Mad Macedonian

It Snowed in Houston! Writing Will Resume, I Promise!

And so March begins...On Friday I turn all of 61 years old.

Good afternoon, Houston!

Are we all thawed out, yet?

There I was getting all in a new creative groove for the start of the new year when the whole damn state gets snowed on in the middle of the month.

Because of my work schedule, then being pre-occupied with the possibility of 4 inches of snow, followed by surviving the storm, followed by several days without power and water, then a return to work...writing was the last thing on my mind.

This means 20 days of the February Flash Fiction Challenge to catch up with. :-D

We DID get some snow, but not the promised 4 inches, and a follow-up storm was a bust.

Temps got down to 10, or so, and the cats and I huddled under the covers for warmth.

I went out, and about, to explore the neighborhood, and to grocery shop.

By the end of the week I was able to return to work.

All, in all, an interesting week, or so.

 

 

 

 

 

FLASH FICTION FEBRUARY: A One-Sentence Story

 

Good evening, the Mad Houstonian, here.

The Day 8 Flash Fiction February Prompt at Writer's Digest? (Miss the start of this series? #1 )

Write a One Sentence Story.

 

I reached back to late February, of last year, for inspiration.

 

Crossing the Street - A One-Sentence Story

Motorists can be so damnably impatient and inattentive, the pedestrian thought, as he entered the crosswalk, on green, just as the first left turn driver sped into the intersection, causing him to stop, and raise his hand to make the driver pause long enough for him to finish safely crossing to the other side.

Inspired by a true story from last February:

When Turning 60 Doesn't Happen the Way You Plan: Part 1 ( A 4 part story )

Most of the time I can slow drivers down, as in this story, but not that day, last February. :-D

 

#FlashFictionFeb

The Story of Kiril the Blahgur: A Flash Fiction Feb Tale

Good morning, the Mad Houstonian, here.

The Day 7 Flash Fiction February Prompt at Writer's Digest? ( Miss the start of this series? #1 )

 Write about a discovery.

On short notice I simply can't top something I wrote, and posted, for April Fools Day 2009, and the "What If" (69th) edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

 

Ancestor of Mine Dug Up by Greek Archaeologists! by Kiril  Kundurazieff

 

I get E-Mails:

Dear Sir,

I am Chief Archaeologist on a very important dig in Greece, and it has come to my attention that your Genealogical Research involved an ancestral line of your Fathers side of the family, and that this has led you to an individual who is the stuff of legend in our country.

Our dig, in a little known Macedonian region of our little corner of Europe, has turned up something that will interest you very much, and I have included an article in the major newspaper of Athens, translated into English for your convenience.

Sincerely yours, this March 31st, 2009.

Needless to say I was curious, indeed, and found the story fascinating:

 

200 Word Musings 5: In the Kitchen and Ignored

Good evening, the Mad Houstonian, here.

The Day 4 Flash Fiction February Prompt at Writer's Digest? ( Miss the start of this series? #1 )

Select a kitchen item and write from its perspective.

OK, time for a bit of guilt tripping, here, hee, hee!

 

200 Word Musings 5: In the Kitchen and Ignored by Kiril Kundurazieff

The Oster 14 Speed Blender gazed down at the Instant Pot sympathetically.

Blender remembered when the human the cats called "Daddy" introduced it to the kitchen.

It was December 2019, and he was happy, yet curious. There had been crock pots, in the past, that Daddy occasionally used, and he apparently was intent on trying something new.

Until Daddy suffered an injury, in Feb., that took all his attention into May.

In the meantime the CP sat below the blender, gathering dust, feeling more depressed by the day.

IP was a friendly sort, and Blender liked him, telling him to be patient. It's not that Daddy doesn't like you, just a combination of nervousness about using his new toy, and spending his money wisely for food that is cheap, easy to prepare, and healthy.

Blender should know, He remembers it was summer, that year, the last time he was put thru HIS paces.

Daddy had bought a container of Gold Star Whey and made Smoothies a few times.

