Various Prompted Writings I

I regularly check into the Creativity Portal to read any interesting articles. They have a writing prompt generator that randomly asks a question to be answered or starts an idea - to give writers like myself something different and sometimes quite unexpected to write about. It's great practice. Here I have included some of my latest prompts and my answers:

PROMPT: You can go back to your childhood for one day. What day and age will you choose? ANSWER: Fourth grade - girl scout trip to Washington DC - the Air & Space Museum - the first time I ever went to DC - all the airplanes and space vehicles. The Wright Brothers' plane, the Red Baron's, Spirit of '76. WOW!

Why was this my answer? Because most of my childhood was so harrowing - every day since I was 4 years old - continuous chaos that was out of mine or anyone in my family's control to do a damn thing about. Trust me when I say I tried. That trip was like a vacation from Hell on Earth for me. Heck, going to the scout meetings once a week was an escape to a different world - the one everyone else lived in. I just needed to connect with other humans who were not living in my world.

I remember a lot of the details from that trip like as if it happened just yesterday. As a matter of fact this is the exact topic for my English 101 essay at CCAC that for reasons unknown to me - because my teacher NEVER gave the reason - got an F - except she said aloud in class I would likely get an A when she read the rough draft. I don't know why this woman did this - but I found out months later that she started giving all F's to another student - a young woman who was getting all A's. The only thing she and I had in common with respect to the class was neither of us went to Mrs. Stein's house to help her paint - which took place between her reading my rough draft and my handing in the final draft. So, I concluded that this must obviously be the reason. When the other girl told me her story, I then realized that it was nothing I had actually done wrong and that there was likely nothing legitimately wrong with my paper in the first place.
This other girl got a D for the course - but I took an F partly because my grades on the previous two papers were C, B, and A, respectively - and mostly because I knew somehow - that this teacher had absolutely no intentions of giving me a fair grade - esp. when she refused to explain the F - she knew damn well that whatever it was she gave me the F for was bogus because she did not have the nerve to tell me to my face or on the returned paper itself. Fortunately, that nastiness is long past and does not affect me now - I do not see how it could. Even if the problem with my paper was legit - I have redeemed myself many times over, since.

Well, it was more than ten years ago and since then I have gotten A's on 99% of all of my papers - with the rest of the legitimately graded ones getting nothing less than a B, at the worst. One of my motto's in life is: Fool me once, shame on you - Fool me twice, shame on me - I never give anyone who treats me in such a way another chance to do it again. I walked out of that classroom with that F, thus falling on my sword so to speak, since it was too late to withdraw and never returned and never looked back - except to wonder what kind of unprofessional lowlife of a teacher Mrs. Stein was and hoping that CCAC fired her for being like that. She is a woman without honor and a backstabber - very corrupt.




PROMPT: 10 Possible titles for my dream novel:
1) An American Werewolf
2) The Wolf Pack
3) A Werewolf Abroad
4) Adventures of SuperWolf
5) A Modern Werewolf
6) The Wolf Gang
7) Wolf Brother
8) Lunari
9) WolfCon
10) The Lupine

As you can see, my dream novel is one about a really hip, cool, neato werewolf who is more superhero than anything else. The first of his kind to be a non-killing werewolf - with some really interesting supporting characters including Natan - the White Egyptian 'wolf' who is none other than Ahkenaten (Osiris) of tell El Amarna (who is Mick's special guide). Mick (the starring werewolf who has some really cool and interesting and new abilities), Mike (Mick's best friend and primary bond mate and Texan farmboy), and Quincey Morris (Yes, the character from Dracula, who is Mike's grandfather - the first American werewolf - first founder of the Underground railroad - major military commander under Lincoln - and a werewolf and vampire hunter - quite deadly - using martial arts and specially made double katana swords - werewolves' and vampires' worst nightmare).

