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Wow, this is old... way back from 2012. I'm going through some of my old G+ albums and I found this.
This is an old photo with some sort of app-applied filter. For some reason it inspired a short story. I actually still like the story and it's very different than the way I normally write or even think.
This is an old photo with some sort of app-applied filter. For some reason it inspired a short story. I actually still like the story and it's very different than the way I normally write or even think.
Mrs. Mildred D. Has a Secret
Up in the attic and in the farthest corner is a suitcase. As far as she knows, Mr. D. has never noticed it. He's never asked about it for the 64 years they've been married.
This old suitcase is the secret of her long marriage. It is the reason she has put up with over six decades of thankless household drudgery. It is the way she has dealt with those times when she felt depleted by endless worries and responsibilities. The secret suitcase represented freedom and fresh starts. It was like a talisman against those times when she felt invisible and craved nothing more than to just...to...go... away.
She packed it after the first big argument she and Mr. D. had. That was 60 years ago! Such a silly, insipid argument! Looking back, most of the arguments were silly. She loved her husband with her every breath. And though he was imperfect, she too was imperfect. They balanced each other.
And yet...still she kept the suitcase packed. Those old clothes stopped fitting her after her first child so many decades ago... but it was just the idea of freedom that kept that suitcase there. It was like having an ace up her sleeve. (Mr. D. would love that analogy!)
He's not well these days. Not well at all. Any hour might be the hour that he leaves her. She sits by his bedside and holds his hand. He cannot speak but he can see her. A thousand memories flash between them; a thousand lifetimes.
He's sleeping quietly now. With an great effort she climbs the attic stairs. When did they get so steep? When were there so many steps? She turns on the light by her suitcase. It's silly and stupid... but somehow she believes that if she empties this suitcase, her secret get-a-way bag, that somehow she can prolong those precious moments with her husband.
She snaps open the clasps.
Where she expected to see cheap cotton dresses and dulled white gloves;
where she expected to see her oldest hat and comfortable shoes and underclothing decades out of date....
She has instead found pictures of her and her beloved. There are black and white photos of her children too and colorful photos of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There are old love letters from her husband and little notes from her children. Mr. D. has put in simple artwork the kids drew and those the grandkids colored that depict stick figures in complete happiness. She is astounded that such simple figures can convey so much love!
There is much and more of pictures and documents and there is not a single garment or any of the hidden money she expected to find.
She climbs down the attic stairs. Somehow those steps seem as easy and short as they did 60 decades ago. She has a spring in her step as she enters the old bedroom she and her beloved have shared for so very, very long.
He is awake and smiling. He knows. How did he know? How long has he known?
It doesn't matter. Nothing ever mattered more than this moment between them.
Up in the attic and in the farthest corner is a suitcase. As far as she knows, Mr. D. has never noticed it. He's never asked about it for the 64 years they've been married.
This old suitcase is the secret of her long marriage. It is the reason she has put up with over six decades of thankless household drudgery. It is the way she has dealt with those times when she felt depleted by endless worries and responsibilities. The secret suitcase represented freedom and fresh starts. It was like a talisman against those times when she felt invisible and craved nothing more than to just...to...go... away.
She packed it after the first big argument she and Mr. D. had. That was 60 years ago! Such a silly, insipid argument! Looking back, most of the arguments were silly. She loved her husband with her every breath. And though he was imperfect, she too was imperfect. They balanced each other.
And yet...still she kept the suitcase packed. Those old clothes stopped fitting her after her first child so many decades ago... but it was just the idea of freedom that kept that suitcase there. It was like having an ace up her sleeve. (Mr. D. would love that analogy!)
He's not well these days. Not well at all. Any hour might be the hour that he leaves her. She sits by his bedside and holds his hand. He cannot speak but he can see her. A thousand memories flash between them; a thousand lifetimes.
He's sleeping quietly now. With an great effort she climbs the attic stairs. When did they get so steep? When were there so many steps? She turns on the light by her suitcase. It's silly and stupid... but somehow she believes that if she empties this suitcase, her secret get-a-way bag, that somehow she can prolong those precious moments with her husband.
She snaps open the clasps.
Where she expected to see cheap cotton dresses and dulled white gloves;
where she expected to see her oldest hat and comfortable shoes and underclothing decades out of date....
She has instead found pictures of her and her beloved. There are black and white photos of her children too and colorful photos of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There are old love letters from her husband and little notes from her children. Mr. D. has put in simple artwork the kids drew and those the grandkids colored that depict stick figures in complete happiness. She is astounded that such simple figures can convey so much love!
There is much and more of pictures and documents and there is not a single garment or any of the hidden money she expected to find.
She climbs down the attic stairs. Somehow those steps seem as easy and short as they did 60 decades ago. She has a spring in her step as she enters the old bedroom she and her beloved have shared for so very, very long.
He is awake and smiling. He knows. How did he know? How long has he known?
It doesn't matter. Nothing ever mattered more than this moment between them.
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Pike's Market Sign
I've been in a Seattle kind of mood this evening. Here is a digital painting made from my own photography.
#PikesMarket #Seattle #Washington #ByTheSea
I've been in a Seattle kind of mood this evening. Here is a digital painting made from my own photography.
#PikesMarket #Seattle #Washington #ByTheSea
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Neon of Pike's Market
Seattle, Washington
Pike's Market is such a vibrant, lively place to visit!
Shopping ranges from fresh flowers to fresh fish, clothing and jewelry, and many shops and stalls featuring items and foods both local and worldwide. And even if you don't intend to buy anything at all, it's worth the visit just to people watch.
I captured some of the neon signs down one of the wings of the market and then played with the photo digitally until I felt I had recreated a bit of the energy that is felt in the market.
#neon #PikesMarket #Washington #watercolor
Seattle, Washington
Pike's Market is such a vibrant, lively place to visit!
Shopping ranges from fresh flowers to fresh fish, clothing and jewelry, and many shops and stalls featuring items and foods both local and worldwide. And even if you don't intend to buy anything at all, it's worth the visit just to people watch.
I captured some of the neon signs down one of the wings of the market and then played with the photo digitally until I felt I had recreated a bit of the energy that is felt in the market.
#neon #PikesMarket #Washington #watercolor
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Bamboo Fountain
I love water symbology... flowing, raging, dripping, lapping, stagnating, pooling.... it speaks to me. I suppose if I had to identify with an earthy element, it would be water.
#BalboaPark #California
I love water symbology... flowing, raging, dripping, lapping, stagnating, pooling.... it speaks to me. I suppose if I had to identify with an earthy element, it would be water.
#BalboaPark #California
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Closed Until Spring
Stay warm everyone!!
A photo from my back yard on which I applied some digital effects.
It is in the single digits today but we only have a couple inches of snow. This was taken on a different day.
Stay warm everyone!!
A photo from my back yard on which I applied some digital effects.
It is in the single digits today but we only have a couple inches of snow. This was taken on a different day.
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My Nature Calendar is ready to order!
Take a look!
Take a look!
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Good Day to all my Google peeps! I hope you have an excellent weekend!
This is a Whimbrel I captured while at Dana Point, California.
This is a Whimbrel I captured while at Dana Point, California.
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A Boy and his Board
Made from a photo I took at Dana Point, California.
Made from a photo I took at Dana Point, California.
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