It is February of a new year, now, and the Whey needs replacing, and Blender was running out of ways to keep the IP's spirits up.

He just says "Keep the Faith!"

NEXT UP - The 5th entry in the series is over at my cat blog, again, and by Friday the Bearded Lady.

#FlashFictionFeb

200 Word Musings 4: Catching the Bus to Work

Good morning Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here.

Anyone out there?

I woke up, this morning, to find a challenge from Writer's Digest in my Facebook feed.

A month-long challenge... for anyone up to it.

"Write a piece of flash fiction each day of February with the February Flash Fiction Challenge, led by editor Moriah Richard. Each day, receive a prompt, example story, and write your own."

Prompt #1: Write a story with no dialogue. It could be a story about a place or a person or anything, as long as nothing speaks. 

The last time I wrote a piece of Flash Fiction was in May, and before that, Jan. 2017...Hope I am not rusty.

For the curious, here is my Flash/Micro-Fiction archive. Comments and shares are always welcome.

 

CATCHING THE BUS TO WORK by Kiril Kundurazieff

In the morning there was darkness, and the bus stop.

Not just any bus stop, but one with a bench and a canopy.

Usually a homeless person could be found parked there, but not today.

I showed up, to catch the bus to work, dressed in brown slacks, 

My Free Speech is More Important Than Your Feelings shirt, 

This is Bullshit Mask, and my Stetson with its MAGA, US Flag, and Blue Lives Matter pins,

And settled in to wait...all of 5 minutes.

As the sun began to peek above the horizon to the east, the bus could be seen

Approaching around the bend, and when it stopped I boarded.

The Black driver had a smile in her eyes that dimmed at the sight of me, I gave a little wave and tapped my pass.

As I walked to a seat in the back, I passed my fellow passengers.

The old White guy sleeping.

The Hispanic man who looked at me warily before gazing out the window.

The Orthodox Jewish man who laughed and gave me a thumbs up.

The teenage Black man absorbed in his cell phone.

The ride was 30 minutes, the walk to work took 20.

#FlashFictionFeb

#200WordStory

NEXT UP: The Day 2 Prompt is tackled by Elvira Mistress of Felinity, over at Opinionated Pussycat!

100 Word Musings 8 - Alone: A Story

Happy Thursday evening, Houston! The Mad Houstonian, here...

The other day I joined a pair of Private Facebook Groups for Houston Authors and Writers.

One group had a writing prompt that invited members to use a posted image as a prompt to

write and share a story of 100 words or less in the comments.

It has been 5 years since I last wrote a 100 Word Story, and over a year since I last wrote a 200 Word Story.

My God! Really? I had to double check both my blogs to be sure.

The last time I posted a 100 Word Story on THIS blog was 2013, the last 200 Word Story was 2017.

So, this is the story I wrote and shared...

ALONE:  A 100 Word Story by Kiril Kundurazieff

In the morning I will awaken from a good nights sleep, and go into the nearby woods.
I will walk in the clinging fog surrounded by twisted trees and vines.
I will look about, not seeing another person, and
Alone with nature, I break the silence with breath and footsteps;
I enjoy the grass and the trees, the gentle breeze on my face,
Seeing what is to see, and hearing what I can not,
In the shadows of the dawn;
With hands in my coat pockets,
I smile in contentment, and head home,
Planning for the day that will be.

 

Since 2006 I have written 5 poems with the title of "Alone", the most recent, last month.

Check them, and more, out, in this archive: FLASH and MICRO-FICTION: 100 to 1499 Word Stories

 

New Year's: 200 Word Musings 3

  Yappy Hew Near to my few readers and any and all who stop by for a look, your support, encouragement and even fleeting interest is greatly appreciated and welcomed.

On Friday night, on my last break at work, I grabbed a funny hat  from a table in the festively decorated break room, tossed it on my noggin, and took a silly selfie.

Posting it on my Facebook I wished everyone well and commented that I was glad 2016 was over and I hoped that 2017 would be so much better, personally and creatively.

