R - Romance - #AtoZChallenge

Logan removed his suit jacket. He was burning up. He started to loosen his tie, but changed his mind. There was no point in getting getting dressed up to look nice, if he wore his clothes sloppily. Plus, he knew it was just nerves. He took a long sip of cold water to try to calm and cool himself.

Amy had called to let him know she would be late and the waitress kept coming by to see if he wanted to order anything. It was a busy night and they seemed to want to clear the table if no food was being ordered.

"She'll be here soon," he insisted to the waitress. "I'll have a Stella Artois while I wait."

Logan figured ordering something other than water would satisfy the wait staff for a while. He had wanted to avoid alcohol tonight to keep his wits together. Tonight had to go perfectly. He reached to pat his jacket pocket to double-check the ring was still there. He had a moment of panic before he remembered he had removed his jacket, but that pat did show him that he was sweating through his shirt. He put the jacket back on to hide his nervous sweat stains.

He and Amy had been talking about marriage and their future for the last year. He had no doubt she would say yes, but making it official was a big step. Tonight was a big night. He hoped she would arrive before he melted into the floor. Where was she?

---

 

All this month, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge. A new post will go up every day (except Sundays) using a letter of the alphabet as the starting off point. My theme for the month is literary genres. I am writing in a different genre of flash fiction each day. Today's letter is A for Adventure.

E - Era Driven - #AtoZChallenge

When Maggie woke up, she saw her brothers slipping into their overalls. Burrell always tried to do this morning task silently to not wake his sisters, but Arthur always ruined it. He was far too clumsy to do anything without disturbing most of the county. Their dad said Arthur was born with seven left feet and he's gained a few since then. 

The boys had to get up extra early today to milk the cows before joining their father to fix the barn roof torn up by last week's tornado. Burrell was happy they had four less cows to milk because of that tornado, but Dad had no sense of humor about it.

Maggie tried to go back to sleep since she knew she still had about an hour before her sister would wake her, but it was proving to be impossible. She was just too excited. They were taking the wagon into town to visit the county store. She had been looking forward to this trip because it would be the first time she and her sister went into town without their mom or dad. This was a big day. 

Maggie's older sister, Roberta, had just turned twelve on Tuesday. In their house, turning twelve years old meant having adult responsibilities and Roberta was very excited to take on her new role. Today was going to be one of her first big tasks outside of her new household chores. Because Dad and the boys were going to be busy all day working on the barn and Mom had to stay in bed because of a fever, Roberta was the one to make the run into town this week.

Maggie was only six years old, so she had to go along since there would be no one to watch her at home. Roberta had always been Maggie's best friend and playmate and she couldn't wait to spend a day in town alone with her sister. Town was six miles away, so it took almost two hours to get there. They were going to be gone all morning. All by themselves. No parents.

Maggie was pulling water from the well for the dogs when she heard her father calling that it was time for them to go. He had harnessed the horses and the wagon was ready. Maggie ran as fast as she could and crawled up onto the bench seat beside Roberta who was getting some last-minute reminders from Dad about caring for the horses. Roberta listened intently and promised to do everything her father instructed.

Dad paused and patted her knee. "I know you'll be fine. Keep an eye on your sister. We'll save lunch for you."

Roberta whipped the reins and they started moving. Maggie was bouncing in her seat as they exited the farm. She smiled up at Roberta, who was intently watching the road and sitting very straight. She was taking this errand very seriously. Maggie beamed, "At school, Anne told me they have new ribbons in the fabric store. I can't wait to see the bright colors."

Without breaking eye contact with the bumpy road, Roberta replied, "Everything we are to get is at the general store. We aren't going to look at ribbons."

Undeterred, Maggie went on. "The fabrics are almost right across the street from the general store. I can look while you get the things in the store."

"No, Dad said I am to keep my eye on you. You can't get out of my sight."

Maggie hung her head. "Okay," but excitedly looked up, "We could get some caramels or butterscotch!" She beamed up at Roberta.

Roberta looked straight ahead. "Dad gave me a list. Sweets are not on it and this is not a play day. We get there, fill the list, and come home. Got it?"

Maggie plopped back in her seat and crossed her arms. "You were more fun when you were eleven."

