Posted in Fantasy and Magic, Fiction, romance

The Play: The Power of Magic, Part 2

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

To read Part 1 of The Play,  click here The Play: The Power of Magic

Josh and April, after reading the script for The Play: The Power of Magic, decided something was wrong. It didn’t seem complete. They decided to send it back to the theatre department’s scriptwriters, make some suggestions, and ask their opinions. Two days passed and it was getting close to time to try to find actors for the play. Josh and April were getting nervous. Then, the scriptwriter’s sent back the script and they were in agreement. They expanded the script with some changes.

Josh explains the revised script. He tells April that Rachael did, indeed help give Peter back his youth with her magic for a little while. But no man would be content with regaining his youth just for a little while. The scriptwriter’s realized that was the flaw in the script. Instead, it continued like this:

The reason the fantasy only last for a little while was because Peter was also involved with a woman named Prissy. One of the main reasons Peter felt old was because Prissy made him feel old with her judgmental attitude and her criticisms of him. Prissy was a woman old before her time and wanted to control every aspect of Peter’s life. Peter thought he needed Prissy.

Usually, there is a reason a man stays with such a woman. We all have flaws and, in Peter’s case, his flaw caused him to stay with Prissy – his need for the security that money brought. Prissy came from a wealthy family and she had the money, together with Peter’s money, to allow them to do whatever they wanted, including the travel that Peter loved. Peter had traded his freedom and basic happiness for money and the temporary pleasure it brought him. In turn, he had to bow to Prissy.

Peter had known Rachael and her magic fairy dust for many years. Somehow, they had never quite connected. This time, Rachael could help Peter regain his youth and vitality and they rediscovered the love they had once known and had even almost once acted on. That magic wand was powerful. Peter and Rachael reconnected in a way neither ever knew was possible through the magic wand and fairy dust. They fell deeply in love.

Despite the love between them, sometimes love is not enough. They had to come back down to earth and Peter realized that Rachael did not have the financial resources that Prissy did. Their combined money would not have taken them as far. When Prissy found out about the relationship between Peter and Rachael, she threatened to take it all away from Peter. He bowed to the pressure, thinking he valued money and travel more than he valued love. Even Rachael’s magic fairy dust, magic wand, magnet, smiling face, and other tools of the magic trade could not compete with the almighty dollar.

A tragedy did indeed occur. Peter went back to Prissy and cut off all contact with Rachael. Rachael’s heart was broken as were her magic powers. The fairy dust would never be used again. The magic wand and magnet were dumped in an old chest in the attic. Rachael went back to her life, alone, as she couldn’t love anyone but Peter. Peter had promised her, the last night they were together, that he would always be in her life. He was gone. Her love was gone. #blogpropellant #amwriting #amblogging #writing #fantasy #NecessaryFic #shortstorymag #shortfiction8

 

Posted in Fantasy and Magic, Fiction

The Play: The Power of Magic, Part 1

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

The Play: The Power of Magic, Part 2

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“The committee has chosen the script for us,” Jose says to April, the other director in the theatre department of the university.

Their department has been charged with putting on a play starring two characters and a committee has been sorting through scripts trying to choose the right one.

“It’s a fantasy come-to-life with a little magic,” Josh says. Let me tell you about the script. It’s a one-act play.

Peter is a middle-aged man who is feeling old. He’s happy in his life and has some fun but not always the fun he likes to have. He doesn’t smile much. Rachael is a middle-aged woman who has never felt old. She smiles all the time and has a secret. She believes in magic. Especially when it comes to Peter, who she has always loved. Peter is drawn to her as by a magnet because she helps him feel not so old anymore. He doesn’t know about her magic wand that sprinkles fairy dust along his path to help him.

Peter has had some health issues that have made him feel old to the point of using a cane and being a wise one. He feels the clock is ticking on his life.

Rachael examines Peter and his life with her magic magnifing glass. She sees a man who has lost some of his self-confidence, his quick smile, and the twinkle in his eyes. He’s become convinced he needs someone to lean on.as the clock ticks down on his life. Rachael doesn’t believe any of that.

With her smiling face, magic wand and fairy dust, and magnet, she gives Peter back his youth, but only for a little while.