Add to this that Quincey and most of the world's werewolves have been missing since World War II when they helped to rescue - among other things - folks in the Nazi deathcamps - Quincey made a truce w the others if they would help. Only two werewolves escaped, Natan and Lucas. As a matter of fact, the reason Natan has white 'fur' is because he was very badly tortured by the Nazis - yeah, they were caught. Imagine Dr. Mengela finding 'immortal' werewolves in the camps and undermining the Third Reich's deadly agenda - not a pretty sight. This is just a bit of the details of the story. So, this is the first major plot after Mike and Mick gather the rest of their 'family' and find Lucas to get information about the others' whereabouts - since Natan's memory of the event is not good due to being tortured. They need to find the rest of the werewolves, release them from their imprisonment, and unleash them upon the world once again to hunt down and destroy the terrorists building up in the Middle East.

We know they are all still alive because their mates and other 'family' members still survive - and the mates have a telepathic/empathic bond - being the primary bond. Except in Mick's case - since his mate was not to be found in time - but Mike's personality seemed to be a good counter and control against Mick's impulsive and sometimes downright silly nature - Natan convinces Mike to take on the task - not an easy task, even for an old Egyptian Pharaoh. This turns out to have the desired effect - keeping Mick from becoming a natural born killing machine like every werewolf that ever existed. This unprecedented bond had some other odd consequences - esp. when the mate was finally found.

I am still developing character traits for the story - which I hope to start officially writing for NANOWRIMO this year. A lot of Quincey's story will likely be prequel material - since I have been researching the character - I've actually found a couple more interesting things to add to his repertoire - a physicist, mathematician, engineer, and medical doctor - plus an attorney - which happens to be how he me Lincoln. There's definitely going to be a serious alternative history feel to this - one as close to reality as I can possibly make it. I actually looked up the name to see if there is a mention of such a person - other than the character from Dracula - Bram Stoker had to get the idea for the character from somewhere and likely a real live person. Yes, this detail gets worked into the story. The US Military knows Quincey's secret, this is kind of obvious - since he is still one of their top commanders - though considered MIA. I did not have much luck so far in researching this character - but I think I have enough - the additions I have above were all I found and in some eerily coincidental ways.



PROMPT: 10 Things I think are crucial for me to be happy:
1) Mate/husband/significant other.
2) Social Life
3) Money
4) Support network
5) Projects to work on - big and small - scientific - artistic - homebound
6) Friends - the more the better
7) Music
8) Books
9) Sunshine
10) Freedom



PROMPT: Did you receive your education somewhere other than school?

• Nature
• Universal room service
• Learned to keep (hoard) important things - from Aunt Sadie, Uncle Steve, and grandma - like old bills, just in case - paperwork - research materials - term papers I got A's on - and some I believe I should have if certain folks were ethical and decent teachers. Clutter is definitely a problem for me - but in the final analysis this stuff was important to save.
• Learned how to clean from mom, gram, and aunt Esther - and - granted, the house - or apartment was a nighmarish mess - mostly because we learned early on that any attempts at cleaning were futile when my brother was home - he would literally make it worse than it was in the first place just hours after we would clean a single room - or even a kitchen counter. It was literally a waste of time and energy - and money to even bother - unless he was gone for months at a time. So, it wasn't a matter of not knowing how - my gram's apartment was always immaculate - like a palace - and if things were quiet and peaceful at home - mom's bedroom was fit for a queen.
• Museums and Science Centers
• Learned to enjoy novels, reading, and pretty things from Aunt Esther.
• Animals, including my pets.
• Learned how to live my life around any and all obstacles from Aunt Esther (blind from Macular Degeneration) and Stephen Hawking (In his A Brief History of Time).
• Learned survival skills - at home, obviously - and Girl Scouts.
• Novels
• Television
• Nonfiction
  
• Learned to not hold myself back from accomplishing all that my heart desires just for being female - this I learned at home - there were very strong women in my family - and girl scouts.
• Another favorite motto of mine is: What does not kill you, makes you stronger - and I have literally been to hell and back several times and it's no joy ride. I am not sure who coined this motto or the one above - but they are truly words to live by.