---

 

All this month, I am participating in the A to Z Challenge. A new post will go up every day (except Sundays) using a letter of the alphabet as the starting off point. My theme for the month is literary genres. I am writing in a different genre of flash fiction each day. Today's letter is E for Era-Driven.

Crossing State Lines

My daughter Kirsten is sixteen and a junior in high school. She has two years left before she will be headed off to college and I will have this house all to myself. However, today marked one of those milestones that made her want to go right now. Her boyfriend Charles left for college this morning.

His school is about a six hour drive from here in another state, so they will not be seeing each other regularly on weekends. He might make it back home once or twice in a semester. I have split feelings about this.

I have had a couple of years to get used to the idea of my daughter having a boyfriend. I can even witness him kiss her with only a minimal spike in my blood pressure. I have tried to teach my daughter to be strong and independent. I raised her to know who she is and not to ever be defined by her relationship with another person or to allow her tastes, opinions, feelings or desires to be decided by someone else, whether that be a person or societal expectations. She is growing to be that woman and I couldn't be more proud of her.

The topic of Charles leaving for college came up last week over dinner and another adult advised Kirsten to move on and live her life. Do not put her life on hold and wait for him. This advice goes right along with the spirit of the lessons I have taught my daughter over the years and I couldn't agree more....sort of.

While the adult side of me sees the rationale in the advice and I would probably give the same advice to any random teenager, I have a selfish father side as well that wants to protect my daughter. While he is away at college and she decides that he is the man for her, that means she is not dating anyone else. I have absolutely no problem with that. She is basically not dating as long as he is her boyfriend and school is in session. No father would complain with those circumstances.

On the other hand, should a sixteen year old be making this type of commitment? You only get to be young once. Would this be considered putting her life on hold for a boy?

I have decided I have no problem with this and there is one main reason for it. I like this kid. Kirsten has not had a lot of boyfriends, but of the ones she has dated, only two have been quality guys. The last one moved to Georgia. There were a few that were okay. They weren't bad kids, they just took up space. There have been a couple I really did not like. One of them was so bad, I forbid her from ever seeing him again. Yes, I am that type of father. It was for her protection. That kid was trouble.

I wish our culture recognized the wisdom of arranged marriages. Then, I could just forbid her from dating until I found the perfect man for her. I would do a bang-up job, but very very few would make the cut.

The guy she is dating now is great and is the reason I have no problem with this. As long as she considers herself his girlfriend, she is not bringing home some other idiot. Plus, he really is a great kid. His parents were my youth ministers when I was in high school and his father baptized me. I am well aware of the stereotype about preacher's kids, but it is just a general rule of thumb and does not always apply. Charles is attending a Christian college to prepare to be a missionary. He is well mannered, respectful, courteous, never rude and very funny. Most importantly, he treats my daughter very well.

It is these and other qualities that make me happy to see that she is holding on to him. Kirsten is only sixteen and I am not trying to get her married off. It's too soon to think about such things, but one day she will end up with someone. With each guy she has brought home, I couldn't help but imagine what her being married to him would be like. Most of the time, I haven't liked the future I saw for her. Wanting the best for my daughter, I am happy to see that she has found a quality man. As long as she is with him, she is not with some other random douchebag.

I am not suggesting that she needs to marry Charles. Once again, it is too early for that kind of talk, but it is comforting to see that she recognizes what a good guy he is. I am totally supportive of this relationship, but don't tell him.

100th Post - Send Me a Present

This post marks a milestone in my blogging career. Can you call it a career if it doesn't make any money? This is my 100th post. To celebrate, I am posting 100 things about myself that I have never mentioned in my blog before.

1. First thing about myself: In this list of 100 things, every 10th one is a joke (#10, #20, #30, etc.). As in, not true. The rest are true. I had to do this because I could only think of 90 things. You try thinking of 100 new things. It's not easy.
2. I still don't have a smartphone My phone makes phone calls and texts. That's it.
3. I don't trust our government. I am sure there are some good people in politics, but they are overpowered by an evil system.
4. The stories I write in my blog are true. Even the crazy ones.
5. I played the saxophone in high school and placed first in the state.
6. I once played poker with Clint Black.
7. I have swallowed a live goldfish.
8. I like cheese and mayonnaise, but the idea of them touching each other disgusts me. If a sandwich contains both, they must be on opposite sides of the sandwich.
9. My mother tells me that as a child, I called fish zeeps. No one knows why. 
10. I never say I'm sorry because I don't like to lie.
11. When I finally get my teaching degree, I plan to teach high school math on a military base.
12. I once bought a JEEP on eBay and flew to New Jersey to drive it home. I loved that JEEP and I miss it.
13. I know it is a simple dish, but one of my favorite foods is beef & noodles. Love them.



