Month: September 2016

Guest blog: Casual Conversation

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

I would like to introduce our new guest blogger known as, “sweetpea”.

 

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Casual Conversation

 

Wall: “Hi”
Ceiling: “Hello”– in a soft sweet voice
Wall: “How are you?”
Ceiling: “Fine, how do you like my new design and colors?”
Wall: “It doesn’t match me-I’m so drab. Besides, who’s going to like a ceiling that looks like a sunny blue sky, with fluffy white clouds.”
Ceiling: “I do !! I love it” –she’s a sweet little girl and likes pretty things. “Wonder if you will get a new look.”
Wall: “Don’t know yet. I saw some pictures in the corner over there, but nobody could do that !”
Ceiling: “Don’t keep me guessing.”
Wall: “Well, for starters, there’s a can of ecru. What’s ecru?”
Ceiling: “A Victorian cream.”
Wall: “Oh, no , how boring. You look beautiful and I’m still going to be dull and boring.”

 

The people leave. Both the wall and ceiling are unhappy. And they have all night to think about what will happen next.

 

Suddenly people are in the room, moving ladders and stirring paints. The wall and ceiling are attentive and watching. The wall is still mad about the ecru and the ceiling has decided she wants birds in her clouds.

 

Wall: “(pouting) says “you do look beautiful, I’m so so ugly.”
Ceiling: “Wait, look, here comes brown, black, several shades of green and even some blue. What’s that blue for?”
Wall: ” I’m all ecru now, I look so clean and pretty. Wonder what’s next? I’m really getting excited.”

 

All the people leave. Tomorrow is another day. But the ceiling and wall can’t wait for the sun to come up.

 

Wall: “Wake up the people are coming back.”
Ceiling: “Yes, but they are different people. You are really going to be different from me.”

 

People are milling around, opening cans, mixing colors, testing big brushes and little brushes. They are looking at the walls from all angles.

 

Ceiling: “We are both so excited.”
Wall: “And both of us can watch what is going to happen next.”
Ceiling: “Oh, look at the long brown and black lines. They are developing into a huge tree! They have texture, color and depth. They have so much color. Hey, look at that guy on the tall ladder, what’s he doing ? He has the green and is painting all kinds of beautiful
leaves. Can you see them? From this side I can see everything.”

 

Wall: “Oh ! ! I have developed into a stunning work of art, I feel like summer in the sun ! But I want more. The pictures in the corner, remember
those? Well they are drawings, I think more is coming.”
Ceiling: “You always want more, but you are the greatest–I love you.”
Wall: blushing….” I love you too. Hey, sorry I didn’t feel your excitement earlier, look at me..I’m a wonderful tree!”

 
The people clean up again, they are so neat, we can really see so much while they’re gone.

 
Ceiling: “We are alone again to see the art. There is a little light in the corner and it adds so much ambience in ‘our’ new room.”
Wall: “Try to sleep, tomorrow should be a big day and so much fun. So, I wonder what is next?

 
And the people arrive…there is the little girl, she has come to look. She smiles and reaches to touch me, she says how real I am….WOW I’m a real tree ! !

 

Ceiling: “look, they are measuring her….strange….now those drawings are coming from the corner. Look the drawings are a tree house”
Wall: “I will be special, with my own real, live tree house.”

 

Carpenters begin to measure, cut, saw, hammer, nail boards, tie ropes and paint bright colors
and build a real live tree house in the corner , right in the tree.

 

Wall: “I can’t believe we are part of a real play room….the tree house fits the little girl exactly. She can climb up and peep out of the openings
By the ceiling….right by the tree…..

 

Ceiling: ” I can see her, she is a pleasant little doll. Suddenly she begins whistling. Look ! Look ! they’re opening the blue paint. We’re getting
Blue Birds of Happiness.

 
The sun shines brightly through the Windows, the colors are so real…….the playroom is done. The little girl comes back, with her little brother

 

Little Girl: “When you get as tall as me, you can climb into the tree house with me…we will have a picnic.”

 
As the Blue Birds of Happiness take flight from their nooks in the tree and from the sky ….all is good in the very special playroom………

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This picture and the picture of the sweet peas were found on the internet for free.

How ya like my hat?: Mack in the hat.

/ Jim McDonald / 6 Comments

How ya like my hat?: Mack in the hat

 

big-hat-2

Picture taken 2013

 

do not like
my silly hat
called Mack in
my silly hat
cheaply bought
my silly hat
green and white is
my silly hat
Mack in the hat with
my silly hat
tall and awkward is
my silly hat
little too tight is
my silly hat
I did not want
my silly hat
giveth away
my silly hat

 

By Jim McDonald

Your three words, my little story: Gwyn’s words

/ Jim McDonald / 4 Comments

Your three words, my little story
Gwyn’s words: innocuous, glare & copacetic

 

George, Wally and Popper normally sit under the shade tree in front of Popper’s apartment building. They didn’t sit there everyday, but often enough to become a sidewalk fixture on the west side of the park.

