This is my submission for this week’s Friday Fictioneers that is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.
You can read about Friday Fictioneers at the end of this post.
Do join us.
Below is the picture prompt for this week and below that is my story.
Picture copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
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Generations
Genre: Fiction
(British English)
Near the lamp-stand that had watched Dorcas and I snuggling on the couch on many a night, I gently cradled the old telephone earpiece in my hand, as I’d done ages before.
I remembered cherishing every sound that had made it through the wire.
“Why d’you like this old telephone, grandpa?”
You can’t quite hold an iPhone the same way.
“It reminds me of your grandma,” I said. “I used to hear her voice through it.”
Ty silently eyed my old photo, then his crayons.
“No need to colour that, Ty.” I smiled. “You already put colour in my life.”
—
100 83 words
I read all your comments and I appreciate them, even if I take long to respond and even if I do not respond to each comment individually.
You can read pieces by other participants here.
Comments unrelated to this particular post
The ‘name’ ‘Baba‘ – as in Baba Amor – means ‘papa’ or ‘daddy’ or ‘father’ or ‘father of.’ So I find it amusing when someone addresses me as Baba when commenting on a post 🙂 But feel free to continue. (My About page may enlighten you further).
I think my comments still go the Spam list on some Friday Fictioneers’ blogs. (Sometimes my comments on my own blog get marked as spam!) Please check your Spam folder; I may have said something. But then again, I may have said something of little or no use.
Vacancies!
Ok, not quite.
Parul commented that the name Jake (that I have used in two posts) is boring. 🙂 I was amused. I readily admit that I usually don’t put too much thought into the names of my characters.
To deal with this and still save my thoughts for other pursuits of questionable importance, I’d like to pass on this task: If you would like to volunteer your name for future (mis)use in my stories, you may do so in the comments or on the Contact page above.
Please also specify if you want (or do not want) to be a villain, a hero(ine), a victim, a by-stander or if you do not care.
Please submit your own name; don’t have your (real or perceived) enemies killed off or vilified in my stories :-).
Be aware that there may be violence in the stories.
Thanks.
About Friday Fictioneers
Friday Fictioneers is a group or arrangement that works as follows:
Every week you get a picture.
Prompted by that picture, you write a piece of fiction that is 100 words long (or as close as you can get).
You add a link to your story on the Fictioneers page, and read the (awesome) stories by the other Friday Fictioneers.
Feel free to join us! Everyone is welcome.
Oii! Jake is a good name…Do you want me to be attacked on the road by a random Jake who recognizes my gravatar? lol
Dorcas… now that’s an interesting name 🙂
Very poignant story.
I am perhaps going to refrain from writing this week too. I am soaked in work… My brain is begging for rest, and I am begging for a vacation!
And you can have my name, do what you like with it, but be nice! 🙂
Have a good weekend Baba 😉
LOLLLL!!!
You are most hilarious!
Sorry I did not mean to put you in danger (Both Jakes in my stories were violent). I could remove your name and link and just say “Someone said…”
Thanks for offering a more interesting name 🙂
Have a good weekend too!
I am so very tickled.
And I hope you get to rest.
I’m glad you outed her, Baba… Imagine, ca
-lling your characters boring! But, I went to the source and see she really wasn’t going after you. Put her in your next story though.
Dear Abraham,
Your story was wonderful. Understated and sweet, full of life and love. How can you doubt yourself? Very good job.
As for names, dude, you need to get yourself a New York City phone book and rock on. They’re full of names.
Aloha,
Doug
Thank you, Sir!
Dear Abraham,
Some good stuff in this piece. Indeed…you can’t hold an iPhone like that. Love the sentiment of him remembering his young bride’s voice through the old phone. Yes? The first sentence was a bit confusing with the lamp-stand watching. However I loved the grandfather-granddaughter conversation.
Sweet.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks, Great Leader.
The lamp-stand simply ‘witnessed’ or was present. Maybe I should have phrased it better.
Perhaps…it’s your story, your call. To me it detracted from the beautiful story that follows.
Sure, Papa, thanks for your comment on mine on previous occasions i really appreciate your inputs…I quite didn’t get the intro to your story too…Well done sir.
Thanks.
I have semi-removed the confusing line
Nice one! Great ending.
Thanks, Sandra!
Nice story tying together the love that links generations through the various elements in the prompt. Very effective use of 83 words, Abraham!
