I went to visit a friend a few months back and while I was there, she had some visitors drop by. One was a woman in her early 30’s. We all sat for a while chatting and I eventually asked the question whether or not she was married. She said that she and her boyfriend…
Tag: flash memoir
Prompt: Emergency Surgery
I am sitting in the hospital tonight with my husband, who got sick last night, throwing up and then complaining of a pain in his right side. We were in the emergency room by 4 am, and he was in emergency surgery by 7, having his appendix removed. Now, he is in bed and I’m…
Prompt: Tootsie Roll
My daddy called me “Tootsie Roll,” and though I was a normal sized little kid, I realize now that it didn’t take too long before I saw myself slightly reminiscent of how a tootsie roll looks – rather thick. It didn’t help that when I was in junior high and I asked Daddy if I…
Getting Ready for Thanksgiving
It’s almost Thanksgiving and I’m excited. We have family coming and a few friends; there will be 10 in all. In past years, we’ve hosted as many as 20 so this seems rather small in comparison. Small is good. That means less stress and more opportunity to experiment with different recipes. The only sad aspect…
My Mother and the Turkey
I was ten-years-old the Thanksgiving my mother decided to cook. This wasn’t a good thing since she never cooked, but she decided that she didn’t want to order the usual ham for the main meal – turkey, after all, was what most people had for Thanksgiving – and she always gave our cook the Thanksgiving…
Prompt: Two Words for Nonfiction: Silence & Habit
Silence. The sound of silence. Simon and Garfunkel. “Hello, Darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.” Silence is a luxury in my life. Sounds accost me on every side. Right this very moment, cars are whizzing by outside, my dog is gnawing with great determination on her bone, and the clicking…
Prompt: Texas vs California
I am here at Dallas Love Field, heading back to LA after a weekend visit to Texas. I do this a lot since my husband and I are renovating a Queen Anne Victorian just north of Dallas, in the town of Sherman. This is home turf for me, having grown up just 25 miles from…
The Best Ingredients – To Be Published in Upcoming True Words from Real Woman Anthology
My Aunt Millie made the best egg custard I’ve ever tasted, creamy and rich with a perfect texture, not too runny, not too thick. This was one of my father’s favorite desserts, and when I was growing up, every three or four months, we’d drive the twelve miles out to the tiny town where Aunt…
Lorene and The Bra
Meal time in my house when I was growing up centered on lunch, and the cook was not my mother, god forbid, or my father, though he could make an impressive breakfast, but rather our housekeeper, Lorene, a big-boned black woman who wore a white uniform to work, Monday – Friday, from 8:30 – 2:30….
Observations in the Airport and Almost Left Behind
The young Indian woman sitting across from me is wearing black jeans, a black and white print top and a gray scarf covered in white polka dots. She’s talking on her phone, her dark hair pulled back in a long ponytail, her face bright as she chats, a look of expectation on her smooth-skinned face….
20 Minutes a Day 