Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories. Show all posts

Friday, June 3, 2022

Stories My Words Tell; or, “Laugh” is a Five-Letter Word

A lot of my friends started Worldling before the New York Times bought the word-game software to, presumably, entice players to become subscribers. Being a late-adopter and prone to paranoia, I only gradually overcame my suspicion that NYT was really using the game to collect psycho-socio-economic data to feed into its algorithms.

To preempt Big Brother’s attempts to profile me, I’ve decided to write my own Worldle-inspired stories. Here goes nothing. (Laugh. It’s a five-letter word.)

May 22, 2022 - Wordle by hosaa


June 3 (3) – A 

The capitalists among us,

that precious little SHARE they’ll CHASE, 

then alter their assessment

with the PHASE of the Moon.


June 3 (3) – B

In kindergarten, Jimbo said he wouldn’t SHARE.

I tried to CHASE him but he wouldn’t spill.

60 years later I know

it was just a PHASE.


June 2 (6) 

That SHIRT on the SHELF 

in the SHACK in the SHOPS

is much too SHOWY for me. 

I’ll ask to be SHOWN another.


June 1 (3)

After midnight I know I’ll CRAVE

something sweet, maybe with CREAM.

The dilemma becomes 

to open the fridge without a CREAK.


May 31 (5)

After that long and swampy war,

he rose from the MARSH to study

MACRO economics. The MAJOR, you see

aspired to become MAYOR, for he felt he was

to the MANOR born.


May 30 (4)

Over LUNCH we must not DALLY.

We rally now that we may STALL

the bombing test at Bikini ATOLL


May 29 (3)

He could not CLAIM to be a BARON

but after all,

he did own the entire BAYOU,

snakes and gators and all.


May 26 (5)

Yeah, we knew that JUDGE was a FREAK.

Let me be EXACT: He claimed his VALET

was his greatest ASSET.


May 25 (6)

The artist thought it AWFUL he was

out of UMBER, but I was worried about

his COUGH. I worried even more

about the POUCH he carried, 

which he would never let me TOUCH.

For what darkened secrets hidden in it

I could not VOUCH.


May 22 (4)

Another sultry NIGHT with you

to BLEND our dreams together.

It means a lot just to ENJOY

these nights and hopes, my love,

but the pragmatist in me 

needs MONEY.


May 20 (6)

That PUSHY ELBOW in the market

told me the CREAM MAKER

was just a GAMER.


May 17 (4)

You made it perfectly CLEAR, my dear,

how PETTY you then thought me

to WEIGH what it meant to be with you

something less than simply BEING.


May 14 (5)

It ain’t FRAIL to shrink your efforts

to match your available resources.

Yes, the LOCAL is EQUAL to the global,

as the tulip’s tender PETAL is

to a machine’s clanking METAL.


May 13 (4)

It wasn’t UNTIL the preacher landed

in the DRIFT that we recognized

he gladly surrendered PIETY

when he got a little TIPSY.


May 8 (4)

Whenever I finally discover

WHERE BLISS might be FOUND,

surely then I could call myself

CANNY.


Love, hosaa

playing with my word blocks

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Clay Aiken Christmas Experience, cont'd.

Picking up after the recaps of my own tour experience, I here offer the four stories that were read on tour. These were stories that were submitted by fans for the 2007 concert tour, and selected specially by Clay to be read again this time around while he went backstage to read a book. Or at least change his clothes. *g* Each of the stories segued into a song, so the montages here include those songs.

Story #1 is "Mary, Did You?" about how a mother found solace over the death of her son by meditating on the figure of Mary in the manger. It is followed by Clay's "Mary, Did You Know?"



For story #2, there was one story that was used through most of the tour, but a second "story #2" was recorded especially for one stop at which the reader and her son had a meet-and-greet with Clay. Both stories are about mothers and sons, and are followed by Clay's "Merry Christmas with Love." (For these montages, I used different clips for the song portion, so that each story-and-song montage is unique.)

Story #2 - "The Lights of Christmas" (with Kurt)


Story #2 - "Never Too Old" (with Mike)


The third story was told by Clay Aiken's mother, Faye, and preceded the "Sentimental Medley" ("Ill Be Home for Christmas," "The Christmas Song," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") during the tour. The story is presented here without the medley (I'm montaging that separately, due to length).

Story #3 - "Christmas Time's a-Comin'" (Faye's story)

[Update 1-21-2013: Here is the "teal" version of the Sentimental Medley, which followed Faye's story during the concert. Check back soon for the "purple" version!]
All four of these stories were published in the book Remember When, available from the National Inclusion Project.

For the record, I also submitted a story back in 2007, "Christmas and the Great Tormentor." I recorded it for my brother, that devil of a Christmas packaging tormentor. Someday I might post it here, but for now it's just a family thing.

Love, hosaa
Remembering when....