He's even annoying to look at.

14. I find Aziz Ansari extremely irritating. I cringe every time he speaks, but I still think he's funny. It must be a self hate thing.
15. Italian food or not, I am not a fan of Parmesan cheese.
16. I was VP of a motorcycle club and rode a Harley, but never had a motorcycle license.
17. I don't like to use public restrooms. I will almost injure myself to make it home rather than use one.
18. I ate an octopus while it was still alive.
19. Despite my uber-nerd status in high school, I still dated a cheerleader.
20. I wrote a book called How to Pick up Girls.   Page 1 says: "Maybe buy a motorcycle? I dunno?" The rest is just pictures of people shrugging. 
21. I love math. I got a 107 average in Trigonometry, but I have failed Accounting three times.
22. I chose the name Scout for my future daughter after watching To Kill a Mockingbird in a 7th grade class. Over 10 years later, when she was born, my wife wouldn't go for it and we named her Kirsten. When Kirsten was in the 7th grade they watch the same movie and her classmates said, "Wow! That girl, Scout, looks just like you."
23. I want to learn to play the piano. Not for fame or fortune. Just to be the guy at parties that everyone is standing around and singing.
24. If I won the lottery, I would spend some of the money traveling around the world meeting all my blogging friends.
25. I don't play the lottery.
26. Sometimes I wish I was an anonymous blogger. I have many stories I would like to tell, but can't because people that know me read my blog.
27. I will eat anything. ANYTHING. Well, stuff that's already considered food.
28. My brother Kyle once pushed me off the top of a bridge over some railroad tracks. (Over 30 foot drop)
29. I got mugged in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
30. Before I die, I want to travel to China to get a tattoo of an English word on my arm.
31. I called a U.S. Senator a liar while standing in his office in Washington D.C. That was the end of our meeting.
32. I am nowhere near as cool in real life as I am on the internet.
33. I can juggle.



"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind
and won't change the subject."
Winston Churchill

34. I am related to Winston Churchill.
35. I got mono in high school from a girl that turned out to be a carrier, but never got sick. I was the second of three guys she gave it to over the course of two years.
36. I have spent the night in a hospital one time. I was 2 years old and had pneumonia.
37. The first time I played golf, I landed on the green with my first stroke on a par 3.
38. As a teenager, I made my little brother Trevor ride home in the trunk after jumping in a pool because I didn't want him to get my seats wet.
39. I saw the original Star Wars at a drive in.
40. I think feminine sanitation jokes are inappropriate. Period.
41. I signed up for the military, but they rejected me.
42. One Thanksgiving, I ate the dog scraps that had been scraped off everyone's plates thinking it was a plate prepared for me.
43. I do not enjoy fishing. It bores me.
44. My kids never believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.
45. For a short time in my childhood, we had pigs in the basement.
46. I once drug Adam West out of a bar and put him in bed.
47. When I was a kid, we were not allowed to watch Three's Company for obvious reasons, but we watched Benny Hill with our parents every week.
48. My middle name is Marshall. - Brett Marshall Minor
49. My daughter's middle name is Marschel, a variation of my middle name.
50. Sometimes I tell jokes so bad, the crickets don't even chirp.

51. 

    NYUK   NYUK  NYUK!