Among the well wishes in return were a few laughs;

"Damn party animals", from a friend in NoCal.

"You look drunk", from my oldest sister, in SoCal.

and, "did you start partying without US ???? LMAO", from a writer friend in Austin.

I responded this way; "No, our break room at work has a festive look and these different hats laying around on tables. I grabbed one I liked and took a photo during a break last night.

Haven't had a beer in quite a while."

The friend in Austin wasn't having any of it, hee, hee!

"Nice try -- you're a writer, couldn't you concoct a more elaborate story??? LOL"

This got me to thinking and, during breaks at work, writing....

It has been months, even a few years, since I last wrote any 100 or 200 word stories on either of my blogs, my most famous effort being the 31 chapter opus, Aubrey, that a friend thinks deserves publishing.

Aubrey = A 30 pt. 100 Word Cat Story (w/1 of 200 Words) by Nikita

My 1st 200 Word Musings, on this blog, was last April:

CRAP: A 200 Word Musing

My 2nd was last July:

A Word of Warning, Found: 200 Words of Mystery

So...after a New Year's morning re-write, here goes....

 

A Word of Warning, Found: 200 Words of Mystery

  July 1st, and I had just got off the bus near work...

Looking up at the sky...there He was again...

By the time I got my cell phone out to take a photo one eye was closed as if God was not just smiling at me, but grinning and winking, and the vision was about to break apart under the still open eye where the cheek had been attached.

I have long since given up trying to understand why I keep seeing these images in the clouds (the 4th time since April) and just go with whatever creativity results.

 

Later in the day I began my first Sit Spot Challenge since 2012.

 

Speaking of things to "try to understand" let me share something and see what you think...

 

CRAP: A 200 Word Musing

  It's been a while....since I last wrote a 100 Word Musing for this blog.

June 2013 to be exact.

The last 100 Word Cat Story was in August 2014 and there have only been 3 200 Word Cat Stories since May 3013, the most recent just last month.

Life has been difficult the past year or so, but to go so long with so little output of these little gems?

If I can create something as unique as AUBREY once who's to say I can't do more of the individual stories as well as another more complex tale?

Today has been an interesting day...

A couple of days ago I took the cats to a vet to get their nails done and get one a shot. When the folks behind the social media accounts for the vet got wind of  the blog post about the trip they asked permission to plug it on their social media.

Yesterday the cats posted a book review and the author of the book left a comment.

When I wrote the author a note of thanks we got into a little back and forth, the gist of which was that I shared a little about myself and my creativity and regretfully admitted that, no, I would not be able to attend Blog Paws and meet her, in June, despite scheduling a 5 day vacation around when the event occurs, as I could not afford to do so.

Three things she wrote me stood out:

"Writing is not easy and very much an ivory tower activity."

"If your poetry is cat related — you may have discovered a niche market worth pursuing."

and this.....

"My answer for writers block.

Sit down and write anything — crap can be fixed perfected and improved ... … if you write nothing — you have nothing to fix …. somehow when you write garbage and get it out — it clears the way for good things."

 

Thank you, Sandy Robins, for taking time out from your busy life to respond to the ramblings of a struggling writer in Houston.

100 Word Musings 7: Just An Inconvenience

 

My friend Marian Allen wrote about "food that you start to cook but have to put away before the cooking is done", the other day, and her writing prompt for the day was this: A power outage causes an inconvenience.

After some thought this is my story:

Just An Inconvenience

The weatherman kept warning of tornadoes, as I drove along the country road back to the town. As I approached a gas station, desperate to use the “facilities”, I saw dark clouds approaching.

When you gotta go, you gotta go, so I stopped.

The bathroom was a small building with a single light and 1 toilet; clean, though!

As I sat reading the newspaper, conveniently provided, a howling wind came up, rain poured, the light blew; the room shook and I stayed put.

When the storm ended I opened the door…finding myself in the town park, miles from my car.