Thanks, Perry
What a sweet piece. I loved his tenderness toward the past and the future. I also thought the Jake thing (and Parul’s fears of being attacked by local Jakes) was hilarious. Regarding spam, it seems like sometimes you go to my spam, but sometimes your posts go through… Who knows?
Thanks. I’m glad you caught what I was trying to convey.
Yes indeed – who knows how WordPress will treat my comments?
Ah! What a cute conversation between the grandfather and grandson. The innocence in grandson’s questions versus the love in grandpa’s answers. You brought life into their relationship with just 83 words! Enjoyed reading
I am very glad you enjoyed it.
A sweet and beautiful story. I wouldn’t have dumped the first line though – I love animating inanimate objects in my stories. Personally, I’d have phrased it a tiny bit differently: Next to the lampstand that had witnessed my cuddles with Dorcas on many a night… (or something like that – changing the ‘watched’ to ‘witnessed’ makes it a bit less like personification for people who can’t deal with that kind of thing.) Great story 🙂
Thanks!
The first line was not really essential to the story; I just wanted to include the lamp-stand. Then it felt a bit disjointed.
Next time I hope to do better.
This was very sweet and sentimental..well written
Thank you, Nightlake
Not too bad, Abraham. In fact, it was quite sweet! I liked it very much.
Thank you, Sir!
What lovely sentiments! It brings back memories of talking on an “old” phone for hours. As you said, much nicer feel to the hand.
janet
Thanks Janet!
This is so sweet! I love it:)
I am glad to hear that
I am trying to figure out why the name Jake is boring. It is the name of many a character on action movies and TV shows.
Mine: http://kindredspirit23.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/friday-fictioneers-uncle-waldo-genre-humorous/
Scott
It’s not strictly boring as such, more like common.
Well, I had a great uncle Jake and I like the name.
People calling you Baba, that made me laugh lol. Well you are in a way…just not theirs lol.
Very well done Abraham
Thanks Boomie.
Yes, that Baba thing is funny 🙂
that is such a sweet sweet story…and i love the wonderful relationship between grandfather and grandchild… great work, Baba (i think i’ll call you that ^^)
Thank you Kz. I’m glad you like it.
Abraham,
I would just like to say that Jake is good name for a villain or a jerk…perhaps I should change my name….This is a sweet story. Well done. As far as my name goes you can use it, but Tom… is in fact a boring name…I would like to be a bystander not an innocent one just some random boring dude watching a murder…maybe a hobo or road tramp or something like that….
Tom
LOLLL!!! Thank you for offering your name.
You seem to like dramatic murders. Let’s see what we can come up with.
Thanks for your comments 🙂
I like the way you kill people…you have a flare for it! LOL…besides I know you are going to off someone sooner or later and now you have an excuse for the wife….If I remember correctly you mentioned her saying something about always murdering people in your stories…well now you can tell her you have an obligation to murder someone for Tom..you made a promise to Thomas and it must be done. LOL I don’t think she’ll buy it…. but you can try! I hope the FBI never takes this conversation out of context and frames the two of us.
Tom
Well done, nice piece.
I like the idea of inteactive fiction, using other people’s names and character requests. Looking forward to how it develops. (I think if you kill someone off then they can’t post on here for a few weeks.)
Thanks, Dude(?)
I love intergenerational pieces and you did a fine job with this one.
I’m glad you think so 🙂
Touching piece and a perfect title!
Thanks for reading and commenting, H.L.
Hi Abraham,
Your story is like a memory bank, or like a tribute, a memoir, but it ends nicely in the present day. Ron
Thanks for dropping in, Ron
I reserve the right to be a villain, thank you very much.
And a villain you shall be 🙂
Thanks!
:D:
Lovely story, Abraham. Very clever the way you’ve interwoven all the elements in the photo.
On the other matters: your comments no longer end up in my spam (hooray), and you can make free with my name, boring and common as it is.
Thanks for your comment and yes Hooray! and thanks for volunteering your name 🙂
Very nice story that leave you warm inside. Tack så mycket.
Tack också!
I enjoyed your story and how you joined the older generation with the new and showing a common interest. Nicely done!
Sorry I’m late. I’m also sorry I missed the first line that got dumped so that I could make my own opinion. But I really liked the sentiment you built here. Really beautiful. And so real to life. I think we need to use common names on occasion. Not every name can be unique and interesting. That wouldn’t be realistic. But using the names of your commenters would be fun. Everyone would get a kick out of it.
There is no deadline, so you are not late 🙂
Thanks for visiting and for your comments.