Tuesday, August 10, 2010

You Can't Get There From Here

I find myself once again not able to pay this blog and others the time they deserve.  I hope to get back into this again on a more regular basis in the near future.  The bike shop has taken a new twist and needs more of my time.  Make that, it needs all of my time.

For your perusal, I offer this piece of flash I wrote over at Thinking Ten.  The flash prompt was "Anywhere but here."  I trimmed the piece down to 250 words after my initial posting at Thinking Ten.

You Can't Get There From Here

Everyone who swings by always asks the same question. With crumpled map in hand, they stab a finger at some compass point near the fold. It is invariably miles away from here. Everything is miles away from here.


I can tell they are frustrated. Their reaction is always the same. Dad behind the wheel looking flustered. Mom sitting next to him stiff, arms crossed and with a satisfied look on her face,

" See, I told you to stop and ask for directions miles ago. But no. Big Man with the plan has to find his own way."

I will stop rocking on the porch and slowly make my way down next to their Beemer, Jag or latest Lexus to come down the pike. I will listen attentively to how they will lose that hotel room by the sea if they do not get to Kennebunkport before five.

I will always smile. Always. Smiling puts them at ease. I will then say the same thing I always say.

"You can't get there from here. As a matter of fact folks, you will not get there from here. Here is the end of the line."

Astonished looks. Anger crosses Dad’s mug. Mom usually goes quiet. She senses I am not just another yokel on the side of the road. When I pull my scythe out and pull up my hood, it finally dawns on them.

They will not get there from here. But always, they want to be anywhere but here.

~*~*~***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

See Ya......................................

6 comments:

The Blog Fodder said...

How you say so much in so few words...I envy your ability. And wait for your novel or better yet compilation of short stories.

Cormac Brown said...

Good stuff, man.

David Barber said...

Nice, Mike. Very nice indeed. Keep 'em coming!

BBC said...

You Can't Get There From Here.

I can....

Demeur said...

With today's economy I'm wondering if I didn't take that trip already.

Looks like we have the next Twilight Zone writer. "Mr. and Mrs. Brown were headed to Acton, Maine. What they didn't know was that they were about to take a detour into the Twilight Zone."

Randal Graves said...

Hey, I wouldn't ask directions of the Grim Reaper either.