 

They were an INNOCUOUS group of older men from Sloan; they didn’t bother anyone, except for Betty. She worked in the diner on the other side of the park; so, they flirted with her all the time. She loved the attention.

 

Betty walked out of the same building Popper lives in and asked, “How you fellas doin’?”

 

Wally said, “Everything’s COPACETIC Betty. What’s happening in your neck of the woods?”

 

“Did you all hear about the body behind the clinic?”

 

George said, “Not much, but we did see the Sheriff and the ambulance across the street the other day.”

 

Popper said, “We couldn’t see much, because of the GLARE coming off of my car. What happened?”

 

“Don’t know guys! Dr. G found a dead guy next to the dumpster, that’s all I know.”

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Some stranger from Wilson. I do know that much.”

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Taken in PA 2015

True story: George

/ Jim McDonald / 4 Comments

The following is an excerpt from the novel I’m writing and it is a true story. Please do not confuse my brother, George, in real life with the fictional character, George, in my short story, “Family Doctor”.

True story: George

 

While living in Maryland, I heard through the grapevine that I was going to get arrested for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. I had to make moving plans quickly; so, I asked my mom if she would watch my sons for the summer. Without hesitation she replied, “Of course I will!” I could always depend on Mom to rescue me, and this time was no exception.

 

My girlfriend came by later and when I explained the situation, responded, “I understand you gotta go, but I can’t leave everything and just split like that. However, I will check on the boys occasionally. Call me when you get settled. Maybe I’ll come visit.” She helped me build a bed and storage area. Afterwards, we filled the storage area with traveling supplies and I left the next day.

 

I headed to California by way of Florida, when I stopped at a condominium job site on a beach in Norfolk, VA. I got a job as a framer. My plan was to earn a weeks’ wages; but that’s not what happened. My dog, Blue, and I lived in the van and on the beach for almost three weeks. I would fish for dinner and talk to the locals about the area. I decided to stay there and I sent for my sons, Jamie and Billy, a couple of months later.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Jamie, Billy, my girlfriend, Diane, and I went back to Mom’s place for a week’s visit, because my brother-in-law’s dad died during open heart surgery. We were in the living room watching television the second night, when my brother, George, came in drunk. He was drinking Schlitz, the same beer dad drank before he died of cancer. I asked, “How are ya?”

 

He barely garbled, “Hi!”, then went back to his bedroom.

 

The following morning, Mom anxiously woke me up. She had gone to George’s room to ask if he wanted breakfast. When she opened the door and saw him, she knew something was wrong. She begged, “Jim will you please check on George?”

 

I went back to his room and found him sitting in bed. As I approached, I saw six distinct streams of blood trailing from his eyes, nose and mouth. Steading myself, I caught my breath, and walked even closer. That’s when I saw his .357 Magnum laying in his hand by his right hip.

 

Mom asked, “Should I call the ambulance?”

 

I replied, “No mom, call the morgue.” Mom started crying uncontrollably. Because I was in shock, that’s all I could say; I realized later, that probably wasn’t the right thing to say, but there was no question he was dead.

 

He loaded his own shells, so he knew how to make somewhat muted bullets. We figured he probably waited for the train to roll by, before he pulled the trigger.

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North Carolina or Georgia; I’m not sure exactly where I took the picture.

 

 

Past, present & plans: 9-17-16

/ Jim McDonald / Leave a comment

Past, present & plans 9-17-16

Past

I was eleven years old, when my brother, George, and I tried out for the Hughesville Pony League baseball team. Neither one of us could hit, throw or catch. We were terrible, but we had a reason; the only thing I ever did with a baseball glove was throw a rubber ball against a building and caught it when it bounced back to me. George didn’t do that much.

 
Dad was probably as embarrassed as we were, so he took a little part of the farm land and made us a baseball field. Immediately we started practicing our hitting, pitching and fielding. We would listen to the Washington Senators baseball team on our transistor radio and took turns as the pitcher and the catcher. Every time the big league team would switch batting and fielding we would switch pitching and catching.
We made the team the following year.

Present

I couldn’t reach my writing buddy, Matt, today, so I went to the local, “Life Journey Writers Guild” in Waldorf, by myself. We heard about the meeting two weeks ago; so, this was my first time there. It’s a two hour session that meets once a month.

 
I feel I can learn a lot and it will be a good networking element. It will cost twenty five dollars annually, which I will gladly scrape together. I’m anxious for next month’s meeting, since I really enjoyed myself.

Plans

Yesterday, we added a guest blogger, Gwyn Warren, and I can’t wait for her next story. Tomorrow I hope to add another guest blogger who will go by the pen name, “sweetpea” with a lower case, “s”.

 
I have been slacking a little on my writing the last couple of days, so I think I will catch up tomorrow before and after the Redskins one o’clock game.