Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.
Don’t you miss your old fashioned phone?
Don’t you miss the days you use your brain, hands, and feelings to write a letter, a note, or a postcard?
Don’t you long for using a pen and paper?
Don’t you miss your old telephone and address book?
Don’t you miss a family outing without a phone, without a camera?
Don”t you miss privacy and respect?
The list of things that have become nowadays old fashioned is so long. I don’t know about you, but I do miss this phase of my life and that’s the phase I found too hard to say goodbye to.
If there is a second part to the tortoise and the hare story in which they will decide to go for another competition, who do you think will win?
While she was thinking, i said in my head the Hare. Surely he would have learned the lesson. He would never think to have a nap under the same tree. No way.
The tortoise, my daughter said and i looked at her surprised.
How? I asked believing the hare would never repeat the same mistake.
The Hare will copy the tortoise and crawl all the way next to her.
Why? I asked still surprised
Because she had won the first race and he thought if he followed her pace, he would too
Any why do you think it did not work with him?
Because his legs hurt. He got different legs to those of the tortoise. So he became very very tired and had some rest under the tree and fell asleep again.
Oh poor hare! Surely he was very disappointed, i said
No, he was not, my daughter said
Why? I asked.
Because he wasn’t himself in the race this time, my daughter said
Don’t understand, i said
He was pretending to be the tortoise but this can’t be. He should be himself, the hare, to win, my daughter said.
Flying in an aeroplane is no longer an adventure. It becomes like getting on a train or a truck or a car, even if the distance you are going is far away.
I’ve just watched something which can be a real adventure; it’s the microlight flight with the birds.
It is miraculous how the birds soar high in groups, have a plan on time, and fly to a specific destination. They migrate to survive and give us, humans, the hope of the new beginning.
And, it will be amazing to share this experience; to fly next to those geese and swans, to stretch your arms, and reach and touch their flying wings.
I read briefly about Christian Moullec; he is one of the pioneers in the microlight flight. It’s interesting to know that the protection of migratory birds was his initial objective of starting the project of these flights.
I wonder whether I’d ever dare go on one, but at least I can imagine how this can be an extraordinary, an unforgettable experience.
Accidents happen; at home, on the road, in the air, everywhere, and people usually panic, fight, yell, swear (probably), or be friends (sometimes) as a reaction to the unexpected clash and the physical or financial injuries.
In real life, we rarely do feel anything appealing about accidents; it’s something happen without any intention or expectation. We panic and react in different ways, but it’s hard to realise the significance of any disaster even if it was just broken glass, until late.
But, in books, the dramatisation of fictional accidents makes the story more exciting; for example, a car hit a cat on the road, and the driver pushed the accelerator down to the floor and disappeared. Another car stopped, checked the cat, and the story goes on telling the journey of the cat, the hero, and the villain. ‘that was a good story,’ some people will admit at the end of the book, when they realise the significance, the message, the mistakes, and the necessary precautions.
”Never forget the umbrella,” was the first advice I got before moving to the UK which was a long time ago.
We moved in the summer, and I’ll never forget how the weather changed all of a sudden. In the beginning, it was warm and sunny, but later, at night, it started pouring and didn’t stop for two days. The umbrella broke after a few minutes, and we got a new one, or more than one. Over the first year, my husband and I always kept an umbrella in our bags, though we knew it was useless and wouldn’t stand long. A few months later we forgot about it and rarely got any.
The umbrella was just a piece of advice to make sure you get ready for changes, but it was not for any protection. Once we understood and used to the new place, we found out the route for protection.
I was just sitting, thinking about something to write when 2+2 just came to my mind.
2+2= 4, and this answer will never be different, but these days things seem more confusing.
A person might pop on on TV, social media, or anywhere and argue for hours, for example about Cain and Abel, and says that Cain was not evil and didn’t intend to murder his brother. He will explain the psychological, philosophical, or whatever, and the interviewer will keep nodding. But, the story in the holy books will never change; Cain was evil, jealous, and arrogant. He planned the first murder in the history of humanity and killed his brother. So, no matter what s/he talks, Truth can never change and 2+2 will always = 4
The more I read, the more I realise that the characters’ names play an important role in stories. There is a special moment when characters introduce themselves, and when others respond. When the name has a significance, this moment becomes exceptional and impressive.
In real life, we, sometimes, pause and stare at the person introducing himself or herself, and feel something special, real, or odd about them.
One day, a friend was telling me about her sister’s newborn baby;
‘Shadow was doing so and so,’ she said, and I asked whether her sister is living in the Uk?
‘No,’ she said.
‘What’s the baby’s name again?’ I asked.
‘Shadow,’ she said.
‘Why your sister gave her baby an English name?’ I asked.
‘It’s Shadow, the Arabic name,’ she replied.
I couldn’t help laughing because Shadow in Arabic means the birds’ singing, the pronunciation is different, slightly, but it spells the same as the shadow in English.
It is interesting to play with this similarity of names in Fiction, isn’t it?