WOTD – Facts, Fictions & Fantasies

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — May 2nd

May 2, 2025May 1, 2025Fandango13 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term subscribers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

How about it? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Flashback Friday post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on any day this past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on May 2, 2019.

The Accommodation

Andy and his wife sat on the other side of the large, mahogany desk of Mr. Henry Simmons, the bank’s loan officer. “I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Goldman,” Simmons said, “But you are three months in arrears on your mortgage payments. You leave the bank no choice but to initiate foreclosure.”

Sarah, Andy’s young and very attractive wife, had dressed very provocatively for this meeting, wearing a very short skirt, and a very low cut blouse with the top buttons undone. She and Andy had discussed their options, knowing that they were behind in their mortgage payments and also having heard rumors that Mr. Simmons was quite the lecher. They agreed that Sarah should put her considerable assets on display for Mr. Simmons.

After Simmons broke the news about the foreclosure, Sarah leaned forward towards Mr. Simmons, and shrugged her shoulders, giving the loan officer a fine view of her ample cleavage. “Mr. Simmons,” she said in a sultry voice, “I’m sure there must be some suitable way we can work this out, don’t you agree?”

Simmons looked over at Andy, who smiled and said, “Luscious, isn’t she?”

Simmons looked at Sarah, then back at Andy. “Am I to understand, Mr. Goldman, that you are offering me your wife in exchange for not foreclosing on your home?” he asked.

Sarah stood up, leaned forward, and placed her elbows on Mr. Simmons’ desk, leaving nothing of her charms to Simmons’ imagination. She slowly moistened her lips with her tongue, seductively smiled, and whispered, “What do you think, Henry?”

Simmons cleared his throat, wiped his brow, and said, “My dear, I think we have reached an accommodation.”

At that, the door to Mr. Simmons’ office swung open and the bank president and a security guard walked in. The bank president said, “Henry, I think it’s time to start anew.” Then he turned to the security guard, pointed to Simmons, and said, “Arrest that man.”

“Wait!” Simmons said. “There’s been a huge miscommunication here. Nothing untoward happened.”

Andy stood up, unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled out the wire he was wearing. The bank president then said, “We’ll let the jury at your bank fraud case decide that after they hear the tape, Henry.”

Written for these daily prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (arrears), Ragtag Daily Prompt (suitable), Word of the Day Challenge (luscious), Your Daily Word Prompt (anew), Weekly Prompts (communication), and The Daily Spur (jury). Photo credit: FlutterByStudios@DeviantArt.com

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — September 27th

September 27, 2024September 25, 2024Fandango21 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on any day this past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on September 27, 2019.

FFfPP — The Sidewalk Cafe

Every day Harold would board the bus two blocks from his apartment and take it to his favorite sidewalk cafe in the center of town. To say that it was a habit would be an understatement. It was more of a lifestyle.

When Harold arrived at the cafe, he took his usual table and waited for Denise, his regular waitress, to come out and take his order. However, a look of confusion graced Harold’s face when the cafe’s owner came out instead. “Where’s Denise?” Harold asked Mack.

“Harold, I’m sorry,” Mack said. “I had to let Denise go.”

“Why would you do that? Denise has been waiting tables here for years.”

“Ever since the mill closed two months ago,” Mack said, “business is down. I don’t get enough patrons to afford to keep this place open. So I’m shuttering the place tonight right after closing hours.”

“Whatever will I do if you close this place down?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Harold,” Mack said. “It is what it is.”

“Wait, Mack,” Harold said, “I need to concentrate.”

“I know this is hard….”

Before Mack could finish what he was saying, Harold blurted out, “I want to buy this cafe. You can stay on as the chef and I’ll bring Denise back to be the head waitress.”

“That’s very magnanimous of you, Harold,” Mack said, “but how can you afford to buy this place? I told you it doesn’t get enough customers to cover the costs.”

“This may surprise you, Mack, but I’m actually a very wealthy man,” Harold said. “Money is not a concern for me.”

