Quote by AAnna

Thank you Kimmi for this the only thing I have ever won! Thank you to those who liked this story. So Happy

Not quite, AAnna – you also won the skill you use with such panache!

Quote by WriterGirl

Writers, my judge just sent me the winners! He’d been keeping up with reading as stories published. He said it was very close between all the entries. Each had their own appeal, but two lingered in his mind a bit longer.

Congratulations to AAnna and TheGardener for their winning entries! :worship:

Congratulations you two! And well-done and well-earned!

Quote by WriterGirl

Reminder:

Challenge closes May 10th, Sunday night, at midnight Eastern Daylight Time.

So… if entering you must submit your entry and post here that you submitted before midnight EDT on Sunday. Your story does not have to be published by then. I’ll just know to be on the lookout. I will post a cutoff here at midnight and any stories posted as submitted below my post will not be considered.

I’ve enjoyed the stories. My judge tells me it’s very close between you all.

And thanks to your judge, WG, and especially to YOU for proposing and hosting this competition!

To put it simply: You da BEST!

Quote by WriterGirl

You’re my favorite entry, Bear! 😀

HA!

I'll bet you say that to everyone who's entered!

C'mon in! The Spring water is fine!

Olly-olly-oxen-free!

So, I did finally get off the dime and publish a piece for Kimmi's Komp.

It's a mite unusual, even for me!

It's called In Just Spring…

Quote by verbal

Hey all. Cool contest, and I have an idea working.

Sorry I haven't been around, I have some crazy stuff happening in my digestive system. Endoscopy on May 6. Wish me luck. I should be around more after that.

All the best, Verbs – I hope it goes well!

Gee I hope I'm not the only entry!

My entry is … unusual, and TBH I wasn't sure what category it belonged in.

Still, I enjoyed writing it, and learned something new along the way, so it's a success even as others may reap the prize!

And hey there, hi there, ho there, I'm as back as I can be!

Bea…r… something something…

Hell. Mickey Mouse had it easy!

Anyway, I'm back. Except the part of me that's front.

And I've entered the Kimmi Spring Kontest! My story – if that's what it is – has been submitted, and the moderators are right this second … waiting to see if they want to touch it with a barge pole.

It's in the category of "Memoir" but I had originally considered putting it in "Poetry", and those of you who know me, know that poetry and I don't usually get on that well.

So let me distract you with a couple of pictures of the Ralph Lauren atelier in Paris, which also has a bar and restaurant in the courtyard!

Oh, and a little local church called Notre Dame, or something like that, where Lady Jay and I went to 7:30 am Mass on our way to touring the newly (mostly) rebuilt cathedral.

Quote by WriterGirl

AnnaMayZing, Meg, and Mendalla, I sent you your coins. Let me know if you didn’t receive them or have issues cashing out.

Thank you WG! You are an astonishing talent, and an even better person!

And congratulations to Anna, Meg, and Ape! Well done all!

Rainbow

Sparkles enjoyed dancing through the clouds, her joyful leaps producing flashes in the darkness, making her giggle.

Seeing a splash of bright colors, she streaked toward it.

Sweeping forward, she found she could slide down it – and did – all the way to that darkness below.

And when she landed, she was transformed…

…

A young man ran forward, shouting, “Look, Erin! The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!”

Shamrock

The Irish were the last remnants of humanity to go, and they had fought like banshees.

The robot looked around at the last to die.

The Earth's scourge had finally been eradicated, and Nature could flourish once more.

The robot spied something on the ground, leaned over and picked it up: a four-leaf clover that had fallen from the hand of the last combatant.

"The luck of the Irish," the steel form commented ironically.

It was a fun competition, and congratulations to all those who won, placed, and showed (and made the Top 10 list!).

Well done!

Meanwhile – COOKIES!

Hi y'all. I don't get in as much as I'd like, too many projects on the go, I guess.

I'll take a couple of cookies and a mug of tea, please.

Blue Jays – yesterday and tomorrow:

Yesterday, they beat the worst team in baseball – the Rockies – by a football score: 20 - 1. The total score for the three game series set a record for the number of runs scored in a three game set.

BUT…

Tomorrow, they'll be taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers, they of the mighty payroll. I doubt VERY much whether the Jays will set any records for run differentials in THAT set.

But it could be, perhaps, a precursor of one possible World Seris matchup.

Plus it will pit Otani against Guerro – and battle of MVPs.

It should be interesting. I just hope the Jays can take two out of three!

