Category Archives: Writing

Wine Infused Coffee

I just found out I can combine two of my favorite beverages, wine and coffee. I received an email advertising wine-infused coffee beans. I think I will need a large glass or mug of it after reading another article about Universal Basic Income and robots ( taking over jobs). These robots are very pushy and seem to want to take over as quickly as possible according to the article. And the only thing holding them back is the bad PR. The public might not like to see so many jobs taken over by machines, because if their jobs were taken over by robots, they would not be able to make a living. Then they would not have money to survive and buy the products that the robots were making. The author claimed that all this could be easily remedied by Universal Basic Income. Everyone should be given a basic income to survive. Then we wouldn’t care about the robots. I’ll take my large mug of wine-infused coffee now.

Wine Infused Coffee

I am so glad we decided to getaway this weekend. Carmel is one of my favorite places to visit. I love wandering around the village and looking at all the interesting shops and galleries. Just as we turned the corner we spotted this vine covered cottage with a bright blue door. I don’t recall seeing this place the last time we were here, and it looks like it has been here for a long time. We decided to investigate and tried the door. It opened into a small shop. It was filled with a wonderful selection of wines. As we browsed the displays we came across something unusual. There were little packages of whole coffee beans but they were different. The label said the coffee beans were infused with wine. As we looked over the display, the shopkeeper, an older woman, quietly approached us. We were surprised to see a human working in the shop. It had been 50 years since the Total Automation had occurred. We thought humans had been banned from all work. The shopkeepers saw our looks of confusion.

“I am one of The Olders,” she said, “We continue to work in small corners of the world.”

“But your income is provided for with UBI, is it not?”

“We believe that humans have a need to work and we will never give that up.”

We hurried out of the shop. To buy anything made or sold by humans was against the law and punishable by prison.

This is my contribution to Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by Priceless Joy.

I Wasn’t Invited to the Ball

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I don’t know what happened. I expected to get it in the mail. Where is my invitation to the ball? I get one every year. What has changed? I know I am no longer the ingénue or the belle. Those years are long gone. But I still love to dance and am very skilled in all the steps. I am good at making witty repartee. I would not be a dull partner. Where is my invitation? I noticed that my gentleman neighbor received his invitation and told me he is getting his evening attire out of storage. He doesn’t even know all the dances that I do but it seems he is a more desirable partner. I asked my older woman friend if she got her invitation yet. She told me in a whisper that I should be aware that women of a certain age are invisible to society and must exit the social scene quietly. For heaven sake, don’t make a fuss. Accept the fate assigned to you. Don’t rock the boat. Take up feeding the birds or gardening.

If your over 5o and even starting as early as 35 your prospects of finding a job diminish as you get older. Think this is a fairytale? Watch the PBS video below. Ageism is alive and well. Especially for women. I know it happened to me. From Harvard Business Review, Older Women are Being Forced Out of the Workforce.

This post is my contribution to Stream Of Consciousness Saturday hosted by Linda G Hill. Featured image “Too Early” by James Tissot.

Love in Autumn

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After Jim died I was in a cold, gray fog. The kids were all there with me for the funeral but it is the part that comes after that is the hardest. I moved around dazed feeling like I was walking through Jello. What used to be inconsequential little things, those things I took for granted, would bring back memories to stab at my heart. The absence of the weight of his body on the other side of the bed. The way he would throw his arm over me in the middle of the night. All the million little details he attended to that made my life easier. Each time I confronted something on my own it was a painful reminder that he was gone. I did have a small financial cushion but it would not maintain me in the house. I would have to sell our home and figure out where would be the best place to land next. I did not want my kids to be burdened with a helpless old woman. Is that what I am, a helpless old woman? I was a young woman once who might have been considered a bit radical. What happened to that independent girl who believed in Women’s Liberation? Can I bring her back again? I was scrolling through my Email when I noticed a message from Road Scholar announcing a trip to London to visit all the places that are associated with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his excellent detective Sherlock Holmes. I had been a great lover of English mysteries and Sherlock Holmes. I always thought it would be wonderful to see 221B Baker Street. Jim and I had wanted to travel but life doesn’t always give you exactly what you want. I signed up for the trip. I could not believe it was really happening when my plane lifted off from LAX. I ordered a glass of wine and stuffed my IPod ear buds in to relax to the sounds of La Boheme, one of my favorite Puccini operas. I must have fallen into a deep sleep because before I knew it the plane was touching down at Heathrow.

Our tour group met in the hotel lobby later that morning. Our guide was an energetic young man who quickly herded us aboard our coach. As I took my seat on the tour bus I doubted myself for a moment, my critical voice chattering in my ear, You’re an old fool. What ever made you think it was a good idea to squander money on a trip like this! I pulled out my itinerary to check what was scheduled for the day. That was when I heard someone asking me, Is this your first trip to London? I turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw an older gentleman sitting next to me. His gentle brown eyes held my gaze.

This is my Flash Fiction contribution to the WEP Valentine Challenge, click on the link if you want to know more about it. Featured Image of Sherlock Holmes Museum by Anders Thirsgaard on Flickr.

Approx. 475 words

Critique Preference: General

For those in the US, if you would like to do more to help Seniors combat hunger click on the link below to the AARPfoundation.org

During February, AARP will highlight 29 Days of Action – simple things individuals can do to help combat hunger and food insecurity.

Source: 29 Ways to Combat Senior Hunger

Miss Maddie’s Garden

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The people in the neighborhood were too busy struggling to survive their own lives, ( or at least that’s what they told themselves), to notice the old woman who moved in downstairs. That’s why they were surprised when they saw the Spring flowers bursting through the dirt in the abandoned lot next door. More so to see Miss Maddie with a watering can and gardening tools pulling up the weeds. A studio apartment in one of the older buildings was all she could afford with her Social Security. She could still have beauty in her life, she thought.