Written for Roger Shipp’s Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. Photo credit: GaborfromHungary at Morguefile.com. And yes, I know I exceeded the suggested 200 word limit by about 100 words. Oh well.

Also for these daily prompts: Daily Addictions (bus), Word of the Day Challenge (habit), Ragtag Daily Prompt (confusion), Your Daily Word Prompt (tonight), The Daily Spur (concentrate), and Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (magnanimous).

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — September 20th

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024Fandango12 Comments

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on any day this past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on September 20, 2018

#writephoto — Columns

“Let’s explore this place,” Frank said.

“Go ahead,” Johnny said, “Be my guest. You’ve always had a genuine infatuation with the architecture of old buildings like this.”

“Aren’t you coming with?” Frank asked.

“Sure, why not?” Johnny said. “It’s not like I have anything else pressing to do.”

“Okay, good,” Frank said. “Be careful, though,” he added. “It rained last night and these old marble floors may be a bit slippery.”

The two boys, in their late teens, started exploring the building, looking at the parallel rows of columns on the inside of the breezeway contrasted with the archways with the squared off exterior columns.

“I have to admit that this place is pretty dope,” Johnny said.

“Hey Johnny,” Frank called out. “Come take a look at this.” Frank was pointing to a small crevice in a wall next to one of the exterior columns.”

“What is it?” Johnny asked, seeing something stuck deep inside the crevice.

“I’m not sure,” Frank admitted. “Do you have a pen or something I can use to try and get it out?”

“I have a my Swiss Army knife.”

“Perfect, give it to me,” Frank ordered. With the knife in hand, Frank opened up the long blade and carefully stuck it in the narrow crevice. He wedged it between the side of the crevice and the item stuck inside and painstakingly began to pry it out.

“What is it?” Johnny asked when Frank managed to remove it from the crevice.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Frank said, handing it to Johnny.

“Holy shit,” Johnny said.

Written for Sue Vincent’s Thursday Photo Prompt, and for these one-word prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (guest), Word of the Day Challenge (infatuation), Ragtag Daily Prompt (slippery), and Scotts Daily Prompt (crevice).

Simply 6 Minutes — Country Cottage

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024FandangoLeave a comment

“It’s probably a teardown,” the broker said. “The land is worth around fifty, the demo would cost around twenty-five. So, with your budget of three hundred, you could spend two and a quarter to build a new cabin.”

“A teardown?” Sherman said. “No way. I’d say it’s more of a fixer-upper. A new roof, new windows, reinforce the foundation, some landscaping and hardscaping around the outside. I can get it all done for around a hundred, so between that and the fifty K for the land, I’ve got my quaint country cottage for around $150,000.

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” the broker asked Sherman. “That’s a lot to take on.”

“I may be a starving artist,” Sherman said, “but my father and two brothers are homebuilders. They can come up here and knock this thing off in a few months. And then I’ll have my modest dream cottage with an art studio at the foot of these scenic mountains. It’s inspiring. It’s perfect. Write up an offer for the land for fifty and let me make my dreams come true.”

“Okay,” the broker said.

“But not a penny over fifty,” Sherman said.

Written for Christine Bialczak’s Simply 6 Minutes Challenge. Photo credit: no attribution.

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — June 21st

June 21, 2024June 20, 2024FandangoLeave a comment

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on any day this past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on June 21, 2019

#writephoto — Society’s Burden

First thing every morning, without delay, Doug would go to the tall stone wall. He’d take a deep breath and inhale the sweet fragrances carried by the breezes coming from the other side. The scents reminded him of his youth and the aroma from the rose garden in the backyard of his childhood home. The smells would only increase his desire to know what mysteries lay beyond the thick wooden gate. Always locked, though, that gate kept him inside of the perimeter of the old stone walls.

Doug had spent most of his life within the walls of the asylum. Society had deemed him, and others like him, to be too great a burden. The accident when he was five had cost him his mobility and confined him to life in a wheelchair. He was taken from his mother and father to be “cared for” by the State. It was in his and society’s best interests, his parents were told. They would have to sacrifice their son to the care of the State for the greater good of society.

