Death Walk

September 29, 2014November 20, 2015 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

The Kill Zone
Reader Friday: Short Short Fiction
Posted: 26 Sep 2014 12:00 AM PDT

Using the above picture as a prompt, write a story in 100 words or less.

John rolled his head to the side without taking his eyes off his target. He wanted to yank the goddamn tie from his neck. It was choking him to death, but he didn’t dare. Sweat rolled down his back. He kept walking. Breathing was harder, suffocating. He pulled at the overcoat. He felt like he was buried alive. Ignoring the angry woman rushing past he glanced at the crosswalk, the changing light. He watched with horror as the man stepped from the curb and disappeared. He fell to his knees as her cries, “Daddy,” ripped through his soul.

Can We Talk?

September 28, 2014October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

DAILY PROMPT
Ready, Set, Done
Our free-write is back by popular demand: today, write about anything — but you must write for exactly ten minutes, no more, no less.

Can we talk? No, I mean really talk? Have a conversation, put our phones down, look each other in the face (eye contact might be too much) and talk?

Cause it seems to me we’ve forgotten how to communicate on the most basic level.

We have become a superficial society of acquaintances communicating in 140 characters and anonymous Likes on Facebook. Our kids are growing up unable to interpret simple nuances, expressions of subtle body language, or the tone of ones voice. One-on-one social interaction has become uncomfortable and outdated.

We’ve given our kids cell phones 24/7 on the pretense of keeping them safe, but if we were honest with ourselves, convenience was the real reason. Convenient to know their whereabouts at all times, and easier than arguing when they threw the inevitable “Everybody has a phone,” tantrum.

Inundated with technology cell phones, laptops, iPods, and eReaders are the minimum found in most homes today. And we upgrade on a regular basis, providing the newest and greatest to our children at younger ages each year. We have created a world of artificial communication and when our kids no longer talk or interact with us, we act surprised.

This is the text generation. They communicate from a distance. Debate behind the mask of social media, date online, and divorce on legal zoom.com. People no longer know how to carry on a conversation face-to-face or even over the phone. We pass each other, not bothering to look up from the technology in our hands, forgetting the importance of touch or respect. Because in our quest for convenience, we’ve forgotten those same values ourselves, and we don’t teach them to our children. It isn’t convenient.

Respect is not just a word in the dictionary. There is a person in front, beside or next to each of us. They have a story to tell. Let’s have a conversation for a change. Stop texting. Make a phone call, instead. Have a face-to-face and leave the phones turned off, in the car or facedown, but for once, see where a real story leads. See what genuine communication feels like for a change. You might be surprised.

What do you think?

Friends – No Questions Asked

September 28, 2014October 21, 2016 / Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / Leave a comment

DAILY PROMPT

Litmus, Litmus on the Wall

If you had to come up with one question, the answer to which would determine whether or not you could be friends with a person you’ve just met, what would it be? What would the right answer be?

There would be no question. Friendships aren’t built based on interviews; it’s intuitive. When you meet your best friend, there is an instant, almost visceral connection.

Women friends “get it,” whatever “it” may be. They stick together through thick and thin, pull no punches, understand the power of a good belly laugh, a good cry, and a bottle of wine; no questions ask.