A tragedy befalls Peter and Rachael. Rachael learns of the tragedy through a letter. Fantasies always come to an end even though Peter and Rachael planned for this one to last a lifetime. Rachael’s love for Peter will never come to an end. #blogpropellant #amwriting #amblogging #writing #fantasy #NecessaryFic #shortstorymag #shortfiction8

Cubing the Stories #13

 

 

Reblogged on rosemarycarlson.com – Writings from the Heart. Wow! The food looks wonderful. Your work is awesome. You’ve taken such great care to make us all comfortable! Come over and visit me!

jacquelineobyikocha's avatara cooking pot and twisted tales

Image result for party imagesYeah! It’s fun time again. 🙂

We have hit October so fast that sometimes my mind spins at the way time zooms by. Doesn’t it make one feel like a happy hamster running around in circles in pursuit of time? 🙂

Anywhoo, I hope your weekend is going great. You are most welcome to my monthly meet & mingle, shake a leg & jingle, connect & interact with other awesome folks in here.

If this is your first-time visit, the rules of play are outlined below, if you are an old-timer, you know the drill.

Grab some refreshments and favours which nicely arranged down the page. Feel free to indulge, these are zero calories😉

Just some little party rules:

  1. You must mix and mingle with others. Don’t be a wallflower. Go say hello to someone and you can participate in the Tag a poem, a thought or quote below.
  2. Let us know where…

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October Blog Blast – Let’s Get This Party Started.🎶🍰🍨🌭🍸🍻💃

Posted in Travel

Traveling to my Homeland of Sweden

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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I’ve had travel on my mind lately and a trip I took to the land of my father’s birth has been front and center. I was excited about this trip and feeling quite awkward as I didn’t speak even a little bit of the language. Not even thank you, hello, or where do you find the bathroom. But, off I went with a girlfriend and we explored Scandinavia one hot summer. I’ll save some of the trip to write about another time as it was full of adventure, but I was anxious to get to Sweden, the land of my father’s birth. He was an immigrant to the United States as a child and I am a first generation American on his side of the family.

We passed through the Netherlands, specifically Amsterdam, on the train. Then, through Copenhagen. Both wonderful adventures. Then, we crossed over into southern Sweden on that train on our way to Stockholm. My family came from a tiny town southwest of Stockholm called Finspong. It was high summer, which in Sweden means it never really got dark. The train was full so I gave up my seat to an older lady and I stood between cars just so I could see the scenery and commit it to memory, not knowing if I would ever have a chance to return. I was anxious to see the land of my dad’s birth.

My grandparents and great-grandparents who came from Sweden were not wealthy people. They were middle class at best and worked as farmers. The land that I saw heading toward Stockholm on that train was a lot of rolling farmland. It took most of a day to arrive in the city.

We got to Stockholm in the late afternoon. As I looked at the people, I realized I no longer felt awkward. I felt at home. They looked like me. They were blonde, some brown-eyed, some blue-eyed. In our very nice hotel, a little English was spoken but not very much. I found myself wishing I had learned the language. Swedish is not an easy language to learn. We ate dinner in the hotel dining room and I realized how different the Scandinavian food was. Mostly fish, fortunate for me, as that is what I liked. But other odd delicacies that I had never eaten. After dinner, we went to our room as we were tired from traveling.

Both my girlfriend and I took a nap. We woke up later as the sun was still shining at 11 p.m. People were milling about on the streets so we joined them. As dusk started to fall, we were treated with the most awesome display of the Northern Lights you could ever imagine. I had seen them before in Northern Michigan. But seeing the Northern Lights in Sweden put that experience to shame. After that, we went to our room for the night. We were advised to close the blackout shades as the sun only went partially down from about midnight to 3 a.m. We slept, but only for a few hours as we were excited to get up and explore the city.

Downtown Stockholm is the most modern of cities and the architecture is something to see. I, however, was anxious to go to the old city. Old Town Stockholm was considered a slum until the 20th century but is now the hot spot of the city. It is on an island and a couple of islets and that is where you will see the baroque-style Royal Palace and Royal Chapel. Old Town was founded in 1252 and the Royal Palace is 600 rooms. Sweden is still, actually, a monarchy. Old Town is medieval and has the winding cobblestone streets and narrow alleys you find in other medieval old cities in Europe. There are the usual restaurants, night clubs, galleries, and museums. You can watch the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace. But, there is a lot of culture as well and you can see what Sweden is all about. Don’t go to Scandinavia and miss Old Town Stockholm!