PROMPT: Describe a place you remember from your childhood.

Similar answer to above: Washington DC - Our nation's capital.

Mount Vernon - Arlington Cemetery: tomb of Kennedy w Eternal Flame and watched the changing of the guards on tomb of unknown soldier. I guess that was before they invented dog tags. Big graveyard - lots of crosses - and famous dead politicians.

Lincoln Memorial:
"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation. Conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal..." (Gettysburg Address). I love Abe Lincoln - our one true philosopher "king" and a good man - a very good man.

The White House:
Home of the sitting president. Reagan's home when I was there, but he was not home at the time. A great big Grecian-style mansion with many offices and large banquet rooms.

The FBI Building and the Jefferson Memorial

The Capitol building:
Photo shoot with a senator - don't ask me which one - it's written down on an old photo somewhere. Another beautiful building - lots of steps. I remember a breathtakingly beautiful crystal chandelier in a staircase. And one legend, told to us by the tour guide in the basement - in front of the gates to Lincoln's tomb and next to a statue of his head with an ear missing because the sculptor Lincoln died before his time. The Legend: A giant black panther stalks the Capitol building and has been seen at other locations throughout the city - just before our country goes to war. Workers and senators - among others have seen this creature.

Smithsonian - American History Museum:
Fonzi's jacket from Happy Days, the original Howdy Doody - a character my mom told me about and I saw a few snippets on television about before I saw him behind the glass case, and Judy Garland's ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. The US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independance. Also, the First Ladies' dresses.

And of course the Air & Space Museum - my all time favorite - which I got to see a second time just a few years ago - at which time they were still installing a full size Space Shuttle - but I couldn't see much of it behind the barricade - only enough to know damn well what it was - those kinds of things just cannot be hidden. The Apollo Spacecraft, space satellites - and many airplanes from different times and places and wars. Hey, it's something you never forget seeing - ever! Talk about WOW!


PROMPT: What's your secret recipe? (I had a bit of fun with this one - made it a poem based on my favorite spice)

CURRY

Spice of life
Fire of your words
Passion
Sweetness
Warmth
Heat
Ancient alternatives
Burning desire
Change from what we already know
Variety in many forms
Slow roasting of one's soul
Tingling zest that makes us know our mortality
Reminds us of our divinity
Heaven and Hell
Food of the gods.




PROMPT: High school...

Not all it was cracked up to be. A place to break into adulthood. Making life altering decisions about what I want as far as a career and my future. My future life and career in the balance. A testing ground to weed out the week and temper the strong.

I survived but fate made it necessary for me to move onward, upward, and forward sooner than everyone expected. It was my stepping stone to greater heights. I realized late that I would have a longer and harder road to success than my peers and classmates. I should have realized this when I was younger.

It was my coming of age story with the grand finale being my popularity - esp. among the males. This was a very happy and pleasant surprise. I was not the loser and nobody that I had always believed - but someone the hot guys truly wanted to dance with and be around. Truly a place to learn about one's life and their future.



PROMPT: What was my favorite grade in school? Give 10 reasons why.

