Posts Tagged ‘Guest Contributor’
Mar
The Agony Of De Feet
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
We took a cruise which included Roatan, an island off the Honduras coast. We had a fine time just wandering around the island but decided it would be a good idea to go kayaking. We were right, it was a beautiful day in the Caribbean and the bright sun was fine. We thought we had dressed for the occasion, but even with suntan lotion on most parts of our exposed bodies we forgot our feet. Both of us got extremely sunburned feet. Walking was painful for days after, but we still remember our cruise and time spent on Roatan fondly.
From Guest Contributor Doug Hawley
Mar
Deep Slumber
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Every part of my body ached; and my hair was pasted to the pillow from sweat. My lips were dry, yearning for water, but I couldn’t drink with the tube down my throat. I’m in the hospital, but what happened?
There’s movement around me, but it’s just a blurred mess. My head feels as if it was struck with a hammer, the pain shooting down to my neck.
I heard voices.
“She needs surgery to remove the swelling. Sarah suffered severe head trauma in the accident.”
Is that a doctor?
Slowly I’m being moved and sedated into a deep slumber.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Mar
Mel Finishes the Week
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
His week at the coin-operated laundromat finally over, Mel wished for nothing more, after a meal of mac & cheese, than a night of uninterrupted sleep.
So, now in REM sleep, he was able to dream, to put his Uncle’s laundromat behind him.
To recover.
But what the…
It was his Uncle Leo, bursting into Mel’s dream of sleeping on laundry. There’s something pleasant about lying on towels and underwear at your work.
“I don’t pay you to sleep. Take this mop, Mel.”
All that night he spent mopping.
Mopping and mopping linoleum until the morning, when he awoke exhausted.
From Guest Contributor David Sydney
Feb
You Are The Method
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I met the man with the train face at a strawberry picking. Where you buy the basket, scatter into the field, pick as many as you like or as will fit. He moved in a straight line, boring ever farther ahead, picking with one hand, then the other, then engineering the basket forward along the ground. When I was beside him, I could feel his breath like steam; his eyes seemed to let out more light than they took in. Full basket, he passed it to his wife. Her face was a station. She handed him a new, empty basket.
From Guest Contributor Ken Poyner
Feb
Reunion
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I was only seventeen when I gave my baby girl away to a loving family. My parents were by my side as my heart ached and I cried to sleep every night.
Happily married with two grown sons, my thoughts still frequented that sweet red-faced baby I left behind.
I felt my heart palpitate and my hands tremble, but my boys told me not to worry.
Molly had doubts but agreed to come.
The doorbell rings.
I straightened my clothes and took a deep breath.
On the other side of the door was my daughter waiting to meet her mother.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Feb
Haunting Silence
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“If Sam took a hearing test today, she’d fail it in the left ear, probably both.” The doctor points to diagrams, talks about adenoids and semi-clear liquid the color and consistency of honey.
Since January, I’ve watched Samantha’s world get smaller. She laboriously mastered “DaDa” and nothing more.
The doctor and my wife talk about tubes and advances in the technology of tubes.
I’m haunted by an image I haven’t seen yet—Sam unconscious, on a white hospital sheet awaiting surgery. I see this when I check on her.
In her crib, the sheets are pink, stuffed animals all around.
From Guest Contributor Shane Borrowman
Feb
The Present
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Are you okay, Ed?”
To relieve the pressure, Ed tugged on his undershirt collar. He and Mel were at the counter of AL’S DINER.
“My Aunt…”
“What?”
His words came haltingly.
“Aunt Edna…”
Each holiday, she gave the constricting presents.
Before Ed, they went to Uncle Fred. The poor man suffered from the waist down. After the holidays, he always had trouble with his privates.
Always Edna’s too-tight underwear.
“Your throat, Ed? Can you swallow the oatmeal?”
His jugulars stood out.
He twisted awkwardly on the swivel seat.
His throat?
His undershirt?
“It’s not the throat I’m worried about, Mel.”
From Guest Contributor David Sydney
Feb
Proposal
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The EMT says everything will be okay while the ambulance siren blares in the background. I’m in and out of consciousness and not sure what has happened. The last thing I remember is getting into my car to drive to Ally’s house.
Every inch of my body hurts, I’m tired and so cold. I can’t move because I’m strapped to a gurney. I wish the pain would go away.
Someone with a deep voice speaks to me. “Stay with me, man, don’t go.”
Where would I be going? I can’t move.
I remember. I was going to propose to Ally.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Jan
Debunking Resolutions
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
As the clock ticked towards the ending of a year, Ted was fast asleep.
He got up at noon to have brunch and catch up on emails.
“What are your resolutions for 2025?” asked a friend. Another asked similarly and another…
Ted closed his tablet.
Why should he stress himself about resolutions? Life ought to simply evolve, problems solved along the way.
He got up to make coffee. What, no coffee? Okay, he’ll have some tea. The canister usually filled with various teabags was empty.
Ted decided he would start the next New Year differently, with his kitchen well stocked.
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Jan
Lights Out
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I heard the news today, oh boy. The sun has gone supernova and in six hours the earth is a cinder. Judy and I broke up, so I went to Henry’s Bar in the hopes of being some woman’s last chance. The one woman there was working her way through the guys. Her “dance card” was already filled. With time growing short, I’d give Judy another chance. She told me “Duke you should have gotten the message. I’m not going to waste my little time left with you. I’m in Jason’s bed making the best of the end of world.”
From Guest Contributor Doug Hawley