Museums like the Moderna Museet for a fabulous collection of 20th and 21st century art. There is theatre, dance, photography, and a famous auction house for antiques. Of course, Sweden is famous for its glass-making and you can watch demonstrations of glass blowing and buy fine Swedish glassware on the spot. I shipped some of it home.

For all of us techies, it may be a surprise to learn that Stockholm residents are the most wired (or wireless) people in the world. They spend their lives in cafes with their electronics and they are always connected.

Yes, the climate is cold. Even in high summer, we had to wear jackets. But the Swedes never let that stop them. They revel in the cold and Sweden is one of the capitals of Nordic sports.

After several days in Stockholm, we jumped back on the train and headed north from Stockholm to visit northern Sweden and cross over to Norway. Our visit to Lapland was fascinating. More about that in another blog post. We had a wonderful visit to land of my father! #SOCS #amwriting #amblogging #writing #travel #Sweden

This post is part of #SOCS

 

 

Posted in Non-fiction

Remembering: My Friend and Jamaica’s Fern Valley

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Around 15 years ago, I did a lot of traveling with a good friend. We saw so many wonderful places. I feel like we went around the world together and I feel a lot of nostalgia about these trips. I remember each and every one. We spent much time on the island of Jamaica as my friend had business there. His home base for business was Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. Kingston is not exactly a tourist spot. That is probably an understatement. But, we used it as a jumping off point for some wonderful adventures on that beautiful island. Allow me to tell you about one of those adventures.

Above Kingston lies Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. You can look down from them and see Kingston. You can drive from Kingston, where you endure sweltering heat, to the relative cool of the Blue Mountains, though the humidity is high. The city of Kingston has temperatures, even in the fall of the year, in the 80s and 90s, as Jamaica really has no seasons. Then, you drive up one of the steepest gradients to be found to get up the Blue Mountains where the day time temperatures drop to the low 70s and 50s at night. Their peaks rise and fall for about 24 miles.

In the fall of the year, when I was often in Jamaica with my friend, there was rain in the Blue Mountains – from 9 – 15 inches per month. A tropical climate.

We took many drives in the Blue Mountains but there is one in particular that I’m feeling particularly nostalgic about. We drove from Kingston over the Blue Mountains and eventually arrived at Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

The Blue Mountains are something to see all by themselves and my friend was a wonderful tour guide as he had spent much time in Jamaica. The Blue Mountains are full of coffee plantations, something I had never seen and which fascinated me. But, what was most thrilling were the tall trees that made the road almost dark. Speaking of the road, it was just almost a road. The road over the Blue Mountains is notoriously bad. Every sort of tropical tree imaginable was in the forest and banana trees lined the road along with vendors selling all sorts of delicious tropical fruit. There are over 500 species of plant life on the Blue Mountains.

Then we came to the most beautiful site of all. Jamaica’s Fern Valley. The ferns were so prolific it was like they were piled on top of each other for miles. It made for a very romantic setting! Driving through Fern Valley is something you never forget. I wanted to stay there forever.

We then arrived in Ocho Rios and decided to do a touristy thing which was climb Dunns River Falls. It is a natural waterfall with naturally terraced steps. At this spot, the Battle of Las Chorreras was fought in 1657 when the English defeated the Spanish Expeditionary Force from Cuba.

In modern times, Dunns River Falls has been used in the 1988 film, Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise, and the first James Bond movie in 1962, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery.

After that climb, we were hungry and ate dinner at the most wonderful Indian restaurant in Ocho Rios. When we do Nostalgia again, I will tell you about the trip back to Kingston over the Blue Mountains – at night! #amwriting #amblogging #writing #Jamaica #DunnsRiverFalls #BlueMountains #nostalgia

Posted in Uncategorized

An Argument Between Friends

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Recently, I did something I’m ashamed of. I accused a friend of something that he did not do. I was under extreme stress – that is the only reason this happened. I trust this friend implicitly. I want my friend to know that I know he was not responsible for what has happened. That I still trust him completely. I also want him to know that I’m here for him if he needs me – always and forever. I hope he can forgive me. That’s all.

