The Perfectly Crazy Bucket List!

Game 2 – Season 1

Not Just My Verse, Your Two Two Too! Created by Rory of A Guy Called Bloke and K9 Doodlepip!

Welcome to ….

Not Just My Verse, Your Two Two Too!

Rory sez…

I will choose a topic, write four lines of Rhyming Verse then l will tag one of my readers who will in turn add four lines of Rhyming Verse to my mine and Tag one of their own readers, and then it is a case of wash rinse repeat and let’s see how far our topic goes in so far as a Rhyme?

Once the poem [Verse] leaves my blog, the next blogger along can take it where ever they want with regards their own four line verse but always staying on topic.

Got it?

The day is as long, as the night is young,
Four more lines of verse, to make another rhyme,
What topic shall we do to have some fun..
This time?

THE PERFECTLY CRAZY BUCKET LIST

So, so much to do, and with so little time,

I want to do everything, nothing to be missed,

But how do l plan it all, how do l define,

The perfectly crazy bucket list?

[Paula chimes in]

First up is a lush tropical jungle,

Jaguars and waterfalls… all quite insane;

I do hope my parachute isn’t all bungled,

When I jump from the doorway of this airplane!

[over to… Fandango!]

H is for Heart [A2Z]

Heart of Fire by Linda Howard is one of my all-time favorite romance novels. My copy is so ancient it is literally crumbling! I figured for my review I’d just skim a bit, since I read it a couple times decades ago, and who wants to reread old books when there are so many new ones in the queue, amirite?

Wrong! I avidly reread the entire book at the beginning of April, not skipping a single sentence. It’s so good. From the carefully constructed protagonists with their cross-motivations to the lush descriptions of the Amazon to the exciting plot developments, it really is an interesting book. It reminds me a little of the movie Romancing the Stone, but not a lot, since the heroines are so different. But we do have a U.S. citizen gallivanting down to South America to search for something, and she does end up having to fight for her life against bad guys.

Oh, and she also meets her soul mate of course! 💖

Just a note about Mr. Wonderful. I gave the book 5 stars, but some peeps might find him a bit too aggressive for their tastes and blah blah consent blah blah. Hey, he’s too aggressive for my tastes! But I’m not the one matched with him, so it’s all good. There are explicit sex scenes in this book.

“I caught a fish … it was THIS big?!” [flash 300]

As some of you know, I have family in Ohio I’ve fallen out of touch with. But when I was a little kid, my mom took me to visit occasionally. We’d go during summer vacation and stay in a Howard Johnson for a couple days. Her family was super small town, and even she was no longer used to their ways.

Once, on a boiling hot day, my cousins were going fishing in the creek (the “crick”) and asked me to come along. I was 8, and my mom said okay. I had never fished, so they baited my hook. I was excited! Me, a little girl from New York City, fishing in a creek!

My cousins kept catching fish, but I didn’t. It made me sad. They showed me ways to move my pole a bit and where to stand to attract a fishie. Finally, I felt a tug on my line. Yay! I called out for help and they told me how to reel my catch in.

It felt heavy. I was elated. My first fish! There were no cell phones back then, but I was already imagining taking a polaroid pic at the house and showing off to my friends back in the city.

But then I saw my fish, which didn’t look like any fish I’d ever seen. “Ewww!” I screamed. “It’s a monster!”

I dropped my fishing pole and one of my cousins grabbed it. They both cracked up laughing. “It’s just a catfish! They’re delicious!”

“Gross!” I yelled, running back to the house.

My grandma fried up all the fish that night for dinner. I just had salads and dessert. My cousins told the folks that I’d caught the biggest catfish ever to come out of that muddy little creek as everyone ate. Yuck!

~*~

This fish tale is in response to Rory’s challenge. Please note in the comments on how believable you consider the story to be, on a “scale” of 1-10, with 10 being most believable.

The Neighborly Way [fiction 640]

Dear Lawrence:

I hope this missive finds you well. I apologize for interrupting your travels, but I am having a bit of an issue with your tenants. In your absence, your property has become quite… fragrant with the strong odors emitted by their various circus creatures, and I did speak to them once, but was treated rather rudely. My wife Zelda was with me and can attest that I was polite and moderate throughout the exchange. I do hope we can resolve this in the neighborly way, for it is never pleasant when things become intense between adjoining landowners, and besides that, I consider us friends.

Yours,

Edmund

***

Dear Edmund,

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. I regret I did not inform you before I left for my charity work abroad I had my property rezoned to care for animals that had been cruelly mistreated. Unfortunately, my tenants do not speak English well, which is probably why you thought they were being “rude.” They do however speak 12 other languages perfectly, though I realize you are familiar with only the one.

The foul odor you were complaining about was the death of a pregnant elephant. This was a terribly abused poor noble animal and her passing (along with the death of her unborn calf) has devastated us all. But the remains have been disposed of now, so I trust we are still on amicable terms?

