brave Men and Women who fought in WWII. --- I did not serve in any war, but I was born during the end of WWII. So, I respect and applaud this special breed of people who exemplify to us honor, pride, dedication, valor, and service, and I am grateful to them for making the world a better place. The atrocities and the left-over negatives of wars are unimaginable. Those of World War II especially had to be the heaviest. Yet, they had been carried away and dealt with by these brave men and women, in ways I can’t even begin to imagine. When I was growing up, I was intentionally made to respect those in uniform, be it they might be in the military, law enforcement, firefighting, or from the ranks of first-responders. I don’t have grandchildren to instill such a respect but I think it is important to show those that put their lives in jeopardy to protect us and our nation. May we always have such heroes to fight for us and may they always feel our thankfulness. But most of all, may we become smart enough and astute enough to make sure those who badmouth our heroes are silenced forever. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Image by Lyn “Use this image to inspire your blog today. It's at Stonington Harbor in Maine, where my oldest son lives in Maine.” === Although the image here is gloomier than the other photos of Stonington Harbor I found online, it is probably more accurate of this place in winter than in summer. Granted, I have never been to Stonington, but I visited many other places in Maine, usually in summer and a couple of times in winter. I can also see how that rocky, fog-bound coast can affect its residents and play a central role in their lives. Chances are this image was taken from Route 1 that hugs the coast of Maine. This is only conjecture on my part, of course. What entranced me about the image were the rocks and their bunching up together. I always loved the rocks and climbing on them. That is, wherever we were if there were rocks to climb and make my mother crazy. I doubt I can do this anymore, but this image reminded me of those far-away times and also projected related images into my mind of the old clipper ships; although, I doubt they would dare to come too close to these rocks when the fog stood on guard over them for days at a stretch. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From Paul  ’s "Doug The Dog" “Life becomes more bearable with someone who loves you.” --- In my thinking, you either enjoy life or go with the flow. I never thought of it as being bearable or unbearable; however, when the tide turns against a person and they lose too much, especially the one they love the most, that unbearability factor shows its ugly head. Yes, someone who loves you makes life better. I won’t argue that, especially because I used to have such a someone with me for most of my life. Still, as a principle, I am not dumping the reasons for my being or happiness on any one person. First, it is too difficult for that someone to carry the burden of my being or happiness on their shoulders. Second, I am the one responsible for myself, provided my intellect and judgment isn’t harmed by disease, age, or stupidity. Then, life becomes stimulating when you look at how people do things. Right today, I learned that someone I know washes her vegetables in large loads in her clothes washer. Then she stores them in the veggie bin in her fridge. Well, that was news to me but interesting anyhow. I may have gone on a tangent here, but I was trying to make a point about making life bearable worthwhile on the worst of days. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: There are 83 days left in this year. Have you accomplished the goals you set back on the 1st day of this year? Have you set new goals with the intent to accomplish them in the last stretch? ===== I am not one for setting goals. They have never worked for me, and even when they did, their results were less than satisfactory. I think the reasons for this can be explained. First, goal setting creates an unneeded pressure while giving me a sense of failure. Then, while adding undue importance to a project and concentrating on its progress, I end up focusing on the result, and that cannot be a winning solution. I set, however, very short-term goals such as those on a daily basis or goals I need to take care of within days. Short-term stuff isn’t too difficult to handle. For all my incompetence with personal goal-setting, however, it is a fact that whenever I worked in a team, I was the one who stuck to the goal 100%. Maybe I am one of those people who do better work with a team. On the other hand, I can understand how goal setting can help a person. First, it gives them a target or a plan which may become a vehicle on the route to success. It encourages commitment and also clarity on the course they may want to take as vague goals do not motivate people. It is said that the most efficient people do set challenging goals and commit to them, and unlike me, they thrive on the social influences and the expectancies of other people. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From TheBusmanPoet  ’s "Decisions" Write about decisions. ===== Anyone can make decisions, snap-decisions or slow decisions that take their sweet time, but are they effective with good results? This is where the human judgment comes in. I think it may be better to take one’s time and make decisions based on the projected effectiveness of the results while examining the underlying realities of the problem and the work that needs to be taken care of. A decision may seem clever at the beginning, but it may not be sound. It is better, therefore, not to make very many decisions without thinking, unless one cannot help it with an urgent situation at hand. The trickiest decisions have to do with deciding between right and wrong. Even when the intention is good, it doesn’t mean the rightness or the wrongness of the matter is clear. I would say, classify and define the problem, then specify its answer, while testing the validity of the decision. Even then, unknown factors may be in the play. In short, decision-making is a risky project. |
| For "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: What do you think of the graphic depictions of violence in books, and is the threat or anticipation of violence in a story much more effective and frightening than any graphic depiction of it? --- I don’t care if the genre is horror or murder-mystery. I think there is no need for graphic depictions of violence anywhere in a book or in a movie for the simple reason that they shouldn’t serve as “how-to”s for the sick minds. Elongating the moments and filling the readers with anticipation of some cruelty or something sinister would work better. The more skilled authors like Dean Kuntz do this to perfection. Now, read this excerpt, which is a bit long for an excerpt, but I had to take the whole thing to make a point. Here the character is reacting to a shadow while under the influence of a nightmare. See how the author is elongating the moments to fill the reader with anticipatory terror. “She was probably still spooked from the dream that awakened her after midnight, the same one she'd had on a few other recent nights. The man made of dead, rotting leaves, a nightmare figure. Whirling, raging. Then her gaze dropped to her elongated shadow, which stretched across the close-cropped grass, draped the curb, and folded onto the cracked concrete pavement. Inexplicably, her uneasiness swelled into alarm. She took one step backward, then a second, and of course her shadow moved with her. Only as she retreated a third step did she realize that this very silhouette was what frightened her. Ridiculous. More absurd than her dream. Yet something in her shadow was not right: a jagged distortion, a menacing quality. Her heart knocked as hard as a fist on a door. In the severe angle of the morning sun, the houses and trees cast distorted images, too, but she saw nothing fearsome in their stretched and buckled shadows--only in her own. She recognized the absurdity of her fear, but this awareness did not diminish her anxiety. Terror courted her, and she stood hand in hand with panic. The shadow seemed to throb with the thick slow beat of its own heart. Staring at it, she was overcome with dread. Martie closed her eyes and tried to get control of herself.” From False Memory by Dean Kuntz. For: "Space Blog" Prompt: From SusanFarmer ’s "In the Midst of Tumult" "Choosing a stillness moment even as everything around us convulses." Everything around us is definitely convulsing with riots, COVID-19, the election, and soon, the holidays. What do you do to calm the insanity? ---- It isn’t what happens in the world but it is our reaction to it. Keeping a cool head in times of trouble isn’t easy, but one can do it if one is already prepared for it. As for me, a few decades ago, I learned meditation. It took a long time to really make it a habit, a habit that shows up on its own in times of trouble. It seemed frivolous to do this in those days, but I am happy I attempted it because now, the meditation thing comes to me automatically whenever something fearful or disturbing happens. Once one learns the technique, one can adapt it to his or her liking. One can, for example, incorporate the name of a Saint or God into it or let the meditative words stay as they are. What would have happened if I didn't know about and hadn’t learned meditation? Then, I would have to go with keeping myself busy and creating jobs to do and reading a lot, which is I always do anyway. Keeping busy has its plusses, and also, enjoying the nature helps, but for those of us living in big cities, nature isn’t easily accessible. Then, it is always a good idea to breathe deeply and think, “This too shall pass.” |
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