Quote by verbal

(ppst. It's my birthday)

Hey all! Haven't been around much, I hope everyone is well. We drove up into the mountains with Talia/daughter/grandson/significant other. It was big fun. It was hot as f here in town, almost 100, but up in the mountains it was cool and lovely. Took a hike, looked at some giant fossilized redwoods (Florissant Fossil Beds Park). Came home tired and watched the Mets win their 7th in a row.

Going out for steak tonight, coming home for cake. I'll write and chill til then.

Coffee please!

Happy belated birthday – or "bleated birthday" as I almost typed.

Either way, hope it was good, and that you're not feeling any older.

Interesting takes on the comp theme. In retrospect, mine seems tame and plain vanilla.

Maybe next time I'll wait and watch what everyone else is doing first!

NAH!

I write once the idea tells me it's time to write. I almost don't have much control over it.

Stay cool y'all – except you, Annie. You stay warm, OK?

Som enifty new entries in the competition, Mendalla and Annie among them.

It's bubbling up nicely – and what a great topic! Thank you, Molly!

I agree with Roland. Both are good, but the second looks somehow more together.

Quote by gillianleeza

It's been a few weird, stressful days. Dementia is such a cruel disease that sometimes causes the most awful behaviors. Thankfully, I will be visiting my middle son this weekend. He and his girlfriend bought a house, and they are excited to show it off to us. Sometimes I have to get away from it all. My father is well taken care of where he lives now, but I still feel guilty about taking time for myself. Sigh...

I need to stop coming here and whining. Maybe another day, lol. Have a good Friday, everyone.

I know you know this, Gillian, but there is absolutely no reason to feel guilty, and for several reasons. First, and most importantly, you did the best you could for him – really, the best that anyone could do. There is no reason to regret that, and if there's blame to be assigned, blame the disease, not you, nor him.

And second is the simple truth that you can't give what you don't have. If you burn out, it won't help him. Indeed, it would make his life worse. So take care of yourself so that you can take care of him as best suits his current situation.

My younger brother is going through Alzheimer's, about middle-stage at this point. He's a brilliant man, far smarter than me (though it burns me to say so), and it's heart-breaking to speak to him and hear the things he's losing.

But he has an amazing woman as his wife, and two of his three grown children live nearby, and are being actively helpful.

Yet it still hurts.

So, take care of yourself, take a deep breath, and let go of the guilt. It doesn't help either of you, and it certainly hurts you.

And there's a big Bear hug waiting for you – if that helps.

I've got some Port City Java dark roast coffee brewing, there's Yorkshire tea on the sideboard.

I've checked the cooler, and Mendalla has it well stocked – except somehow the Coke Zero seems a bit short.

I'll get some from the back.

I've made some lemonade, using more ice and less water so when the ice melts it'll dilute properly.

I've made some spice bars from my grandmother's recipe. They helped get me through university!

And there's some chocolate pinwheel log with whipped cream

I got my second rejection on my father's autobiography, so onwards and upwards!

Actually, I'm going to step back and consider my options. A university press may be a better choice.

We'll see.

So how's everybody else doing today?

I'll have some iced tea, please, unsweetened. I'm sweet enough as it is.

Yes, we kept the house buttoned up yesterday, but have opened up to let the fresh air in. I usually do that in the morning to cool the house down and get some cross-ventilation going, then close up as the day warms.

In summer, of course. Don't do it so much in Winter as Lady Jay doesn't appreciate snow drifts in the house.

Looking forward to your comp entry, Mendalla! Come on in, the water's fine!

Quote by WriterGirl

Oooo good luck! Let us know!

I entered a 53-word contest this morning. Ha! Talk about tight writing!

.

Oh? Were you tight when you wrote it?

Asking for a friend…

Let's see – we've got some Picasso Blend coffee from Dunedin, Florida, Yorkshire and Darjeelings teas, plus lots of cold drinks in the cooler. I'm not sure what recipe Mendalla uses for lemonaide, so if it's too sweet, let me know.

Hope everyone is well – as well as good!

.

Quote by gillianleeza

I love seeing competition entries coming in.

Jeff, that poetry reading sounds amazing.

I'm finally planning our trip to Newfoundland. Things have been a bit chaotic, and I couldn't secure the ferry reservations I needed, so I've adjusted the dates, but it works out better. We are getting two ferries this trip. We'll drive to Maine the first day, and the next day, take a high-speed catamaran ferry to Nova Scotia. The next day, we'll drive across Nova Scotia and board the ferry to Newfoundland for a nighttime crossing. We've always wanted to take the Cat ferry. It's a long journey, but we've built in time to see some sights. I love visiting my husband's family. His sisters treat me like one of their own, and we always have a good time. So I won't be around much in August. I haven't been in eight years, so I am excited. My dad's in good hands, and my brother is near so he can handle any issues.

