Category: Challenges

Posted in Challenges

Song Lyric Sunday – Romantic Love Songs

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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For Song Lyric Sunday, we were asked to find the love song that spoke to us. For me, it is Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” written, in 1972, by Dolly Parton. My friends, my best friends, will know why this song speaks to me. Here are the lyrics to the song. You can hear the song from the video at the bottom of the page:

“I Will Always Love You”

If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I’ll go but I know
I’ll think of you every step of the way

And I… will always love you, ooh
Will always love you
You
My darling, you…
Mmm-mm

Bittersweet memories –
That is all I’m taking with me.
So good-bye.
Please don’t cry:
We both know I’m not what you, you need

And I… will always love you
I… will always love you
You, ooh

[Instrumental / Sax solo]

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this I wish you love

And I… will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you

I will always love you
I, I will always love you.

You.
Darling, I love you.
I’ll always…
I’ll always love you.
Ooh
Ooh

Posted in #SoCS

#SoCS – 2/18/2017

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Is it Winter?, Basketball, Reading, Writing

After being in South Florida for a month, I am confused about the seasons. When I was in Florida, I forgot it was winter. Now, I’m home in Kentucky and the temperatures are very warm for this time of year – in the 60s and even 70s. From what my friends here tell me, Kentucky really hasn’t had much of a winter this year. My psyche is confused about the seasons. I guess it will be from now on since we will be living six months in Florida (winter) and six months in Kentucky (summer) so we will sort of be in perpetual summer. Suits me just fine.

Yes, we are home from Florida and the amount of just “stuff” I have to put away, launder, and arrange is mind blowing. What I would rather be doing is writing. I didn’t get to write nearly as much as I wanted while in “The Sunshine State.” I will rectify that while in Kentucky. Now that we actually have a place to live in Florida, I will now be able to write there as well. No longer will be living like gypsies while in Florida!

I love college basketball! I’m watching a game between my beloved University of Kentucky Wildcats and the Georgia Bulldogs. I don’t like professional sports, however.  We’ll be able to pick up the basketball games while in Florida as we will use a satellite dish.

Have you read anything good lately? The novel I’m writing is a psychological thriller so I’m trying to read other psychological thrillers to get a sense of their style. I’m currently reading “The Couple Next Door” by Shari Lapena. I think the author could have done a better job in building up suspense. Besides that, it is a very good book and I would recommend it. Do you have any suggestions?

I always like to exchange writing tips. My tip for today is to try to write something, anything every day to keep your hand in. Any tips? Put them in the comments section.

That’s it for now!

Posted in Challenges

A Day Spa and the Trip Home: #SoCS – 2 04/17

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

 

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Soon, we will be leaving Florida and starting toward our home. It will take us a while to get there since there are a couple of legs to that trip. In preparation for the trip home, today I visited a salon and day spa here in Ft. Myers. It was a great experience! Although I only had my hair done there and picked up some products I need, this day spa offered every imaginable service from massage to facials to mani/pedi. If you’re ever in Ft. Myers, drop me a line and I’ll tell you where to go! Tomorrow is an errand day, again getting ready to start the trip home.

Speaking of the trip home, we will start driving north up along the Gulf of Mexico side of the peninsula mid-week next week. I don’t anticipate the traffic to be as bad going north as it was coming south. Most people don’t leave Florida until the end of February. We will make a stop for a few days at Carrabelle RV Resort, which is on the panhandle of Florida, right across the bay from St. Georges Island. We’re meeting friends there. We know that, unfortunately, the weather won’t be as warm as we’ve enjoyed in Ft. Myers, but it will surely be warmer than it will be when we get home to Kentucky! I will enjoy having some time with my girlfriend to shop, eat out, explore, and just talk and visit. The guys plan to do some fishing. We all plan to eat great food, especially great seafood.

We will visit Port St. Joe and Appalachicola at a minimum. We’re really looking forward to it. While we will be staying in the RV Park, they will stay on St. Georges Island. I, too, am looking forward to visiting the island, its beaches, and its shops. There is a nice bridge close by.

After spending a few days there, we will start the long journey home. A friend back home tells me that they are expecting a winter storm right about that time, if long-range weather forecasts are to be believed. So we will be watching the weather from the panhandle north to Kentucky very carefully. It’s almost a straight shot north and a little east. No big mountains, thank goodness. But any slick roads sidelines a RV, so who knows when we might arrive home! Unscheduled stops are always a possibility.