Posted in Creative Nonfiction Essays

My Issues with Wal-Mart

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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Many people will say that Wal-Mart has given people in small communities, particularly, a low-cost way to shop. That may be true. But at what cost? What are they buying? Is the quality of those low-cost goods adequate for the people buying them?

First, at what cost is Wal-mart to local communities? Has it been worth it, or not, to bring Wal-mart into small communities for low-income shoppers. Some would say Wal-mart appeals primarily to down and out shoppers. In the small town where i live, everyone shops at Wal-mart, from the down and out to the working person to the happy couple and to the teenager. Do you know why? There is no other place to shop.

It’s an interesting phenomenon. My town is not that small. It is a university town. When I was growing up here, there was a thriving business district on Main Street. There are a few viable storefronts left on Main Street but very few. When Wal-mart came to town, the small business person could not compete with Wal-Mart’s lower prices. Many of our businesses went out of business. It seemed that the bright sunshine shined only on Wal-mart. The cost of Wal-mart was the loss of the small business in my town as it is in so many small towns. They were also offered incentives to locate here, tantamount to giving them the proverbial ice cream with a cherry and sugar on top.

Wal-Mart has no twin in the business world. Many call them the worst company in America, primarily for some of their labor practices. Even though they have a problematic relationship with their employees, they refuse to even consider allowing labor unions to get involved. As one of America’s top companies, they set a bad example by not only using a lot of foreign labor but also child labor overseas. Look at where Wal-Mart’s products are made sometime. I think you will find almost all are made overseas.

In an effort to be fair, Wal-Mart does offer valuable goods and services that some people could not afford otherwise. But their quality is suspect. They have a large electronics section which is valuable in a small community, but no significant computer repair. They offer gardening implements and outdoor plants, in season. They offer indoor plants year round, such as the Christmas cactus.They offer everything from clothes to groceries to soft goods for the home.

But, in this writer’s opinion, none of that makes up for what they take away from a community. I will write more about this company and its problematic business model in a blog post in the future. #amwriting #amblogging #writing #Wal-Mart

Thematically Correct

 

 

Posted in Non-fiction

Trust in a Relationship

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

 

Do you have trust in your relationships? In all of your relationships – with your partner, your family, your friends, your colleagues? Trust is the foundation of any relationship. In fact, without trust, your relationship is unfinished. Without trust, you have no relationship. Perhaps the most important trust relationship is that with your partner, whoever that partner may be. A spouse, a partner, a lover. If you can’t trust that most important person in your life, there is not only no relationship, you need to re-evaluate whatever it is that you think you have. Yes, I realize that is a hard line. I have reasons to take a hard line on this issue. Now let’s talk about trust.

When trust is mentioned between partners, faithfulness immediately comes to mind. Faithfulness, believe it or not, is not the most important trust issue. There is a more fundamental trust that should exist between partners that comes before faithfulness. If partners have that much more fundamental trust, faithfulness ceases to be an issue.  What am I talking about?

What does the term “true intentions” mean? True intentions mean the real, heartfelt feelings of each partner in the relationship. Those true intentions should be shared between the two partners. If the partners are “in love,” those are true intentions whether or not the relationship ever comes to fruition in the form of marriage or long-term commitment. If the partners intend to carry on with their relationship for the long-term in any form and communicate that to each other, those are true intentions. If the partners intend to be open and honest with each other in the relationship, those are true intentions.

This is where trust comes in. Partners have to trust each other’s true intentions. If they feel, based on each other’s behavior, that they can trust each other, the relationship has a chance to become satisfying and fulfilling to both partners.

Unfortunately, life isn’t always this simple and people certainly are not. What if one partner has intentions that are not so true and well-meaning? What if one partner has an “agenda” that the other partner has no way of knowing? The other partner may develop trust in the offending partner because they do not have full information. Not only does the non-offending partner develop trust in the other partner, but that partner is also trustworthy and the offending partner can, indeed, trust them. What, then, will happen to the relationship?