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the gracious Rochelle-Wisoff Fields of the blog Addicted to Purple and the flower image is courtesy of The Reclining Gentleman

The Old Blue Truck

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It’s bad enough she painted these eyes on my head lamps. Now what is she trying to do, a root canal? I never thought retirement would be like this. Plunked down behind an old garage with assorted shrubbery growing up through my frame. I know I shouldn’t feel too sorry for myself. At least I still have some color, four tires, fenders and a running board. If only I could tell her about all the work I did in my younger years. I was a hard working truck and hauled many a heavy load for my last owner, the farmer, Mr. Thomas. I brought his wife and baby son home from the hospital. I took his son to the bus when he enlisted in the Army. He never came back from that war. I even carried Mr. Thomas to his final resting place over at the town cemetery. I guess this is better than being buried and forgotten. Maybe I can still be useful after all.

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is hosted by Joy of Beautiful Words. Image by Pixabay.com

Miss Maddie’s Hope

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Miss Maddie’s spirits were always lifted when she saw the sunflowers along the road on her daily walks. She kept to her walks no matter if it was cloudy or bright, hot or cold. She had the self-discipline she had honed over the years of working in jobs where there was little chance of recognition or glory. Her values dictated that you performed your job to the best of your ability and did not shirk your responsibilities. Too bad her employers did not see things the same way and did not share her values or see the need for any loyalty to her. They made sure she was let go before she could be eligible for any retirement benefits. The sunflowers had popped up without anyone knowing where they came from. To Miss Maddie, like her irrepressible spirit, they were a symbol of hope.

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is hosted by Joy of the blog Beautiful Words. Image courtesy of Sonya-Only 100 Words.

The Perfect Getaway

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The chateau sounded like the perfect getaway even if it was a bit remote. She was to have the use of a car after all. When her best friend heard about it she said that it was just like her to commit to something without really thinking it through. All Jessie knew was that she needed to get away. The recent break up had left her pretty low. The door opened just as she reached up to knock. We’ve been expecting you, he said as their eyes met, welcome home Mademoiselle. A voice in her head said, Run!

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Image courtesy of Ceayr.

The Walking Tour

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This was to be my getaway weekend. Some much needed time to myself. I brought a stack of paperbacks, my favorite chocolate, and a bottle of Cabernet from a little winery I had discovered on the way up the coast. I found the brochure on a table in the lobby about a self-guided walking tour. The idea of exploring the back streets and hidden alcoves of this little village really inspired me. It was at the bottom of some old stairs when I saw the vine covered door. It slowly opened and my eyes met his, my future husband.

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Image courtesy of Amy Reese.

Hakuna Matata

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“It means no worries for the rest of your days”

“When I was young wart hog”….oh well I was never a young wart hog. Now I feel better at the thought of not being a wart hog. They are not the most attractive animals. No offense, wart hogs who may be reading this.

Hakuna Matata is the title of a song from “The Lion King.” It would be nice to have no worries for the rest of my days. That is a nice goal to set for ourselves but probably not possible unless you are the Dalai Lama. Although, he probably has some worries, sometimes, too. I do like his philosophy or what I have read of it and other writers on Buddhism. I have a little book by Jack Kornfield, ” A Lamp in the Darkness” that has some great quotes. One of them is:

“If you can sit quietly after difficult news; if in financial downturns you remain perfectly calm; if you can see your neighbors travel to fantastic places without a twinge of jealousy; if you can happily eat whatever is put on your plate; if you can fall asleep after a day of running around without a drink or a pill; if you can always find contentment just where you are: you are probably a dog.”

I really like that even though Jack Kornfield was trained as a Buddhist monk, he is able to sound like a human being. It inspires me to keep trying to have no worries. I’ll let you know if I ever succeed. 🙂

This post is for Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by the calm and collected Linda G Hill. The prompt today is “title”, but title of a movie. I read Linda’s post about “The Lion King” and thought that was our prompt for today, thus I wrote about something from The Lion King, too. Oh well, no worries. 🙂 Image: No Worries Face by schristia on Flickr.

Pause

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This is an important word in the introvert vocabulary. I have recently been on a break to have some much needed down time from my blog/writing and to recharge. You might think I have been sitting by a lake staring off toward the horizon, but I have been busy with some life things. Actually sitting by a lake and staring off at the horizon sounds pretty good to me but it has been chilly here. Chilly for Southern California and sitting outdoors might not be so relaxing. Although, we still have sunshine. Pause and reflection are good for everyone but essential to the introverted temperament. I spotted a really cute post on the Huffington post about the topic which included this chart by Gemma Correll.

I have been sort of in the “Region of Hibernation” with the colder weather. I definitely enjoyed some time with my kids over the holidays. I did do some online ordering of a few gifts. I had some new adventures. I made the 7+ hour drive on the 101 up to the Bay Area ( San Francisco Bay area) alone in a rental car and later realized that I did not know that the headlights did not turn on automatically. I had dinner in Alameda, at a Burmese restaurant, which was delicious. I hiked along a trail near the ocean in Half Moon Bay. I drove all the way back to Southern California with my daughter’s great company this time, now knowing how to operate the headlights, and saw some “Russian space debris” heading on a 45 degree angle toward the earth with a big fiery tail behind it. At least we are told it was Russian space debris. I even saw the new Star Wars movie in 3D.

Now I think I am ready for a bit of “Solitude Mountains” with a “Sea of Books” nearby.

Happy New Year!

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is hosted by LindaGHill.