Nicknames

This is Day 6 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Nicknames. Please visit the other participants for more stories.       

I love nicknames. It makes me feel loved. It makes me feel less alone in this world. - Ellen Page

I would wager that just about every has had a nickname at one time or other in their lives. Nicknames can be endearing or embarrassing, sweet or mean, depending on who bestowed it and how it is used.

Sophie a.k.a. Soapy, Sophes, Twit

I grew up with several different descriptors attached to me, all of which were used with the utmost affection. Used in this manner, nicknames do make you feel special, like you fill a place that no one else can, which is true.

Even our furry friends have nicknames in addition to the official name of record at the vet. Rosebud was always Rose or Rosie, and Dood's official name was R.P., but he eventually became Doodle, which got shortened to Dood. Missy became Mizzle and then Miz, but I often called her Sweet Pea, and her Daddy called her Pudge.



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A Rough Week In Philly

This is Day 5 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Philadelphia. Please visit the other participants for more stories.


Our favorite FBI Agents, Charlie and Alex are back with more adventures. When we last saw them they had just wrapped up a kidnapping in New York City.


"Hey Alex, what's up? asked Charlie.

Alex groaned, "This paperwork is killing me. You know I'd rather be out in the field than sitting here pushing a pencil around."

"You know we have computers for that...and admins," quipped Charlie. "What's the deal?"
"It's just beauracratic BS. Since I knew Jenna from before the last case, and we ended up involved with the mafia and then the kidnapping, they want to make absolutely, positively 100% sure I had no involvement with any of the suspects. Some things just don't die easily. On top of that, we've had dinner a couple of times and that was relayed to the bosses."

"Didn't I suggest that you might let the dust settle a bit before pursuing a relationship," reminded Charlie?

"Ah the voice of reason. You might have mentioned something to that effect," replied a chagrined Alex, "but it will all be sorted out shortly, and they haven't pulled me from active duty, so please tell me we have a case."

"As a matter of fact that is why I was looking for you. The Philadelphia office is a bit shorthanded, since several guys retired and a couple more are out with injuries, so they've ask me to take my team to Philly to help out for a few weeks. I'll clear it with the department chief for you to go, unless there is some particular reason you'd rather not take this assignment," grinned Charlie wickedly.

"Like you said, I should let the dust settle," Alex sighed.  "Jenna is still a little shaky, so some time and space is probably a good idea. She's got my number if she needs anything. When do we leave?"

"Sunday night," Charlie replied, "so we can start pitching in Monday morning. I don't know what we'll be working on, but hopefully it will just be routine. We could use a bit of that after these last few cases. At any rate, we will be assisting, not taking the lead this time. I'll call Kyle and Bobbie and fill them in. I expect they are itching for some action, too."

The team arrives in Philly on Monday to find the place in chaos. "Well, so much for a piece-of-cake assignment," Alex stated matter-of-factly. As it turned out, the lead agent on a big case came down with the flu. 

"Agent Shore, you're the senior agent so you run point and our guys will follow your lead," instructed the local agent.


One week into their two-week relief effort, they slide into a booth at the end of a long day. Day meaning about 36 hours straight of surveillance, intel gathering, search warrants and subsequent searches. "Whew," huffs Alex, "and we thought the Colombian case was bad. This has been a rough week."

"Yeah, maybe that pencil pushing is looking better" grinned Charlie, "but I think we're gonna nail this one shut in a couple days."  To be continued...



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

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That Darn Ball

This is Day 4 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is I Found a Ball. Please visit the other participants for more stories.

I found a ball

upon a wall

I picked it up

I dropped my cup

I sat down

with a frown

upon a stump

with a thump

oh my dear

what's that I hear

are those bees

I scrape my knees

away I run

not having fun

may I say

it's not my day

I know it's lame

I lay the blame

upon that darn ball

that is all

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Photograph

This is Day 3 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Photograph. Please visit the other participants for more stories.


The beauty of this challenge is that you can take the topic and go in any direction you choose and write whatever speaks to you. That's what I'm going to do.

When I looked at the today's topic, Photograph, the very first thing that came to mind was the 1973 song by Ringo Starr. He co-wrote Photograph with former band member, George Harrison.  An article from Rolling Stone lists the top 10 Beatles singles, and Photograph was #7.

While John, George and Paul didn't always get along with one another, they each remained friends with Ringo. In fact, right after the Beatles broke up, the only thing they could agree on was Ringo. They loved him, and wanted to do everything they could to help further his career, so they each worked on his new album (separately of course). 

Ringo, in turn, stayed close with them, and he performed Photograph at the Concert for George in 2002 on the first anniversary of his death. It was an emotional moment when he sang  "All I've got is a photograph and I've realized you're not coming back anymore." 

Those are touching words, and I have some special photographs, too.

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My Little Red Wagon

This is Day 2 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is Little Red Wagon. Please visit the other participants for more stories.


Every kid had a little red wagon, didn't they? 

Not only did I have one, I had two. The first was sized for a toddler and I would haul things around in it, probably toys or stuffed animals, or maybe books because Mom said I would carry my books around all the time. While not having a lot of real memories at that age, this is what I expect I did with it. Perhaps I was even pulled around the driveway along with my animals.  

When I got too old for that, then I got my big-girl wagon similar to the one in the picture. Just like with my sled, (read that story here), Daddy would hook my wagon up behind the lawn mower and away we would ride. It wasn't too many years before I gave up riding the wagon for riding the mower but that's another story. Needless to say, those were some great Daddy-Daughter moments.

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In A Nutshell

This is Day 1 of the 2017 edition of the 20 Days of Chill writing challenge hosted by P. J. at A ‘lil HooHaa. Today's prompt is explain your blog. Please visit the other participants for more stories.


With another year under our belts and new adventures on the horizon, we embark on another writing challenge to energize us and get us back into the proverbial blogging saddle. Giddy-up! The first challenge is to explain our blogs, how they came to be and what makes them tick. 

Way back in the summer of 2009 I was walking through a rose garden with my hubby and some friends, and we were talking about technology and social media such as Twitter when out of the blue I said I could write a blog. I had thoughts, ideas and opinions and decided I could share those with anyone and everyone who cared to listen. That I had no idea how to do this didn't matter. From that walk in the rose garden sprang From Roses to Rainbows. (Also see how I named by blog Part 1 and Part 2.)

Here comes the explaining part. It has absolutely nothing to do with roses or rainbows, aside from the occasional, non-related pictures. The simple explanation is that it is a place for me to express myself through writing fiction, poetry, travel stories, and cat tales, to post pictures, to muse over daily life and to offer encouragement and inspiration through quotes and interpretation. In other words, it is an eclectic collection of self expression.

Alas, over the past few years, my writing and posting have been sporadic and even my quote series has fallen into neglect. Having said that however, I have participated in month-long writing challenges since June 2012, including the previous two January Chills, and not missed one day.

Hopefully having just written these words, I will be inspired to revive some of characters and tap out some new adventures, and that is what it is all about.

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to 2017. Let us begin!

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Are You Ready to Chill?

It's that time of year again. Yes, that's right. It's time for the

Writing Challenge!

Starting tomorrow...details found here.

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