In effect, the offending partner is lying to the other partner and the relationship has no chance of becoming fulfilling and satisfying for either partner. It could flourish in the short-term, as long as the offending partner can maintain the fiction.

Here is another possible scenario. Perhaps one partner gets involved in a relationship and, somewhere along the way, that partner changes their true intentions. Those intentions become less than true, even totally false. They become something else and then that partner develops an agenda during an already established relationship. Chances are, the other partner is involved even deeper in the love relationship and is even more trusting at that point. It may be harder than ever for the other partner to discern whether or not the offending partner is still true in their intentions. What will happen in this case?

Either the first or second scenarios are not good. There is one partner lying to the other about their true intentions. The other partner, trusting the first one, is very vulnerable in both scenarios to being hurt and terribly disappointed. It won’t take very long in either scenario for cracks to appear in the relationship as the trusting partner starts to pick up clues that all is not well. They will realize that there are inconsistencies and lies popping up in the relationship. It will become a very painful thing for the trusting partner.

When the true intentions of the offending partner finally become apparent and they are not what was originally related to the trusting partner, the relationship will likely break apart. Can relationships like this be saved? In my opinion, probably not. If the offending partner had been willing to establish open communication with the other partner early on, then the relationship would never have gotten to this point. But, the trust has been broken and it is incredibly hard to get back. The offending partner may have fulfilled their agenda and may not even want to continue on with the relationship. The trusting partner will feel like everything was a lie and also may not want the relationship.

The most beautiful and success relationships between partners are those where there is open communication and each partner knows and accepts the other’s true intentions. True intentions lead to trust. Open communication and complete, uninhibited trust is the recipe for a successful love relationship. Those things don’t come easy and both partners have to be totally honest with the other and really work at it. In this writer’s opinion, this is the only way to have a satisfying and fulfilling love relationship. #amwriting #amblogging #writing #AllAboutRomance

 

Posted in weekendcoffeeshare

#weekendcoffeeshare 9/24/2016

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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My friend, Jenn, with whom I normally have coffee on Saturday, is still out of town today. So I’d like to have coffee with you, my friends, as I did last week. I can offer you Apricot blended black tea or the coffee of your choice, chicory or regular.

If we were having coffee, I would ask you to be patient with me while I tell you that a disturbing week last week has continued into a disturbing week this week, although for different reasons. I have lost a very important friendship. I surely can’t call this a highlight of the week though it has been the most of what has been on my mind. I guess it has been the lowlight. My friend was here one day and literally gone the next which causes a bit of a feeling of a panic. No sympathy needed, but thank you. It may be for the best. Whether the friendship was a good or bad thing, it is a blow whatever the case.

People can be quite cruel to one another, even those they call friends. Some people don’t seem to be able to just talk straight to their friends. That was the case here. Instead of just telling me that the friendship wasn’t working, my former friend set up this rather elaborate ruse. Though knowing my friend, and already having picked up on clues, I was able to see through the ruse quite easily once the shock wore off. It’s a hurtful world out there. Be careful who you trust.

The good news is that, in hard times, you learn who your real friends are. I had wonderful friends step to my side and I appreciate them so much.

Some good news this week has to do with my writing career. I’ve been a writer for over 15 years. Actually longer than that, but during my career as a professor, I did mostly academic writing. Then, I had a stint where I wrote only in my field of finance for a number of different outlets. Now, my writing career has morphed into an interest in fiction. I have been able to put together the first draft of a book proposal this week that I’m excited about. It will be published by Amazon.com, hopefully by the end of about two months from now. I’ll keep you up to date on my progress!

There is always something that is right around the corner when you are a homeowner. Some cracks in tile led to an investigation under the house and it seems that improper floor supports may have been used in the construction of my home. Right in the middle of my home so tile is cracking and so is the drywall in that part of the house. I’m going to have to hire a crew to come in and repair both the damage to the inside of the house and shore up the floor supports. It’s always something in the Adventures of Homeownership.