8th Grade

1. Power Trip: We realized that despite our ages - we did have power to do things and make changes to ours and other's lives.
2. Reputation: We had a major reputation in the school as the best and worst class the school had ever had in its entire history - over 100 years.
3. Future Expectation: Anxious and nervous but confident despite all and any hardships any of us were enduring.
4. Survivor: I and most of my 8th grade classmates had made it to the bitter and fantastic end.
5. Endurance: Again, what does not kill you, only makes you stronger.
6. Perserverance: Along w persistance and determination - it does pay off nicely
7. Success: I won the American Legion Award with Brian Washington as the students that excelled the most among the graduating class.
8. Leadership: We led the way by bending and breaking rules that went against our success goals - yet were not exactly wrong or unethical in any way. We learned not to cheat very early on - it just did not pay off in the long run - so we just did not do that stuff after about third grade. But if there was something going on that we felt was unfair or downright nasty and wrong - basically grown ups should not be doing stuff themselves they keep teaching us is wrong to do. We literally meted out our own brand of justice - even against teachers who we felt were way out of line - sometimes we were in the right and sometimes we were not - but we kept pushing the barrier. We were definitely a bunch of defiant kids. We had one substitute teacher virtually fired - we were in the right on that one, we got a bit arrogant after that - and nearly gave Sr. Louise de Paul a nervous breakdown to the point she ran to the office in tears - we went a wee bit overboard, there. Actually, at one point I actually thought my classmates had all gone nutso - I was more observing - yet I found myself supporting their rebellious efforts - to thwart injustice in our classroom. We learned how to stand up for what we believed in - just the way they had been teaching us all along - I guess they never expected us to actually start by attacking the teachers. Even our parents could not really punish us - because we acted out and were standing up for what we believed in. The truth will set you free, but it hurts, and it can really piss people off.
9. Well behaved students rarely make history. We refused to behave unless it suited our purposes.
10. My oldest and dearest friends. Thomas Juip, Heather May, Jamie Carlowski, Cody Podrasky, Brian Washington

"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can." ~Richard Bach

Love and War - Part II

And a brilliantly executed strategy by the Rogue. He's actually won the game - ladies and gentlemen - or so he thinks. A very special mole in the Red's camp was his undoing. You see, the mole had a two part mission : watch our leading lady and listen in on everything the Red said among his lab tech buddies. Then of course our Rogue added some extra spies of his own to the mix to infiltrate the enemy camp. He even sent in his nephew, the Tornado.

The Rogue collected all the info he could and devised a foolproof strategy using Red's weaknesses against him. It was a brilliant feat to takedown the competition - and boy did he succeed.

He even had her fooled - she actually thought the little Greek man was sent by her friend - the ol wizard. No siree - he's an ally of the Rogue's.

The rogue banked on one piece of info that made it all work out perfectly. His spies - she did not recognize them - even the Tornado. She hasn't seen the nephew since he was 11 - so of course she did not realize it was him. She was unable to warn Red of his impending doom.

Speaking of games, our boy the Rogue, he's an old pro at WarCraft and as they say "all's fair in love and war." And the Rogue has just won the game. It's GAME OVER for our Big Red.

We were all wondering where the Rogue was hiding and what plotting and scheming he was up to. Brilliantly executed!!! And what a fast and furious takedown it was, too. Some up here are laughing and the rest are just shaking their heads in wonderment at how foolish, stupid, and downright ugly he has made ol Red look. Red's teammates are hiding their faces and hanging their heads in shame, dishonor, and disgrace. He actually did it so well that it made Red look really REALLY bad in our lady's eyes. What a loser!

And to add insult to injury there's more to come for poor Red. A twist of the knife.

We're wondering if ol Red will even bother to save himself - or will he just let the Rogue add the final nail to his coffin?!

Hey Red, she tried to warn you, so did your relatives, and your old friends - but you were too blind to see what was right there - watching and listening - plotting and scheming.

The Rogue's family is like one hungry pack of velociraptors and they just took down a Big Red T-Rex. Way to go raptors! They just gutted him like a fish and he just politely handed them the knife. Poor sucker! He didn't even know what hit him!

Love and War - Part I

Wait a minute! He’s sending interference. He looks to be flying blind – his radar screen is dark – not a single blip. Then why is he forcing these encounters between himself and her – if he doesn’t want to show he’s interested? Is he crazy, stupid, or what? He’s like from another planet or something!

Doesn’t he realize that if a guy like him wants to get with a gal like her, he’s gotta pay her some attention?! Especially, those Leo-type ladies! Whoa! This guy doesn’t seem to know squat about women at all! Are we sure he’s the right model? Hey, see if we can get a meeting of the minds with the folks on his case load. We gotta figure this one out!

He looks to fit the description perfectly! Tall, intelligent, go-getter, alpha male type personality, with a backbone, and red hair… This guy fits the description to a T. Then we got the direct request, straight from the lady, herself.

