Stressed or Knot?

This is Day 12 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Stress.  Please visit the other participants for more adventures.

Does stress have you tied in a knot? 

Stress. How about staring at a blank screen when you should be clicking publish on today's post. Stress. It is a simple word, a one-syllable, seemingly innocuous little five-letter word. Of those five letters, three are "s". S is the letter we use to make words plural and stress has three of them.  

A nonsensical way of looking at it, of course, but serving to stress the fact that stress is hardly a simple word. It's consequences and complications are something we have all felt at some time in our lives. The effects of stress are so widespread today that stressed-out is as common a response as - oh you know, same old, same old.

Another phrase commonly heard now is de-stress. People say they need to work out, meditate, do yoga, or whatever to de-stress. I guess this replaces wind down or unwind from decades past.

When stress has you in a knot, what are some of your favorite ways to de-stress?



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Modern Obsession?

This is Day 11 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Selfie Nation. Please visit the other participants for more adventures.

What is a selfie? Some years ago I had to ask that same question when my niece mentioned selfies. She said that's when you take a picture of yourself with your cell phone camera. That's the way new words come into being. 

It seems we have become enamored with taking our own pictures. I will admit it is a good way to document your vacations and other adventures or be able to share photos of yourself when there is no one around to take your picture. 

I am usually taking the pictures which is fine since most of the time I don't like the way I look in photographs, especially at close range. Needless to say, I won't be posting any selfies here.

Yet there is the occasional instance like this one when I definitely wanted my picture taken. Obviously a selfie wouldn't work here since I had my hands full.

The downside of selfies is the obsession those of taking bunches of random self portraits or silly faces and sharing them with thousands of their closest friends via social media.  Selfies can also get to be hazardous when folks focus too much on getting the cool picture and not enough on what's going on around them.

The bottom line is I don't think taking selfies is bad unless it becomes an obsession, is disruptive, or poses a hazard to them or others around them.

And, because this is Monday, here is a selfie quote!

With the selfies, a photographer has finally found his place in a photograph. ― Amit Kalantri

That is definitely a true statement!

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San Francisco Connection

This is Day 10 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is San Francisco. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

The next morning arrives with a jolt when Charlie's cell phone blasts out A Fifth of Beethoven loud enough to wake the dead, which is how they had felt the previous day.

"Yes, I understand. We'll be there soon." Now it was Charlie's turn to groan, "Alex, wake up, "he called from across the room.

"Like I could sleep through that, "Alex complained!

"Sorry, my Dad grew up in the Disco era and he got me hooked on it. I know, kids don't usually like what their parents like, but what can I say, I've got a really hip Dad."

"Anyway back to business, that was an Agent Collins, who wants us to come in as soon as we can," explained Charlie reaching for his steaming cup of coffee. "Thank goodness for in-room coffee stations. Can I fix you a cup?"

"Thanks, I'll take a cup with me...do we have lids?"

Twenty minutes later, they were in their standard black SUV on their way to the field office, where Agent Collins awaited them with an update.

"Hello agents, I hope you slept well, I'm Agent Collins, Sam if you please. Thank you for getting here so fast. I was transferred to this case last night...was told you could use some additional manpower."

"Nice to meet you Sam. I'm Charlie Shore and this is Alex Reynolds. Please bring us up to speed, and we'll fill the rest of the team in when they arrive."

"We have been doing background investigation on our prime suspect, and it turns out he has connections to a crime organization run out of San Francisco, which is also tied to a biker gang a little ways up the coast in Monterey. The gang is called the Slashers and they are hard core into drugs, prostitution, even weapons. So this operation is bigger than we first thought," Sam stated.

"Well that does shed new light on the case," mused Charlie. "Thanks for pitching in with us. As you know, we are on loan from Memphis for a few weeks. It looks like this operation spans the country."

Sam continues, "There's more. There is an unsolved murder from about five years ago. It involved a California man who was shot while on a trip with his son. Local police investigated and initially ruled it an accident until the son and his uncle broke the case and while it's technically unsolved, there is strong evidence that points to the Slashers."

Charlie's eyes widened than narrow as he focuses his attention squarely upon Sam, "What are these guys' names?"

Sam refers to his notepad, "I believe the uncle's name is Adam Richards and his nephew is Josh. Why? Do you know either of these men?"

"Adam and I are friends from our marine days," said Charlie. "He was a career man, and I got out after my tour was up and entered the Academy. I was never involved in the case since it was on the West Coast, but Adam and I did talk about it later." 

Alex had been listening intently to Sam and Charlie's conversation, and asked "so are we now going to San Francisco or Monterey?"

"Maybe...probably."

Other Adventures of Charlie and Alex:

Risky Business

Aliens, Really?
The Colombians
The Key
Stranded
The Last Laugh
The Morning After

Bears, Beans and Beer

Kidnapped

Jenna's Misfortune

Murder in the Warehouse

A Rough Week in Philly

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Booze, Bongos and Board Members

This is Day 9 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Booze and Bongos. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

Tina and Cristo were newly elected officers of their the Free Spirits club in Miami. This is a small social club devoted to the appreciation of adult beverages. There is, however, a board to keep up with members and the monthly gatherings and dues. Their meeting places are frequently local bars, restaurants or occasionally someone's apartment.

This evening a few friends were sharing a bottle of single malt scotch at Tina and Cristo's place when Cristo pulled out a set of drums, and started tapping out a hypnotic rhythm. Soon everyone began swaying, and nodding, and Tina yelled out, "Wow, I like this! I vote we rename the club Booze and Bongos." Cristo nodded, still drumming away. 

When they awoke the next morning, Tina said groggily "I had the weirdest dream last night. We were sitting around with Trish and Ron and Ben and Susie, when you started banging on some drums and someone yelled out Booze and Bongos. Isn't that strange?"

"That is strange because I had the same dream only it was you that yelled out Booze and Bongos."

"Oh no!" they both exclaimed in unison, "that was no dream." 

"No wonder I have a headache," grimaced Tina. "Oops, I think we changed our club name to Booze and Bongos." 

"Let's hope no one remembers, and we can just pretend it never happened," said Cristo sheepishly. "Some members would not be amused, and we might have to abdicate our board positions."




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Shades of Blue

This is Day 8 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Blue. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

Image Source: Wikimedia

There are so many different directions to go with this one. I could write a blue poem, but I'm not feeling poetic at the moment. So let's look at what kinds of things are blue. The sky, the ocean, birds and flowers. There is even a blue potato. How strange is that? Can you imagine a pile of blue mashed potatoes?

There are blue gem stones and minerals such as sapphires, blue quartz, barite, beryl and many others. Nature is full of the most beautiful colors. We could take every color in the rainbow and find shades from the most gentle to the most intense.

In Googling the word blue for this post, I came across this question. When was the color blue discovered? That's not a question I would have thought to ask given how plentiful it is in nature, but nevertheless, it appears to be a valid one because there is an answer.

There is a whole wikipedia article on it, but here is a brief statement to it's origin.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Beginning in about 2500 BC, the ancient Egyptians began to produce their own blue pigment known as Egyptian blue, made by grinding silica, lime, copper, and alkalai, and heating it to 800 or 900 °C (1,470 or 1,650 °F). This is considered the first synthetic pigment.

I think we take a lot of things for granted in today's world of technology and general busyness. Maybe we should slow down just a bit and look around and admire not just the blues, but all the colors in the spectrum.




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