Times Are Changing

The sound of my voice. Yelling. Woke me. Woke me from the terror. The terror of the unknown. Unseen. Things with sharp claws. I hadn't been dreaming. Or in the middle of a nightmare. Where was I. I don't know. Weeks previous hadn't been stressful. I was calm. And collective. At the click of the light switch. I hadn't been reading a horror story. Or been watching a murder one. So. What had caused this fear to run through every muscle of my body. Fear so strong I tasted it on my tongue. I lifted my left arm to cover my face for protection. The claws were sharp as pins. Darts. Both my arms had become pin cushions. Each pin prick stung worse than a bee sting. “Go away. Leave me alone. Get away from me. Get out of here.” Like a dream. Or nightmare. There wasn't any vision to gauge what happened before the attack started. Just the fear of many claws. The moment my yelling voice. And words. Registered. I woke. Every claw vanished. I didn't ...

The group of friends from the bus joined me on the trip for my Birthday. Hazel baked me a delicious chocolate cake. We went to the Maryborough Markets. Had lunch at the RSL club. We went sight seeing on the way home. And stopped at a fruit and vegetable stall. I bought a couple more different coloured Desert Roses. I have a few different colours. My aunt gave me a seed pod off of her red Desert Rose. When it opened, I placed the pod in a tray with potting mix. Now. I'm busy potting the seedlings to pots when they are big enough to make room for the others sprouting. I've potted about twenty-five. Here are the pictures I took on the trip. This photo is some of the different colours available in the Desert Roses. The hats, and coats the dogs are wearing were made by Margaret Kelly, who sells them at the Maryborough Markets.  http://www.margaretsdogcoats.com.au/

 Darkness. Pitch darkness surrounded the bus. Brakes grabbed when the driver applied his foot to the brake peddle. Rubber burned. Smoke bellowed from beneath the back of the bus. Loose pebbles on the bitumen made the bus fishtail from side, to side, on the road. Passengers screamed. Brought their arms up to protect their face from injury. To save them from hitting the back of the seat in front. Seat-belts stopped some of their forward motion. Talk turned to screams. The sound of the wheels skidding seemed to go on – forever. Then silence. We all bounced on our allotted seats when the wheels hit a solid surface. The darkness became eerie with different coloured lights. Red. Blue. Green. Yellow. Flashing in the misty fog. Or clouds. We had survived. Or had we. Taking deep breaths to try to calm the rattled nerves. I closed my eyes. Opened them to find the same scene all around. I blinked – again. What had happened to the old...

Angie positioned on the bench in the park, watched the double handful of gosling waddle behind their mother toward the edge of the lake to go for a swim. This was the peaceful hour of the early morning. To swim among the reeds to forage for their breakfast. Alexander. Wrapped warmly in a rug sat in his pram. He chuckled. Clapped his hands. Pleasure sparkled from his bronze coloured eyes. His pleasure turned to pain when the gosling disappeared from his vision. Tears dribbled down his toffee coloured cheeks. Angie leaned forward to lift him from the pram to console him. She wiped away his tears with the edge of the rug. Frank sat on the ground beneath a huge tree watching all the early morning people commune with nature. He doubled over with pain in his gut. Pain from the cancer in his body was like a tapeworm making its way through the cells turning his brain to mush. Frank wished the end would hurry so there was no more suffering in his life. He tried to focus his mind to ...

The Blue Room The new section of the building had been finished. I had been to two functions there. I was surprised at all the changed when I attended the first function. The amount of space gained by the extensions out, and upward. A balcony section looked out over the river. Windows on all sides gave the customers a perfect view. The customers protected from all types of weather. Whether the weather be wet, or dry, windy, or cold. You look down on the boats moored on the river. Watch the cars, and trucks, move across the traffic bridge. See the houses on the northern side of the river. The mangroves which grow along the muddy bank. The morning sun shone through the window to brighten, and warm, the people attending the Devonshire Morning Tea before time to listen to the speakers on different topics to do with seniors. To tell them of ways to protect themselves from being cheated out of their life savings. Their safety. Health problems. “ I knew they would be h...

Surprise. Surprise. “ Oh my. This can't be happening to me,” cried Mary Henderson. “ The kids are driving me mad. They want money for this. For that. Money, money, money.” She clenched her fists. Raised them angrily into space. Her face contorted with rage. And worry. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Mary Henderson made a sad picture. She sat on a shabby couch in the untidy room. Mary was thirty-six but looked a lot older. Her hair hung untidy around her face. Clothes she wore were faded from too much wear. Mary, a person who provided for her family before she considered buying anything for herself. Her brown eyes sad from all her years of worry. The family consisted of four teenage daughters. Mary's husband had died. The girls where nearing the age where they wanted what they wanted, yesterday. No tomorrow. Wanted go go everywhere. Wanted lots of money for clothes. Thought she should buy them a car. The girls had no consideration for anyone but themselves. The ...