My Cardboard Balcony

by Belinda Roddie "She was dressed in the blood of the men who had underestimated her," said the storyteller, sipping from his predictable cup of coffee. "Not a pretty sight." "You mean painted?" He stared. "Sorry." "Painted," she pointed out. "She was painted  with the blood of the men who had underestimated her. Not dressed. You can't wear blood." "It's for story purposes. It's a metaphor." "Sounds silly," she replied, clicking her tongue. "Unless the blood coagulated, of course. In which case, good luck getting it to stick to you in any weather." "You're a scientist, aren't you?" "And damn proud of it, sport." This week's prompt was provided by Roger Collins.

"Did you break my vase?" Teresa asked her oldest son, Charlie. "No, Mom," he replied. "It was Jason!" "Did you break my vase?" Teresa asked her middle son, Jason. "No, Mom," he replied. "It was Sheryl!" "Don't even bother asking me, Mom," Sheryl snapped from behind the screen of her laptop before Teresa could even speak. "Charlie and Jason drank Dad's beer and crashed your vase while singing along loudly to Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' Filmed the whole thing,"

Hi Everyone! This is Arden with a guest introspection tonight because. Just because. That's all the reason I need. So Belinda and I have been married for almost a week now, and we've been having a very nice time in Hawaii (if you couldn't already tell from this week's Poet Corners). We just got back from happy hour at the hotel bar where we chatted with a nice couple from Michigan celebrating their 25th anniversary and we're about to head out for a nice sushi dinner for our last night here. It's been wonderful! Being on vacation is awesome!* Sadly, tomorrow we have to fly home and go back to our real lives.** But we've had a great time being married so far, and I'm really looking forward to continuing to be married back home. Have a great night and a great weekend, everybody! *It is especially awesome because we've determined the two rules of vacation are 1) calories don't count and 2) money isn't real. **Our real lives are less ...

Pulled Pork At Its Meanest by Belinda Roddie The luau was fun until they resurrected the roast pig.

The Underground had been designed to be just that - buried deep in the earth so that little light came, but water still flowed easily, the pipes in remarkable condition considering that the plumbing itself was over fifty years old. Paths and tunnels had been carved through both hard rock and rich,  soft soil, and beneath your feet, you could barely feel the warmth of what must of been lava underneath: "Our natural heating system," the mayor said.

Aloha! by Belinda Roddie Aloha! We are still in Kauai and had a great time at a luau that is owned by a great local family that sure knows how to make me tip my hat to them. The food was excellent, the sweet and strong Mai Tais kicking us in the gut in just the best way. We danced to the beat of bass and ukulele, and guess what? We got applause for being newlyweds and enjoyed a great series of song and dance from all sorts of cultures. Now sleepyheads, we went back to our hotel room. Perchance I'll collapse as soon as I finish this silly sonnet, and hope my dreams are bliss.

By the time the fight was over, Ashley had two fractured bones in her left arm, a sprained ankle, two impressively robust black eyes, and a much darker outlook on life than she ever thought possible. As she sat rigidly in her hospital bed, too far away from the window to observe what was going on outside, she tried to block the pain and humiliation with thoughts. Any thoughts. Thoughts of birthdays and parties and past loves, rather than complete and utter defeat against her archrival.