We have so enjoyed these weeks in Ft. Myers, Florida. We’ll be back! I will tell you about that another time.

If you’d like to join in with the Stream of Consciousness Challenge:

Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
8. Have fun!

Posted in Challenges

Song Lyric Sunday – 1/28/2017

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Hello everyone! I chose the Bill Withers song, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” for my contribution today, the theme being “sun.” This is a song from my generation. Here are the lyrics:

Ain’t No Sunshine – Single Version
Bill Withers
Lyrics
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
It’s not warm when she’s away
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And she’s always gone too long
Anytime she goes away
Wonder this time where she’s gone
Wonder if she’s gone to stay
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone
And this house just ain’t no home
Anytime she goes away
And I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know,
I know, I know,
Hey, I oughtta leave young thing alone
But…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tIdIqbv7SPo

Posted in Challenges, Uncategorized

#SoCS – Jan. 28/17

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Two things are on my mind for this stream of consciousness post. First, I am away on a trip and the place where I am is where I would like to live. The unfortunate part is that it is likely to take a while, maybe a long while, to make that happen. I don’t want to go home. “Home” doesn’t feel like home anymore. This place, this magical place, feels like home. There is very little I can do to rush the process of making my dream “place” my home. I have to wait for property to become available and it seldom does. I will wait. I would wait a long time.

Second, I am worried about the state of our country, the U.S.A. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I feel so strongly that we have an incompetent in the White House. Not only an incompetent but an egomaniacal narcissistic man. A dangerous combination for someone with access to the nuclear codes. He has been there one week and has violated the Constitution multiple times. He has also violated at least one important campaign promise. I know people whose most important requirement of the President  was that he was going to build a wall on the Southern border and have Mexico pay for it. Clearly, Mexico is not going to pay for it. Instead, he is going to tax us for it, the hard-working taxpayers. Not only that, but he has harmed the middle class by cutting the FHA mortgage insurance premiums. He doesn’t care about the middle class.

Do we let him go on and violate our Constitution and do absolutely nothing about it? The result of that will be the death of our democracy. Donald Trump may be the last President of the United States. We may be looking at a different, and less desirable, form of government. An authoritarian dictatorship, for example. If we’re lucky, a parliamentary form of government. Surely not a democratic form of government.

Then we have his and his Secretary of State’s Russian ties. Thankfully, that is being investigated.

The very most disturbing thing is the President’s efforts to stop the flow of information out of many of the federal agencies. Shades of Nazi Germany.

I’ll stop here, though I have so much more I could say.

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Posted in Challenges

#SoCS – Jan 20/17

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Wow! What a week for a stream of consciousness post. What has overtaken my mind at this point is the fact that I’m in southwest Florida, on an island off the coast of Ft. Myers and it’s warm, dry, and beautiful! It’s January! I love the ocean and since we arrived, the weather has been tranquil and the ocean like glass. Actually, we’ve been here five times before at this time of year, but not for a couple of years. I’m so thrilled to be here again I can hardly think of anything else. I’m really enjoying it. We’re taking a side trip to the Everglades tomorrow, one of my favorite places. Primarily so I can see the wildlife…..then rant about how we’re killing our environment.

There are other things on my mind. When we got to our favorite place in the world here in Florida, we found that two of our friends had passed away since we were here last. One quite suddenly and at a young age. He and his wife came here from North Dakota every year for six months and were good friends. The other an older gentleman  that also spent the season here. He was an interesting story. He had two German Shepherds, trained only using German commands. They were the most intricately trained, and well trained, dogs I’ve ever known. It haunts me wondering what happened to the dogs as Hans was single, to my knowledge. I don’t know if he had any family or not.

The other thing on my mind is my desire to move to Florida. There are so many reasons to move, but there are a few reasons not to move. I’m having a mental battle between pros and cons. One concern is the fact I will have to spend a lot of the hot times indoors. That is due to a health condition. My particular health condition does not allow me to tolerate very high heat for very long at a time. However, there are positives about moving regarding that same health condition. This specific downside is the only downside to moving here, but it is a significant downside. Before I make a final decision, I have to talk to my doctor although I’ve been told not to worry about this side effect. We will see a realtor here in Florida several times while we are here. We aren’t yet picking out a house as our house where we currently live has to be sold first. We are picking out the community in which we want to live.