Send me the man I am meant to spend the rest of my life with.

Yeah, that was the all go, straight from her. So we sent out the search parties to locate and retrieve this fellow. Well, we got him here. Then it got really weird. She noticed him right away. The attraction, the chemistry was so obvious and clear – we could feel the vibrations over on this side! He looked to be showing interest in her direction as well. So we figured our work on that front was done – and we sat back to watch nature take its course.

But something is wrong with the model we sent. Don’t ask me why or how! We got our best minds trying to figure it out and untangle the mess. And boy what a mess!

First, was the escalator escapades, as she so aptly put it. He actually timed some nice passes: down the escalator…same time…same place…same station…passing her at the same exact point every time. At around the third or fifth fly-by, she caught on that it was more than mere coincidence. Then she started paying closer attention – much closer attention. That’s when things went nuts. The guy continued his fly-bys, but he was literally flying blind – his radar screen was blank. To put it in Earth terms, he showed her no attention, whatsoever. No eye contact…nothing…nada…zilch! She did not exist – or at least that’s how he was playing it, anyway! The only good that came of it was that she was now paying more closer attention to him. But for all intents and purposes, from her perspective, he was merely eye candy and nothing more. It’s not like she was ignoring him in the first place.

Well, we up here decided that we needed to get a fire up under the boy’s ass. So, we looked around to see what was available and did a bit of brainstorming. One thing about the Big Red guy is that he’s the competitive type – as alpha males usually are. He was complacent and happy to just strut around or sit there at his computer station looking good and having her eyes on him all the while. The lazy git! As they say, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link - and we was banking on his competitive nature to overcome that damn laziness.

That’s why we brought in the Rogue! Oh yeah, he was perfect! Attractive, tall, older than our Red one, but a wee bit on the immature side, yet cunning – and surprisingly so. We have to track that one because he has a tendency to come out of nowhere – and boy does he put on the show. Talent, that one! He definitely has a gift for the dramatic! The poor thing doesn’t even know who his real competition is? He actually believes the gay guy is her boyfriend, and the one he needs to deal with. We’re still laughing at that one, up here. Looks like he wanted to chuck the fellow out of the subway car, onto the tracks. He’s got a bit of a mean streak, that Rogue – and despite his seemingly innocent and sweet and friendly nature. Hey, at least we’re getting some good entertainment out of these two guys acting so damn idiotic for the lady in question. She had already chosen the Red one and is sticking to her choice, even under these crazy circumstances. She’s a tough old broad, if I do say so myself.

Let’s see! After that round of escalator fly by’s, he got complacent, as we mentioned. Then in came the Rogue, literally out of nowhere. Surprised both of them, and started some real live action. It sure shook things up a bit.

Well, the Red, he made his interest known one fine afternoon as she was doing lunch with an old acquaintance from her early geology days. Well, Red really did not approve, and made that quite clear to both of them. We just don’t get the silent thing! It’s as if his mouth doesn’t work – and we know it does – we’ve heard it – and so has she. Music to her ears, baby!

Then curiosity got to him and Red, he just had to know where the hell she was going at 9:15am so many mornings a week! So, the fella, he goes and tails her, figuring he’ll find out something important – and he goes incognito, no less. Tailed her all the way to work – and that was not a short run. To say that we were impressed is an understatement. He actually outdid the Rogue on that round.

Yeah, our Rogue he went and chased her right on out of the Cathedral but stopped dead in his tracks as if stunned – then in a panic he headed back for the building. Poor sucker – must’ve spooked himself! He does tend to do that a lot – so unfortunate for him! We still are speculating up here about what Red would do if that ol’ Rogue actually got to her, as he had intended. Hey, it could still happen – might even shake things up a bit, too. That Rogue fella does tend to show up on the scene, and lately at times and in places that Red ain’t around.

