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WHAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW WON’T HURT HER

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SATURDAY 18th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

WHAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW WON’T HURT HER 

by John Yeo

   ‘Doctor, may I know what the odds of survival are for this condition? I realise it’s a new disease and you are probably going  to say you don’t know! I’m extremely concerned about my Mother, who is of an unfortunate nervous disposition. I don’t want anything to upset her. I would appreciate it if she’s not informed that she’s ill at all. My Mother worries if she suffers from illness, I’m certain if she ever finds out she’s contracted Covid19, she will die of shock. This will almost certainly push her over the edge. Three people have already died in the care home where she’s staying. I realise it’s almost a terminal diagnosis but there is a chance she may survive if she’s not informed of your diagnosis.  Please don’t tell her! Yes! I realise I don’t have any right to ask you to withhold your diagnosis, but I beg you to make an exception on this occasion to save her life. Surely, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.’

  The Doctor drew a breath, pulled a sheet of paper from the file on the desk and studied it for a while.

He looked up and smiled, then he grinned broadly and almost laughed out loud.

     ‘I’m sorry Doctor but I don’t think this is a laughing matter. In fact I find your attitude to be decidedly obnoxious. What do you mean by it?’

    ‘Well, I will have to inform your mother of the results of the tests and all will become clear. Nurse, can you show Mrs Smithers in please?’

     ‘Ah! I have extremely good news for you Mrs Smithers. Your test shows you don’t have the Coronavirus, you simply have a heavy cold with slight congestion.’

© Written by John Yeo

HINTERLAND

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SATURDAY 18th JULY 2020 ~ FLASH FICTION

HINTERLAND

by John Yeo

 Billy was an urban rat, part of a large ratpack. Food was becoming scarce during the lock-down of the two-legged giants. No-one was eating in their restaurants and discarded food was becoming scarcer. The leader of the pack called the rats to a mass meeting. 

  ‘Listen friends, we’re moving out to the green fields of the farms with grain stores, and mounds of food growing everywhere.’

  There was a chorus of agreement, then Roberta Rat shouted.

‘ Where are we off to Boss?’

‘The hinterland just outside town.’

(87 WORDS)

© Written by John Yeo

SORROWS OF THE SOUL

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FRIDAY 17th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

SORROWS OF THE SOUL 

by John Yeo

He tossed and turned trying to get his mind in control

The darkness drew in, within his room and without 

His head was churning with the sorrows of the soul.

~

His thoughts became dominant, slowly taking a toll,

The efforts of the battle filled him full of doubt

He tossed and turned trying to get his mind in control.

~

He worried about the problems as a unified whole,

He stifled his impulse to scream and call out

His head was churning with the sorrows of the soul.

~

His problems descended in a rush with a shoal,

His helpless innocence drowned in sorrow throughout 

He tossed and turned trying to get his mind in control.

~

His troubles quickly multiplied, he lost sight of his goal,

His intention was desperate, all convention to flout

His head was churning with the sorrows of the soul.

~

He felt as if he’d drowned in an enormous fishbowl 

Spinning, and turning speedily on a huge roundabout

He tossed and turned trying to get his mind in control,

His head was churning with the sorrows of the soul.

© Written by John Yeo 

A PIECE OF THE PULL

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THURSDAY 16th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

A PIECE OF THE PULL

by John Yeo

  The family were all seated around the dining table for the annual feast. Dad, Grandad, Peter, and David with Auntie Lil and Uncle George. The wine and the soft drinks were flowing freely and the table layout was a work of art. The atmosphere was happy, with some nice Christmassy conversation. The highlight appeared when Mum came into the room bearing a huge turkey on a trolley. There were gasps all around at the array of vegetables and the delicious looking roast potatoes. The wine glasses and the children’s glasses were all recharged and a pre-dinner toast was made,

 ‘To a Happy Christmas and many more of them.’ said Dad and everybody raised their glasses in a toast.

Peter, then piped up and said, ‘Can we pull the crackers now Dad and wear our funny paper hats?’

   ‘Of course!’ said Dad, ‘Go ahead.’

   Excitedly the two boys grabbed their crackers and made to pull them. ‘Hold on,’ said Grandad,  ‘We’re supposed to take a cracker in each hand around the table and pull them. Aren’t we Auntie Lil?’