Last, I guess I’m a little worried about my dog, Betsy. She is doing well on this trip, but she is sleeping a lot. She had a seizure about three weeks ago, so I am watchful. Signing off for this week!

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Posted in Challenges

Transcendent

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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She was only 19 years old. He was her best friend’s neighbor who lived just down the road. He was also working with her dad on a civic project. They were good friends. Maybe not good enough. He was a professor at the local university and she was a student. His student in just one class. Just another student. He was a young professor, a new Assistant Professor. Only ten years older than she was. He was married with a beautiful little girl.

He was tall, blonde, incredibly handsome. She was mesmerized by him. In class, when he came to her house to see her dad, when she was at her best friend’s house and they watched him and giggled at the window. She had a little crush on him as student’s sometimes do on their professors. Everything he did had transcendent importance to her. She never dreamed anything would really happen between them. She was speechless and tongue-tied around him.

Then he started flirting with her a little. She thought she was imagining it. She flirted back, but she thought it was just a game. Back when she was 19, a lifetime ago, that wasn’t very old especially not in the environment in which she had grown up. She had only one real boyfriend and that had ended badly. She had grown up very sheltered. She hadn’t been allowed to stay out late or date many people. She was living at home while she attended college.

The flirting grew and he asked her to join him one night when he had to drive to another nearby town. Just to talk, he said. She was so incredibly flattered that she didn’t even think about the fact that it was probably wrong. The wrong thing to do. He was, after all, a married man. She rode with him that night.

Thirty-five years later, he had moved on to another university in another state. She had married, divorced, and married again. When he was in the vicinity, he still called her and asked her to take a ride with him. She still saw everything he said and did as transcendentally important. He had affected her in a way that lasted the rest of her life.

Posted in Challenges

Impenetrable

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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His emotional walls are impenetrable. For 40 years, they have been impenetrable. I don’t know him any better now than I did 40 years ago. At least not emotionally. How is that possible? Is it me? Am I that clueless? Or can someone who you have known for 40 years really still be a complete mystery to you?

Maybe he has no emotions. Sociopaths really don’t have emotions. But surely he is not a sociopaths. To be honest, I’ve often wondered about that. Whether or not he is a sociopath. There are things he would do without remorse if I didn’t tell him no, that those things were wrong.

I feel like he walks around with an impenetrable shell around him, so I also walk around with a shell around me. Not impenetrable. Not at all. But a shell that keeps me from feeling much of anything most of the time. I blame him. He’s taught me how to do this. He’s taught me why to do this. To be impenetrable.

Posted in Challenges

Song Lyric Sunday 1/15/2016 “Cat’s in the Cradle”

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

I chose Cats in the Cradle, originally sung by Cat Stevens. This version is by Harry Chapin. It’s a song of my generation and it is about a parent/child relationship.

Cats in the Cradle
By Harry Chapin

A child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Dad, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then,
You know we’ll have a good time then.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on lets play
Can you teach me to throw? ” I said, “Not today,
I got a lot to do” He said “that’s okay”
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m going to be like him”

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Dad, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then,
You know we’ll have a good time then.

Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say,
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head, and he said with a smile

“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please? ”

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Son, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, Dad
You know we’ll have a good time then.

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said “Id like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said “Id love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It’s sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It’s been sure nice talking to you…….. ”
And as I hung up the phone it had occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me…………..

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Son, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, Dad
We’re gonna have a good time then.

Thanks to Helen Espinosa!

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Posted in Challenges, Uncategorized

#SoCS – Jan 14/17

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Pajamas are a wonderful thing. I’ve been exhausted from trying to get ready to travel for a trip where we will be gone for about six weeks. I’ve also been desperately trying to keep up with my writing. Last night, I finally decided that I had to rest. I put on my pajamas and just relaxed, although I have to admit that I made a list of things I have to do this weekend. Writing things. Travel things to get ready to leave in a couple of days. Just putting on my pajamas relaxes me even though I still did some mental work.

Pajamas, a robe, and house slippers. What is better than that? My little dog, Betsy, is so happy when she sees me putting on my pajamas. She knows I’m staying home. Dogs are pretty smart like that. If I’m putting on makeup, other clothes, jewelry, Betsy knows I’m going out which is something she surely does not like.

I get some of the same relaxation effect when I put on leggings, which tend to be my “around the house” clothes. But, they don’t give me as dramatic a relaxation effect as pajamas. What relaxes you? Do you get the same effect as I do from putting on your slippers, robe, and pajamas?

 

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