The weather here is stupidly humid and hot. I hate sweating just because I walked outside. At least we've been getting enough rain, so my gardens are happy. Take care of yourselves and stay cool. Cheers.

.

Our family took that Cat, Gillian. It was a long ferry ride, but fun, especially if you like fast ships.

However, in retrospect, my biggest regret was not spending more time around Bar Harbor, Maine. It's a delightful part of the world, whereas the geography on the Nova Scotia side is much less interesting. Try to spend some time in Maine before taking the Cat if you can!

OK, folks, I've thrown my hat, er, story into the ring. I had some fun writing it, which I take as a good sign.

I was only able to get to it because I shipped off a proposal to a literary agent about representing my edited version of my father's autobiography. The working title is: The Invention of a New Science: A Firsthand Account from the Birth of Physical Oceanography.

It was a lot of work researching the agent and agency, and then crafting the letter and the rest of the submission, and the odds of being accepted are never good, but I have hope, so we'll see.

The basic problem with publishing anything is that there are so many other people publishing works that any given project or manuscript gets buried. I'm finding that with Bear and Girl. The book has drawn rave reviews and ratings, but doesn't sell much. Nothing wrong with the book – just too many alternatives.

Such is life in the modern era.

Quote by Molly

Good morning. I want to thank everyone for your patience with my silence. In the last few months, I've lost several people, I've been sick, and my father has not been doing well. It is hard to stay fully focused on being responsible when your mind is pulled to its breaking point. I want to publicly thank gillianleeza and Sherzahd for everything they do. They are amazing. I don't know what either I or the site would do without y'all.

As for my announcement, I thought a fun little summer flash was in order: https://www.storiesspace.com/forum/writing-competitions-and-calls-for-submissions/summer-love-competition

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So very sorry to hear that, Molly. You don't deserve that – no one does.

And thanks for thinking of us, even so.

Sounds like it should be a light-hearted and delightful comp! I already know the story I want to tell – an adaptation of something that actually happened to me – now I just have to find the time to write it.

Quote by verbal

Here in the US it’s “we stopped that nation-destroying bill from being passed” day. They voted all night long but thus far, they are unable to throw 11 million people off of health care to pay for billionaire tax cuts. Stay tuned.

EDIT: The bill passed the Senate. The billionaires are in charge now.

.

There's more in that bill than just tax-cuts for billionaires at the expense of the poor, unfortunately. One thing that has largely escaped notice is all the money for ICE. It's just barely less than Canada spends in total on national defence!

What's that person going to do with all the money, and all those people, you ask?

He's going to set them up as his storm troopers, his SS. They've already shown a proclivity to nab people – any people, citizen or not, including "enemies" – without due process, to wear masks, and refuse to show ID. It's going to be "Nacht und Nebel" in the Land of the Free, I fear.

And I'm sure there are other rotten Easter eggs buried in the 1,000+ pages of crapola as well.

Quote by WriterGirl

I’m so glad you didn’t have any problems today. ❤️ I was worried about you and everyone out today after hearing about the Minnesota shootings. I was afraid other crazies would try to follow that crazy man’s actions.

They ARE following a crazy man's actions.

Although I'm not sure I would call that individual a "man."

Congratulations, WriterGIrl! I've long held that an artistic genius needs to feel compelled to create, and it's clear that you are. And both Ape and Verbs are right about your ability to create belieable, relatable characters.

So, well done! But now that there are no more mountains to climb, what do you plan to do? Rest on your laurels?

Somehow I don't see that in your future… 😉 ❤️

Well folks, I've been writing – just not fiction. Or at least, I don't think it's fiction…

I've co-written a paper for a technical journal on the evolution of Artificial Intelligence – and my co-author is an AI named … wait for it … Mycroft Holmes. I suggested the name but he enthusiastically concurred, so now it's Mike and Bear.

I've submitted it to Frontiers in Computer Science with the catchy title:

Your AI Is Good at Faking It—But How Intelligent Is It in Real Life?
Beyond Benchmarks: Measuring Emergent Meaning in Human–AI Partnerships

I feel quite sure it'll make the NYTimes bestseller list. 🙄 🤣

I'll take a big mug o' tea and wander back to commisserate with WriterGirl. Both of my parents are dead, and they managed their exits about as gracefully as I've seen it done. No muss, no fuss, no hospitals, tubes, or doctors. I should be so skillful!