We are now past the fall equinox and summer continues to hang on in my part of the world. We’ve had many 90 degree days this year, more than any time in recent memory. Accompanied by high humidity. High humidity is not my favorite weather condition. I like to walk my little dog daily and she and I both wilt a little in high humidity. Betsy, in fact, wilts a lot. We will be happy when cooler fall days arrive. That weather is usually here by this time of year. Not this year. I live in a deciduous forest and there is no sign of the trees even starting to change color yet although other plants, such as the perennials in my garden, seem to realize that the time to go to sleep is near. You would never know it by walking outdoors or looking at the forest.

The deer do seem to have lost the velvet on their antlers. They aren’t as plentiful at the feeding troughs as they were earlier in the summer since the babies are growing up. Soon, they will vanish entirely for awhile only to return as winter comes.

I was lucky enough this week to get to see and spend some time in the city with my girlfriend. We spent an afternoon shopping, which is always fun. Retail therapy is some of the best, don’t you think? She was amazingly restrained and I was not! Then, we went to dinner at a favorite restaurant and met another friend. Even though the week had a tough start, I feel fortunate to have people around me who are supportive and who genuinely care about me.

Time to clean up these coffee cups and get some work done on the book. Thanks for having coffee with me today! #weekendcoffeeshare #amwriting #amblogging #writing #friendship #weather #livingintheforest

#weekendcoffeeshare is brought to you by DIana at Parttimemonsterblog.com

 

Posted in Fiction

The Sound of Silence

Posted on by R.M. Carlson

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The Story of Hannah, Introduction

Hannah hears the television blaring in her living room. It seems to reverberate in her head and the words don’t even register. She craves silence. Not all the time. But can’t she convince her husband that silence first thing in the morning is necessary for her mental health? Who wants to hear the talking heads on cable television at 6 a.m.? Fortunately for Hannah, her husband usually sleeps late and she gets up fairly early. It’s been this way since they retired. She can usually, but not always, grab a couple of hours of precious silence before he gets out of bed and she treasures that time. This morning is not one of those mornings and she feels like she is going to scream. To make it worse, her husband is becoming hard of hearing and the television volume seems to be increasing as the days pass.

When Hannah built her home, they were not married. She built it thinking she would be living in it alone. It isn’t built to give her a room where she can be shut off from the noise of the television in the living room. There is no escaping it. The only possible escape is the sunroom and it is not in shape to be used right now. It’s currently used for storage though Hannah wants to change that and use it for a retreat. It needs a better heating and cooling system. Other than that, it is a room that could be closed off from the rest of the house and she could have her quiet space. Working on the sunroom is Hannah’s goal. Actually, Hannah’s goal is to live with at least a modicum of silence.

Actually, Hannah objects to only the television. She loves her music. All kinds of music. IF she lived alone, her music would like play in her home most of the time. Classic rock and roll. Classical music. Jazz. She would love to install an intercom system to pipe it through the house. There is no use to do that now. Even though her husband does like some music, their musical tastes are different and when he is at home and indoors, he only wants to hear and see the television. Not music. Hannah wonders why his wishes seem to be the only thing that matters. She has been wondering this for awhile now.

The worst offenders on television are the cable news shows. Hannah’s opinion of their news coverage is low. Her husband watches one and then another all day on the days he stays inside the house. Hannah feels the news coverage is biased. She prefers to get her news coverage from other sources and read it when she is ready to do so. She doesn’t like to be bombarded with what the talking heads have to say the first thing in the morning all the way to the last thing in the evening. Hannah subscribes to and reads several newspapers a day. A state-wide paper. The Wall Street Journal to keep up on the financial world. The New York Times as she enjoys the columnists. She gets the paper copies of those newspapers. Hannah also likes to get different news perspectives and reads the BBC news and other international news sources like the Financial Times. She can form her own opinions without the assistance of newscasters who know no more than she does. It’s very difficult for Hannah to read her news and digest it with the television in the background.

The constant presence of television in Hannah’s household is a bone of contention between she and her husband. Although Hannah does not like to push her opinion on her husband, she feels strongly that having the presence of these talking heads on news programs in our lives is one thing that is wrong with our country and our society. If a person is susceptible, it is almost brainwashing. Then there is her need for silence.

In the short run, Hannah supposes she can have her sunroom renovated to her liking and retreat to it to escape the assault on her ears. The long run is another question entirely. The television is not the only source of incompatibility between she and her husband. Hannah has a lot of thinking to do and decisions to make.