We do have some mighty nifty plans goin’ round up here, to send in some more male suitors to court her a wee bit – just enough to make a statement in Red’s mind. Right now, she is attempting to give him a taste of his own medicine – doin’ the whole ‘I’m too busy to pay attention to you’ bit. I don’t think he likes it one bit! Well neither does she! Hopefully, he’ll get the point! What’s he planning on doin’ – waiting till she’s married someone else – or moved away?!

Finally, she notices that Red is reading her printouts. And eventually a plan dawns on her that maybe she ought to try to send some passes by him – her way, this time. Oh, that line comparing men to computers, and if a lady waits long enough a better model will come along – well, that did it. He was blushing and smiling like a Cheshire cat. We really thought he’d make a move then. But no! At first, her special communications to him were passive – just mentioning him, and laying on real nice like. And he fell for it – hook, line, and sinker. Later on, she just dispensed with the by-pass version and went at him directly. Unfortunately, he still would not budge.

We can’t figure the guy out – doesn’t he want her?! He acts like he does, but not very much. It’s like a half-hearted attempt on his part. I mean, if a man likes a lady that much, and she likes him just the same, then they usually get together. It’s like as if he likes her and wants her, but just cannot bring himself to go after her. Maybe he prefers aggressive women! It’s a big mystery up here, and it’s only driving her away from him down there. He acts as if he wants her, even to the extent of acting like she’s already his. Well, he does not have her. Maybe he’s happy this way! Imaginary girlfriend – no fuss, no bother! I guess he prefers fantasyland to reality! He can’t ever lose a dream girl. What’s it to him if he loses the real thing? So what! Big deal!

Raven, Raven

Raven, Raven

Black as night

Watch o'er the clouds

Along thy flight.

Sing a haunting lullabye

As you fly

Beyond my sight.

Call the name

Of my heart's delight.

Send his thoughts to me

O'er the mountains

And across the sea.

One Magical Morning

Like a gossamer spiderweb suspended from a cloud,
as if a line drawn, connecting Heaven to Earth,
twinkling through from another realm.

A silken thread, no less magical
than the fairydust
that is starlight.

Lit moonbeams and pearls,
it captures our attention
in a flickering moment,
as if our mere imagination
has brought it into reality
for just an instant of time.

Yet, if we are still and watchful,
it will reveal itself as the gentle beatings of our hearts.

Gently,
it glides on the wind
between one life force and another.

Ode to the Red

Like rain falling from a cloudless sky,
You appear before me.
Thou art a mystery to be solved,
An enigma to be explained.
My curiosity beseeches me to find a meaning behind your activity
- that which brings you so wonderfully near to me
- but then like a shooting star –
- takes you again so far away
- seemingly beyond my reach.
Despairingly, I try and attempt to draw you ever so near;
Imploring
Pleading
Encouraging
So attracted am I to you;
Yet, respectfully I do not force my presence upon you
My dear and lovely creature
So divine and elegant
With grace and calmness
You stir my thoughts so.
Seemingly serious you approach
Only to dart away
As if by some unseen force within you.

Teasingly enticing you are
My breathtaking and majestic
Handsome one.

A Bit of Poetry

HUSH:

Do not speak
Of things known and unknown.
Beyond the realm
Of knowledge and language,
There exists a world of the
Unconscious and subconscious.
Where possibilities and potentialities
lie in wait for some freethinking mortal to bring them into the light of reality.
It must never be brought into the land of consciousness.
For the world will forever be altered;
Never to be turned back into mere dreams.

It is tradition to keep life unchanged
Or else there will be a price to pay.
Taboos are what they are for a reason.
To harness and hold those thoughts
Which enter our minds freely and wantonly.
With animal passions and terrible desires burning deeply inside
As if the Earth were to truly erupt with them
Spilling out the fire and brimstone upon the land
Destroying all that which we know and hold dear

Quietly dream but do not allow them to roam wild upon our word
Or we shall all perish in the agony brought about by our own ignorance.
Watching the young and foolish ones toss dreams about like raindrops and moonbeams
Breaks our hearts so