Sincerely,

Lawrence

***

Larry,

Wow no need to insult my lack of language skills there buddy! While your daddy greased the way for you to go to fancy schools with his oil money I was working two jobs. Sorry I didn’t have time to fart around in language and poetry classes lah tee dah, mea culpa. J/k! Yes the stink is gone thank God, but now a weasel or some other rat type critter from next door has chewed through my cable and I missed the big game! Zelda left to visit her sister so I’m eating pizza every night and it’s getting old! What’s up with you?

Yours,

Eddie

PS: Sorru about any typos, Zelda isn’t here and I’ve had a lot of beer. Hey that rhymes!

***

Hello again Edmund,

Life is certainly an adventure, is it not? I was saddened to learn of your arrest for arson. I’ve heard very good things about the public defenders, so I’m sure you’ll do just fine. I had no idea your property had so many liens against it. Dear me, what a spot of bother. Luckily, I have very good insurance, so all my damages were taken care of, and most importantly my tenants are fine and no animals were harmed in the little blaze. I am sure that relieves your conscience, such as it is.

Quite sorry I missed your 17 calls asking for bail. Must have lost connectivity whilst in the French countryside. It’s so lovely here. I shall send you a postcard once you have a more erm permanent address.

Sincerely,

Lawrence

***

YOLO,

How goes it, my dude? I’m cool. Kind of a star here really. No one messes with me since I’ve been working out like a maniac. I really appreciate the postcards! Everyone loves looking at the lions and birdies and waterfalls and stuff. That one of the little French cafe was awesome too. My bunkie used to be a baker before they framed him for killing his wife. You wouldn’t believe how many innocent guys are in this place! Speaking of wives, I don’t understand what happened to Zelda. Not one phone call or visit. It’s so strange… she went off to visit her sister and then POOF!

Eh whatever. I guess it’ll just remain a mystery.

Thanks for staying in touch.

Yours,

Fireball Ed

***

Dear Fireball,

I’m with Lawrence now.

Here are the divorce papers.

Zelda

~*~

Genre Challenge 25: Epistolary

Three Things Challenge

Opposites Attract Challenge 24

Opposites Attract Challenge 25

On the road… [CFFC]

Cee challenges us to find photos of roads, streets, dirt, country, etc. this week.

1. Portland, OR

2. Costa Mesa, CA

3. Ross, CA

4. Huntington Beach, CA

5. Costa Mesa, CA

Liar’s Poker

The Haunted Wordsmith can’t handle the truth…

1. You wanted to book a trip to Athens, but the agent misunderstood you…where did they send you?

The California Department of Motor Vehicles.

2. What will customs agents find in your luggage?

Everything but a CERTIFIED copy of my divorce document.

3. What do you sneak aboard the flight, and what do you sneak it in?

A comfort skunk in my backpack.

4. The plane crashes — everyone survives — where did you crash?

Starbucks.

5. What are three things you find at your crash site?

My birth certificate, my Social Security card, and an uncertified copy of my divorce decree.

6. Survivors see a rescue opportunity but don’t take it…why?

Everyone is giving me advice on how to get a passport and other documents to prove I am me so I can get a Real ID.

7. What are you finally rescued by?

The Valium truck.

8. What is the first thing you do when you get back home?

Switch to the Republican party.

9. The airline offers you money, but you turn it down…what do you get instead?

A regular driver’s license.

10. You decide that a cruise is safer, where do you go?

The Island of Rage.

11. You get marooned on a deserted island but find huts and scientific equipment made out of coconuts…what happened to Gilligan and the Skipper?

They obviously didn’t have the correct paperwork and were stuffed into jail.

12. A fishing boat rescues you, but you have to pay Poseidon for safe passage…what do you pay?

The very valuable and rare black and white mink in my backpack.

13. He rejects your fare and throws you across the world…you land safely, but where do you end up?

Israel.

14. How does your story end?

Deliciously.

Green Is Good

Hope you enjoy some more greenery in your feed for Terri’s Sunday Stills photo challenge. 🍀🙂💚

Ocean Views

A photo challenge from Aroused Blog…

1. Newport Beach

2. Emeryville

3. Laguna Beach

4. Newport Beach

5. Sausalito

6. Newport Beach?

7. San Francisco

8. Huntington Beach

Weekly Prompts: Orange

Wow, I didn’t think I had so many orange photos! This is a small selection of what came up in the search. 😀

Moon [flash 175]

The weary traveler paused as she rounded the last hill. Ah, here it was! The famous Castle North. She gazed for many moments, the biting wind chill forgotten, fascinated at the castle’s beauty as it stood starkly illuminated in the light of the moon.

The legend had been passed down by the seers for generations: if she went to the door and asked for a chicken’s heart on the second raven’s moon after the seventh star had appeared, then her lover would come back to her.

She looked up at the moon. Wait. Was this a raven’s moon or a hunter’s moon? Maybe it was the wolf’s moon after the fifth star? So confusing! So many moons and stars she had studied in the crumbling manuscripts before she began her journey. It was her own fault for being absent-minded just like her father always said.

The hell with it. She pulled out her phone and called a Lyft driver from the app. Who needed a lover anyway? She’d go get some pizza. Mmm pizza!

~*~

What Do You See?