Author Archives: Deborah Drucker

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About Deborah Drucker

I am a native of California who lives in Southern California. I have a background in healthcare and Special Education. Writing is a new adventure for me.

The Temperature At Which Books Burn

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4956476726_26b690b952_z Fahrenheit 451 via RA.AZ on Flickr

In Fahrenheit 451 the firemen do not put out fires, they set fire to books. Books were not allowed. What got me thinking about this story is a new book I am reading by Lisa See, Dreams of Joy. I just started it and do not know how it ends. So if you know, please don’t tell me. It is about a young Chinese American woman who is inspired by the communist revolution in China and decides to run away to China in search of her birth father and to work for the revolution. This is the time of the Red Guards, mobs who tortured and murdered people because they had “wrong” ideas, or somebody decided they didn’t like them. I did not realize that people would want to return to China during those times, but it seems some did. I keep thinking the character, Joy, in Lisa See’s story is so stupid. Maybe I will get to like her better later in the book. Her mother goes to China to find her. I identify with her mother. I can imagine how I would want to find my daughter and bring her home.

In Fahrenheit 451 a group of resisters decides to save books by memorizing them. The people become the books:

“I am Plato’s Republic. Mr. Simmons is Marcus. I want you to meet Jonathan Swift, the author of that evil political book, Gulliver’s Travels! And this other fellow is Charles Darwin, and-this one is Schopenhauer, and this one is Einstein, and this one here at my elbow is Mr. Albert Schweitzer, a very kind philosopher indeed. Here we all are, Montag. Aristophanes and Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha and Confucius and Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Lincoln, if you please. We are also Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” -Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

One of people becomes David Copperfield, one of my favorite books:

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show…..”

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “book.” Image of Fahrenheit 451 book cover by RA.AZ on Flickr. Last quote is from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

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The View

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Spring is here but there is still some snow on the ground. I take a break after my morning walk and my feet rest on the drifts. At least the sun is out and the view is good. It used to be that I never had time to walk in the mornings because I had a job. Since I was involuntarily unemployed at the beginning of the year, I have a lot of time on my hands, and not a lot of money. It’s a good thing that this bench with a view is free. Looking out over the calm water soothes my spirit. I think I will check those job listings again. Maybe there is one that’s just the right fit for me.

This is Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy. Image courtesy of Barbara Taylor.

Full Court Press

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Spotted this adorable video from Jukin Media in one of The Dodo’s posts. Had to share it. They do look like they are applying pressure with those stares. Like they’re saying:

OK , spill the beans!

Start talking!

What were you doing last Tuesday night?

 

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “press.”

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Down Time

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Waves

We often enjoyed a drive along the coast in the evening after a stressful day of work. Seeing the water and the beautiful natural coastline always lifted me. It did not fail me today as I drove North on PCH. This would have been our fortieth anniversary. Well it still was except Jim wasn’t here to share it with me. He missed it by one month. This time I will not turn around and drive back home. I will continue driving all the way to Mendocino. I have rented a cottage there for a month. It was to be our anniversary trip.

This is my contribution to Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields who also provided the ocean image. I am thinking of another anniversary. May 25 is the 39th anniversary of the release of Star Wars in the US. It was the year I got married and started my own adventure.

694px-Star_Wars_Logo_svg

May 25, 1977

A Parsnip of Pigeons

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Amaze…. “Sense of “overwhelm with wonder” is from 1590s” (Thesaurus.com)

As I walked out my back door one early morn’

I was amazed by what I saw

An exaltation of larks

A tittering of magpies

A band of blue jays

A cacophony of crows

A convocation of eagles

A charm of hummingbirds

A kettle of hawks

A gulp of swallows

A parsnip of pigeons

An ostentation of peacocks

A parliament of owls

A pandemonium of parrots

And a flamboyance of flamingoes

I thought to myself

What was in that wild bird seed I bought?

 

*If you’re wondering about a parsnip of pigeons, I made it up.  🙂

 

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt today is use a two letter word at the beginning and a bonus for using a two letter word at the end. Featured image: Brehms Teirleben Cockatiels painting via Wikimedia. And the collective nouns are inspired by James Lipton’s book ” An Exaltation of Larks,” which referenced ‘terms of venery’ from the Middle Ages. And that is where many of these collective nouns originated, the middle ages. Some could be recent inventions but I am not aware of the sources to credit other than a list on wikipedia 🙂

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SOCS-Name the Day Mother’s Day

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“The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother’s side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent.” -Erich Fromm

The umbilical cord is cut after a women gives birth to a child. I say there is an invisible cord that is never severed. A child does not understand this.  The mother understands and knows this. She feels the attachment to her heart her whole life. When your children are away from you, the cord is stretched but never broken.

Happy Mother’s Day ❤

 

 I am a parent, a mother. I am not sure if the intensity of feelings is the same for fathers or others. There are different kinds of parents, different genders of parents. But I can only speak for myself and say this is how I feel about being a mother/parent. I originally posted this last year for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. I think it is still relevant for this Mother’s Day. The prompt this year is “parent.”

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Mr. Zoot Suit

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Zoot Suits were a style in the 1940’s. Bright colored, long coats and baggy pants, wide brimmed hats with feathers. If you wore one you might be called “pachuco.” Or you might just like the music of Mr. Zoot Suit and want to dance.

 

 

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Mr. Zoot Suit music via The Paradise Room on You Tube and Blast From The Past Clip via Richard D on You Tube. Prompt is “zoo.”

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Dark Factory

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Too often man becomes clever instead of becoming wise, he becomes inventive but not thoughtful–and sometimes…he can create himself right out of existence.—Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone (closing of “The Brain Center at Whipple’s”)

 

What are we celebrating you ask? I am celebrating my crowning achievement, the full automation of my company. It has taken longer than I anticipated because of a few unforeseen glitches, but now it is done. We can produce all of our products and run the entire business with machines. I no longer have to be concerned about minimum wage, 8 hour work days, sick time, health insurance, or occupational safety. I even save on the electricity needed to keep the lights on. After all, the machines don’t need lights. They can work in the dark.

 

Post inspired by  China is Building a Model Army of Robot Workers by Will Knight, and The Working Class Meltdown by Rick Lowry.

“Approximately 100 million people are employed in manufacturing in China” (Will Knight). The article asks what will happen when they are replaced by robots. I ask what happens to people when they are displaced and unable to find adequate employment again?

This my post for  Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy

 

Oldest message in a bottle ever found

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via Oldest message in a bottle ever found  per Smithsonian is the one sent by George Parker Bidder in 1906 and was found 108 years later.

 

I would like ta get a message in a bottle from Sting. How cute is this guy? That is a rhetorical question. I don’t think I ‘ve heard this song before. I definitely heard of Roxanne.

The idea of sending a message in a bottle is so magical and romantic. Who will find it? George Parker Bidder did it for scientific reasons. I think it is cool to do it just to see where it takes you. Like notes tied on the sagebrush. Who will find it? Who will read it? Will it make a connection with them?

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today was “ta” and I stretched it a bit.

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