    My favorite Stooge is Curly.
52. I went to the same school for Kindergarten through high school.
53. No matter how old I get, I want a house with a fireman's pole to slide down.
54. I had a dream that I met Red's parents. We were in someone's back yard and her parents were swimming in a pool. Her dad wouldn't talk to me.
55. I was in the Teamsters union for two years against my will.
56. One of my eyes is near-sighted and the other is far-sighted.
57. Despite having very little athletic abilities, I can switch hit (bat both right or left handed).
58. Every year, a few days  after Halloween, I gather a few of the neighborhood children to help me collect the pumpkins on people's porches. We then drive out to the country to throw them off bridges and watch them get smashed. (We don't throw them onto roads. We find a country bridge high enough that they will break when hitting the ground.)
59. I once got blisters on my lips from eating a Szechuan pepper. I didn't know what it was.
60. I hate racist jokes. I think they're off-color.
61. It is difficult to come up with 100 new things.
62. I am in the process of growing out my hair. I am told by someone daily that I need a haircut.
63. I hate when someone interrupts me. I usually respond by starting over when it is my turn to speak again.
64. I have never been to Disneyland or Disney World.
65. I am currently in graduate school and have a 4.0 average. YAY!!!
66. I put peanut butter and Nutella on my waffles.
67. I was once on TV with President Jimmy Carter. They were actually filming him. I had no idea he was there.
68. I have the power to infuriate anyone within 3 minutes of meeting me.
69. The best part of a loaf of bread is the heel.
70. I spent six months trying to figure out how to grow marijuana in Farmville and sell it in Mafia Wars.
71. It is almost impossible to embarrass me. My mother says it is because I have no shame.



EMO PHILIPS

72. I love the stand up comedy of Emo Philips. "At my lemonade stand I used to give the first glass away free and charge five dollars for the second glass. The refill contained the antidote." - Emo Philips
73. My brother Kyle and I once stripped our youngest brother Trevor naked and tied him to a tree in the front yard. Not a single passing car stopped to help him.
74. When my son Christian was 7 years old, during hailstorms we would run out into the storm to see who could withstand it the longest before running for shelter.
75. During late night PBS fundraisers, I like to call the number so I can hear the phone ringing on the TV. I then laugh saying, "That's me." I hang up before anyone answers.
76. A local radio station used to have a movie trivia question every day at lunch time. I would call right before they asked the question, so the phone would already be ringing when they finished. This ensured I would be the first caller. I won every day for over three weeks. Then they banned me from the contest.
77. I have a pot in my kitchen that is only to be used for making tea. If anything else gets made in it, my tea doesn't taste right.
78. I was state certified to sell real estate insurance, but never sold a single policy.
79. My grandmother made the best grape jelly in the world. This is not up for discussion.
80. When children shy away, I say, "I don't bite. Not hard anyway!" Then I laugh and bite them hard. They need to understand life's not easy.
81. My father likes to fish because it is so relaxing. Yet, it was while doing this relaxing activity that he had a heart attack.
82. Last year, I got out my coats for the winter. When I put one on for the first cold day, I found $500 cash in the pocket. I don't remember putting it in there and think I would remember misplacing 500 bucks.
83. I had a Neopets account until a year ago.
84. I have zero fashion sense. Ask anyone.
85. I was incredibly shy and socially awkward until I was about 15 years old. Something changed almost overnight. I can't explain it.
86. When I moved here, I was excited to get cable again after being without it for several years. I now have it and never watch it.
87. I was once hired at minimum wage to train my boss who made over 5 times what I did. As soon as she felt she had learned enough, she fired me and hired her fiance. I don't use her for a reference.
88. When I worked at the Sheriff's office, I took a 911 call from a woman who complained there were two dogs in the street having a "verbal argument." We didn't respond.
89. I have had more trouble finding a job after I got my degree than I ever did before. Once I get my Master's, I may be forever unemployed.
90. I once saw a wino eating grapes and I was like, "Dude, you have to wait."
91. My dad used to set mousetraps and then call us into the room so he could throw them at our feet. I grew up and had great fun doing it to my kids. I now understand why he did it.



BUD            WEIS           ERRR

92. I miss the Budweiser frogs.
93. I grew up in a town so small the post office and local bar were the same place. The next town over had a funeral home/hardware store.
94. Everyone has little things that irritate them, but if I am eating with someone who bites down on their fork and then pulls it out through their teeth, I have to say something. That sound rapes my brain.
95. In kindergarten, I had a girlfriend named Crista. She called me when we were in the 7th grade to break up so she could be another guy's girlfriend. I had no idea we had been a couple for the last seven years.
96. When Aerosmith's song Dude Looks Like a Lady first started playing on the radio, I thought they were saying, "Do the Naked Lady." I figured it was some new dance move I wasn't cool enough to know about.
97. My friends and I would place bets on who would win the Bud Bowl every year during the Super Bowl.
98. I have spent over two weeks compiling this list.
99. I love watermelon, but hate watermelon flavored anything. What moron decided that tastes like watermelon?
100. I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long.