We decided to forego the writing warm-up in favour of sharing the prescribed homework, as Nola had to leave early.
Mike Redfern followed with a humorous story about a kid who discovered his unusual prowess in a variety of sports, due to the fact that he could extend his limbs to longer lengths and unknowingly using that to his advantage in the athletic realm, even taking it to the Olympic level in high jump later! This was all interspersed with a very funny part about making out with the most sought after girl in high school who had amazing knockers which he found out to be fake after an unsuccessful grope and mix-up of body parts! Greta helped save him face by sticking with him and liking him for who he was after the 'Barbie' slandered him and his feeble make out attempts. It was faithful Greta who noticed how he could stretch up to look over the hedge and see if her dad was waiting up for them. Wondrously, they started experimenting with what he could do and the rest is history...complete with a ladder-less interior decorating service and a family to boot!
Sue Shaw entertained us again with another funny piece about a woman who had an encounter at Sprout grocery with the 'wicked witch of Wasa' who gave her magic green beans to eat. These wondrous beans could give the partaker 'supercaloric flatulation and expiring halitosis', in other words, gas and breath to knock your socks off, clean any stain, 'make a biker weep' and level any politician's rhetoric flat out. Now that's a super power worth something!
Don shared a more believable story about Charles and Mary, childhood sweethearts who were separated by circumstances and then reunited years later in England. Charle's mother had the uncanny ability to see into the future with premonitions. Charlie followed in her footsteps, even seeing the scene of Kennedy's assassination in a dream which was the usual mode of revelation. He could have used that 'gift' for ill gain and change the course of history but was a humble sort so chose to live out his life with his reunited love in relative obscurity. He did have a disturbing premonition of his friend Bruce impaled by a falling icicle and kept us on the edge of our seats with a tense ice climbing scene, only to reveal Bruce's untimely death under the very eaves of his own front porch as they released the killer ice knife.
Newer member Mike had a Charlie in his story also, with lovely wife Alice and two kids who resided in Boston. Son George was a musician, his sister Gwen, a nursing type. Their parents were T.V watchers, beer and jerky eaters and enjoyers of bedroom fireworks...somewhat dependant on the content of the program and then measured on the 'richter scale'! Alice worked in a bakery with heavenly cheese sticks while Charlie had a certain 'electrical clairvoyance' which allowed him to accurately assess various mechanical problems at work. This was greatly appreciated by his boss and higher ups. Unfortunately, he was also tormented by the same thought patterns that allowed him to shine at work and had to say a backwards mantra to shut it all off in his head...throw in a trip to a local strip joint and more mental stumbling around where he seeks relief, trying to balance the problem-solving gift without the curse of mind replay. A fun bit of work with a lone-liner punch line I forgot to write down! Sorry Mike.
Mine(Heather), involved three generations speaking in first person, who were all related to Clark Kent. They all left a 'legacy of lines' on a variety of surfaces which were wielded by an ordinary looking knife Kent passed on with possible Kryptonite powers. Kent's stepbrother Bob, whose balloon creations were out of this world, (literally) had a daughter who made woodcarvings come to life when she used the knife and later opened her own tattoo shop where her designs leapt off the skin. Her son also discovered the knife could do unusual things for him when he turned 13 (the magical age) and enjoyed skinning animals he had trapped. Their flesh seemed to fall off the bone effortlessly with the humble looking knife. The dark side of it all immersed when he used the knife for pursuits of a sketchier kind, namely to carve up rich dudes whose pools he cleaned and money he stole.
See you next meeting! Bring a few shorter pieces to share which will then be all read and then selected by the editorial team to go into the journal we are putting together in June!