It had been nearly twenty-five years since his confinement began. He was completely shut off from the outside world. They explained to him that, given his special needs, he would be too much of a burden to others and to society to be on the outside. The handicapped and disabled had unique needs and requirements, he was told, that could only be accommodated behind thick stone walls in asylums like this one.

But the State had limited resources and the law required that those who resided within the walls and who could not function on their own as able-bodied members of society by the time they were thirty would be humanely transitioned to the next world, where their spirits were not broken, as were their bodies in this world. In all of his time inside the stone walls, Doug had never known of any other “residents” who were reintegrated into the world outside.

Doug took one more deep breath and then slowly wheeled himself back to the residence building. Today was his thirtieth birthday and Doug knew that he would never again smell the scent of the roses.

Written for this week’s Thursday Photo Prompt from Sue Vincent. Also for these daily prompts prompts: Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (delay), Your Daily Word Prompt (inhale), Ragtag Daily Prompt (rose), The Daily Spur (increase), and Word of the Day Challenge (sacrifice).

Coffee Wars

May 27, 2024May 26, 2024Fandango20 Comments

I like my coffee black with one Splenda packet. My wife likes her coffee with International Delight flavored creamer, either hazelnut or caramel macchiato. For years we’ve been using a Cuisinart grind and brew coffee maker using organic French roast whole bean coffee. And we have both been fine with that. Or so I thought.

Recently my wife has been saying that she likes our son and daughter-in-law’s Nespresso single-cup coffee machines with disposable pods. She likes the “crema” foam top that comes out with every cup. And she also likes the idea of having a milk frother so she can make her own flavored lattes when she wants them.

So, for Mother’s Day, I surprised her with a Nespresso coffee maker. I bought a bunch of pods — regular coffee, espresso, and double espresso size — and a frother where she can make froth from milk. She was pleased.

Mrs. Fandango has embraced the new coffee maker. She likes some of flavored coffee pods (to which she still adds her flavored creamer) and she like the foamy crema top. I think she’s only made espresso one or two times using the frother. But overall, she is happy with the Nespresso.

I am not. I have sampled about a dozen different coffee pods and haven’t yet found one that I like as much as my grind and brew whole bean French roast coffee. I find the Nespresso coffees too strong or too weak or too bitter.

So, after a month of, shall we say discussing what to do. We have reached a solution. Separate but equal! I will go ahead and brew a small pot of my organic French roast coffee in th the Cuisinart grind and brew machine and she will continue to maker her crema-covered coffee from her single-cup Nesspresso pods.

And that kind of compromise, boys and girls, is how to make a marriage work!

A Sexy Dynamic

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024FandangoLeave a comment

I was in my room, sitting at my dressing table putting on my makeup when the policeman flung-open the door and walked right in. I batted my false eyelashes at him and said, “I hope you have a warrant, deputy.”

“You want to see my warrant?” he asked. “Here it is,” he smiled, grabbing himself by the crotch and making hip pumping motions.

I started giggling. “You’ve got game, officer,” I said, pointing at him with my index fingers, curling them up in a gesture beckoning him to come over to me while I gave him my best come-hither look.

He walked over to me, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and said, “I need to arrest you for practicing the psychology of love without a license.”

“What a sexy dynamic we have, don’t we?” I said, just before I planted a deep, passionate kiss on his lips.

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (in my room), My Vivid Blog (eyelashes), Fandango’s One Word Challenge (deputy), Word of the Day Challenge (game), The Daily Spur (psychology), and Your Daily Word Prompt (dynamic).

JusJoJan — Mood Altering

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024Fandango13 Comments

When I woke up this morning, I was feeling superb. I got a good night’s sleep last night and I was ready to face the day. I walked into the kitchen, brewed myself a pot of coffee, and opened up the morning newspaper. And there was his name plastered on nearly every page of the newspaper. Another contender for the GOP presidential nomination dropped out of the race, thus all but assuring this corrupt, but smooth operator, this charlatan, the Republican nomination.