 Soon there was agreement and with a series of bangs and pops, the crackers were pulled.

 Suddenly an argument broke out as Peter and David had unequal shares of the crackers they’d just pulled.

   ‘Hey Dad, Peter has my share of the pull as I’ve only got two empty ends.’ complained David.

   Mum played the Judge and swapped a couple of ends and donated her hat to David.

Peace then settled at the family dinner?

© Written by John Yeo

‘

SORRY, BUT I NEEDED MY COFFEE

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WEDNESDAY 15th JULY 2020 

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.

Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

SORRY,  BUT I NEEDED MY COFFEE

by John Yeo

   The sedate silence in the office was broken by occasional hushed voices making calls or taking part in video conferencing. Mary was munching on a chocolate bar enjoying an impromptu break, when Harold suddenly appeared alongside her desk. ‘How’s the project coming along Mary?’

    Mary shrugged and replied, ‘Not good, the pressure is intense as they keep moving the deadline’

   Harold made some sympathetic noises and asked, ‘How would you like it if I brought you a nice cup of coffee from the brand new machine the bosses have installed in the kitchen?’

    Mary smiled appreciatively and said  ’Ooh Thanks Harold! That would be lovely. My treat this time.’ Opening her purse she tipped a pile of change onto her desk.

 Harold swept up the change and went off to fetch the beverages.

 Suddenly the hushed silence in the office was shattered with some loud banging noises accompanied by loud expletives emanating from the office kitchen.

 My Saunders the office manager dashed into the kitchen to find Harold kicking and banging the brand new machine and shouting loudly.

  ‘Harold, what’s going on here? You are making an incredible racket and disturbing everyone.’

  ‘Sorry Mr Saunders, this damnable excuse for a coffee machine has taken my money without delivering any coffee.’

    ‘Harold that’s not the sort of behaviour we appreciate in this office. I’d like a word with you in private.’

    ‘OK, Mr Saunders, I’m sorry but I needed my coffee.’

   ‘Harold! How much do you need your job?’

© Written by John Yeo

DON’T TELL ME ITS FATE

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TUESDAY 14th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

DON’T TELL ME ITS FATE

by John Yeo

‘Don’t tell me it’s fate.

I know it’s sad to relate, but I had to do it before it was too late.

After all, I am getting on and I’ve reached my elderly years.

The consequences of holding off would engender fears

Spending the rest of my life with the deep frustration of not accomplishing a dream.

 My instincts told me when to act, don’t hesitate by using polite tact.

Take the bull by the horns and never stop to look back. 

Hesitation is a stumbling block to the accomplishment of long held schemes. 

Some would say the only way forward is to follow your dreams.

Seek the answers by studying every aspect exceptionally well,

Weigh up the pros and cons and feel your confidence swell.

Each minute one spends in dithering and simple procrastination 

Is a stumbling block that will deny me the satisfaction.

Finally when time comes together and it begins to gestate 

The last thing I need after planning and scheming the wait

Is for me to respond, yeah that’s great!  (Don’t tell me it’s Fate).’

© Written by John Yeo

CALL THE PLUMBER; I’M STUCK

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MONDAY 13th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

CALL THE PLUMBER; I’M STUCK

by John Yeo

  Sammy was examining his feet while he was soaking in a hot bathtub. Linda, his wife walked into their spacious, luxurious bathroom, with a tray containing two drinks and some nibbles. Sammy did like indulging, while soaking away the aches and pains and stresses of the day. He idly pushed his left toe into the bottom of the left tap.

     ‘Linda, my left big toe is smaller than my right big toe, do you think there’s any significance in this difference.’  Sammy gave a gentle tug to remove the toe without any visible effect.

    Linda grinned and said, ’Yes, I have heard that it signifies that the left side of the brain is smaller than the right side.” Sammy gave a more forcible tug without any effect, his toe was firmly jammed. He picked up his drink and polished it off in one. He’d already had a skinful earlier in the day at the office. 

    ‘Really, you mean that? I think you’re trying to pull my leg. My left big toe is so far away from the left hand side of my brain. Surely there is no connection.’  He was beginning to panic a bit as his toe was firmly jammed in the tap.