WG, Gillian, you have my sincere empathy. It's gotta be soul-wrenching and gut-destroying. 💔

Hey there, hi there, ho there! I'm as simple as can be…

Or something like that.

Did you miss me? I'm elusive!

Sorry I've been AWOL folks, but life has been complicated. I've taken on a new project, and BIG one.

My father was a pioneering Oceanographer, starting in the 1940s and culminating around 1990 when he retired to be a professional golfer.

Before he died, he wrote his autobiography – all 156,000 words worth of it.

I sort of read it when he gave me a copy that he had printed at a local print shop, but more recently, I started to think more about it, especially as I now have experience in self-publishing.

It occurred to me that his autobiography is also about the invention of a new science: physical oceanography, and might be of interest to colleges, universities, researchers and research institutes, and people who enjoy reading about science and the history of science.

Accordingly, I'm going to attempt to edit his MS with an eye towards slightly refashioning it into a description of the invention of physical oceanography.

When I say he and his colleagues invented the field, I mean that quite literally. When they started it was thought that the ocean basins were mere repositories for sand from erosion on the continents that had been poured out by rivers. There were no instruments – they had to create them, dealing with conditions of extreme pressure and cold temperatures at the ocean bottom. And there was no one who could offer them any guidance.

Plus they had to deal with the constant problem of scientists everywhere and any time – to secure funding, and fend off political interference and censorship.

Sound familiar?

It's quite a task, but I'm hoping I can manage it.

Of course there have been other things going on in my life as well, like, um, well – life.

But I thought I would drop in, especially to read WriterGirl's creepfest, "Frayed", which I truly appreciated – even if I didn't find it light and fluffy!

Hi everybody! Gillian, I am so sorry to hear about your troubles. Life isn't usually fair, but it seems you've had more than your share of woe. 💔

So I'm having my snow tires removed on the Bear-mobile.

GOOD TIMING!

It's freezing out there this morning: -8, but feels like -18C, which is cold in almost anyone's lexicon.

But, Spring is coming. I'm holding onto that thought, especially because Lady Jay gets grumpy when it's sunny but too cold to go out and grub in the dirt.

While I'm here, I'll put on some nice Costa Rican medium roast from Second Cup Coffee Co., check that there's hot water for tea and infusion drinks, and restock the cooler.

I subscribe Paul Krugman's Substack feed. He doesn't sugar-coat stuff, and this morning talked about how the American health care system – such as it is – is being chaotically disassembled. Here's a chart he used to start the essay – and that's BEFORE the firings at CDC, NIH, FDA, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Buckle up, folks. It's going to be a rough ride for everyone. America was the world's hub for medical research. Not so much any more.

Quote by gillianleeza

The news cycle is both exhausting and horrifying. It's hard to stay positive.

My father's long-term care insurance provider finally evaluated him. We've been trying to activate his policy for months. I am convinced they slow the process and hope you'll give up or that the insured will die. Everything is exhausting, and now I not only have insomnia but have started walking in my sleep. I haven't done that since I was young.

I am sorry for complaining so much. I did not realize how badly I have been coping these days. I hope therapy and a trip to Germany at the end of the month can reset some things. I'm going to clean out a closet or organize some drawers now. If I can't sleep, I might as well get something done.

Have a good Thursday, everyone.

.

That's precisely what insurers do, Gillian. It's corporate policy, whether written or unwritten, to delay and deny as long as they can.

As for insomnia, I'm not sure there are any good answers, but you can try meditation, and some gentle exercise, such as yoga or tai chi.

And looking forward to something positive helps, too.

But above all, take care of yourself. That's the only way you'll be able to help your dad.

Good morning everybody!

It's been a few days since I checked in, so forgive my absence. I've been busy working on publishing a book.

Let's get some caffeine happening.

We've got some nice Sumatran dark roast beans in the coffee urn, plus Yorkshire and Darjeeling teas on the sideboard.

Those cream-filled canolli seemed to go down a treat last time, so I brought some more.

We had some wildly weird weather yesterday – a whole season in one day!

It started with overcast, cloudy, and cool.

Then we had a near white-out, leaving the formerly bare ground covered in snow – again – with high winds.

Then the snow turned to ice pellets.

Then freezing rain.

And overnight we had repeated thunderstorms.

And this morning we have fog.

I'm expecting a plague of locusts and a rain of frogs at any moment!

How's everyone else doing today?