My mood shifted immediately. Suddenly a feeling of hostility swelled up inside of me. How has this criminal, this traitor to his country, this pathological liar, this unethical, amoral, self-serving, would be dictator been able to persuade so many people to accept a distorted view of reality that he is even remotely qualified serve as the head of our country’s government?

Written for these daily prompts: Your Daily Word Prompt (superb), Word of the Day Challenge (operator), Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (hostility), Ragtag Daily Prompt (swell), My Vivid Blog (distorted), The Daily Spur (head).

Also for today’s JusJoJan prompt, which is the word “mood,” suggested by Dar, who resides here.

The Incident in the Neighborhood

November 27, 2023November 26, 2023Fandango6 Comments

We all, well, at least those of us in the immediate neighborhood, thought that Carol was just this side of crazy. I mean you could hear her screaming at poor Tim from three or four houses away, their fights were so loud. I know I felt sorry for Tim. He seemed like a nice, decent fellow and she was so belligerent toward him.

I figured the way they were at each other would eventually lead to a breakup. But even given what I could see and hear going on between them, I never expected something like this to happen. Not in this neighborhood, anyway.

I mean, you know, some of us can understand why Tim did what he did. Carol was such a shrew and I get how he could only take so much of her browbeating. But holding her head down in a large pot of boiling potatoes until she drowned is over the top.

Well, it will take a while, I suppose, for most of us to process this, but I’m sure we’ll come to grips with it sooner or later. We are, after all, a strong, close-knit group of neighbors.

Written for these daily prompts: Ragtag Daily Prompt (Carol), The Daily Spur (loud), Your Daily Word Prompt (belligerent), Word of the Day Challenge (breakup), My Vivid Blog (potatoes), and Fandango’s One Word Challenge (grip). Image credit: Bing Image Creator.

Thursday Inspiration — The Queen’s Skeleton Army

November 23, 2023November 23, 2023Fandango12 Comments

For this week’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, Jim Adams has asked us to respond by either using the word control, by going with the above picture, or by going with anything else that we think fits.

The image made me think of an evil queen who conjure up a skeletal army and attempts to rule the world. This is the story I conjured up.

In primordial times, in the desolate realm of Eldrath, Queen Moriana, a fearsome warrior with a heart as cold as the Northern Wastes, harbored a malevolent ambition. Obsessed with domination, she delved into forbidden dark arts to amass a formidable skeleton army, an evil legion fueled by necromantic sorcery in her unholy quest to control the world.

Moriana’s black eyes gleamed with a sinister resolve as she plotted to unleash her skeletal minions upon the unsuspecting kingdoms, seeking to subjugate all in her path. Under her ruthless leadership, the skeleton army marched across the land, spreading fear and destruction in their wake. Villages trembled at the sight of their bony forms, and kingdoms cowered before her might. Moriana reveled in the chaos and in her newfound dominance.

However, as Moriana’s empire grew, whispers of rebellion began to echo through the shadows. A group of brave warriors, united by their desire to free the world from Moriana’s tyranny, rose to challenge her rule.

Mounted side by side on their horses, the resistance fought valiantly against the skeleton army. Their determination and unwavering spirit ignited a spark of hope in the hearts of the oppressed.

In the heat of a climactic battle against Moriana, the brave warriors of the resistance furiously clashed with the skeleton army. With every swing, they challenged Moriana’s malevolence, refusing to let her skeletal minions dictate the fate of the world as the air resonated with the clash of steel and the eerie rattling of bones.

Moriana underestimated the resilience of the living. In the end, her skeletal army crumbled, and she faced a reckoning at the hands of those who defied her dark dominion.

The tale of the evil warrior queen and her thirst for control became a cautionary legend, reminding future generations of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the power of unity and courage in the face of darkness.

Post includes these daily prompts: Fandango’s One Word Challenge (primordial), Ragtag Daily Prompt (side by side), The Daily Spur (horse), and Word of the Day Challenge (heat).