   Linda  was beginning to enjoy this sub-aqua conversation enormously.  ‘Of course there’s a connection! All parts of the mind and body work in unison.’

 Sammy’s toe was beginning to get sore and he suddenly shouted,

‘Linda! I can’t shift my toe! Call the plumber; I’m stuck!’

© Written by John Yeo.

AN INCHWORM MADE ME DO IT

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SUNDAY 12th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

AN INCHWORM MADE ME DO IT

by John Yeo

   Old Mathew was in his eighties and a bit confused sometimes. Mary, his youngest daughter looked after him and cooked for him and generally did most of the chores. Mathew was a vegetable grower and had won numerous prizes for giant fruit and veg. One day he came in from the garden loaded up with produce for the kitchen. Mary began by washing and preparing a huge cabbage. Suddenly she screamed loudly.

‘Dad! This is crawling with caterpillars, look!’

Mathew rushed into the kitchen and said, ‘Don’t worry they’re only inchworms. Just wash the cabbage thoroughly, Mary.’

Mary prepared the meal and they both sat and enjoyed their meal. Mary couldn’t get over the feeling she might have eaten an inchworm and kept worrying. She had drunk a couple of extra glasses of wine to wash away the possible slime from the caterpillar, and she was feeling quite woozy.

 After dinner, she slipped upstairs to the bathroom and swallowed a half dozen extremely strong emetic tablets, washed down with another glass of wine.

 ‘Not to worry, the stronger the better.’ She thought to herself, ‘ l must get rid of that slimy creature from my stomach.’ Mary took a few more tablets to make sure she got rid of the loathsome thing.

 Later her father found her collapsed on the toilet floor with severe stomach pains and called for help from Judy, their next door neighbour, who immediately called an ambulance. Mary was rushed off to hospital with the tablet packet and after they had brought her round and pumped everything from her stomach, the young sister at the hospital asked her what had led her to swallow so many tablets.

‘It was the nasty inchworm that made me do it. I know I shouldn’t have drunk so much but I just wanted to get it out of my system. 

© Written by John Yeo 

KILLER OF PLASMA TV’S

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SATURDAY 11th JULY 2020

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

July Writing Prompts

KILLER OF PLASMA TV’S

by John Yeo

   Professor Vince was working on mind magic. A way of allowing people to experience their own individual versions of television programmes delivered through a special mind controlled screen. 

    ‘Jimmy, think of a programme you would like to see, or just say programmes into the magic box.’

    ‘Yes Professor,’

Jimmy thought of football and instantly a match was relayed onto a blank picture frame set up in the lab. Time and again the programmes changed to his personal preferences on the instant of a thought. With a sparklingly realistic picture on the blank canvas in the picture frame.

   ‘Wow! This is an impressive new technology, how much will it cost to be developed?’

  Suddenly Jimmy collapsed on the laboratory floor and stopped breathing. He came round after some resuscitation and began to comment on a nonexistent football match garbled with travel programmes, mixed up with history programmes and peppa pig.

  The Professor gave a shrug of his shoulders and remarked, ‘Further experimentation will be required. Meantime LCD televisions are a far better buy than Plasma televisions.’

  Jimmy was confined for treatment in hospital and is still there to this day.

© Written by John Yeo

~~~~~~~

RESEARCH from Wikipedia 

Until about 2007, plasma displays were commonly used in large televisions (30 inches (76 cm) and larger). Since then, they have lost nearly all market share due to competition from low-cost LCDs and more expensive but high-contrast OLED flat-panel displays. Manufacturing of plasma displays for the United States retail market ended in 2014,[1][2] and manufacturing for the Chinese market ended in 2016.[3][4][needs update]

THE CAVORTING CAVALIER

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SATURDAY 11th JULY 2020 ~ FLASH FICTION

https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/author/sammicoxwriter/

THE CAVORTING CAVALIER

  It was rodeo day on the ranch, everyone came in fancy dress.

The costumes were magnificent from Nell Gwynn to good Queen Bess.  

  A rider was dressed as a sailor making waves on a bucking bronco. 

  Portly King Henry the eighth, rode a pony and trap.

The star of the show was a feathered Cavalier riding on a fierce bum steer, spinning a lariat.

© Written by John Yeo

(64 WORDS)