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Tag Archives: Trifextra

I’ll take Red Rum with a Crisp

Trifecta“£5 on Red Rum each way.”

“Smart bet. Red Rum, sir, is murder on turf. You’d never know he’d been lame.”

“So they say. He oughta give Crisp a run for his money.”

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The Trifextra challenge this week was to incorporate a palindrome into a 33-word story. (For those who don’t remember what a palindrome is, it’s a word or phrase spelled the same forward and backward.) My palindrome, chosen completely at random from PalindromeList, is in bold above, and I admit, required a Google search for inspiration. I first thought red rum was a variation of the popular fermented sugarcane juice that makes my favorite strawberry colada so enjoyable. It may or may not be…I got side-tracked when Wikipedia informed me that Red Rum was a famous and much-loved racehorse in the UK in the 1970s. Despite having an inflammatory bone disease that caused lameness, his owner recognized his potential and rehabilitated him through training sessions in the sea. Running in the Grand National, England’s most famous steeplechase, Red Rum won three times and came second twice over the course of five years.

WARNING: The first few seconds of the video below may be disturbing to some viewers.

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Posted by on March 13, 2014 in Challenges, Historical Fiction

 

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No man’s ice princess

IMG_0733
I can no longer endure your winter.
My passion does not thaw your frosty countenance, nor melt your frigid demeanor.
Lest your chill numb my soul, I must flee to seek my spring.

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This week’s Trifextra challenge asked for a 33-word love gone wrong story, told without using any of the words you’d expect to find in a heartbreak tale: love, sad, tears, wept, heart, or pain. I found my inspiration for this little story on today’s afternoon run, when I spied some very cool frost crystals pushing their way through the clay at the side of the road–they looked to me like the bars of an icy prison.

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2014 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Much to prove

HPIM1787
The first time I saw a ewe give birth, I puked. A brand new lamb, bathed in my lunch.

The flu, I swear.

But the old farm hand asked with a sly grin, “Learn that in vet school?”

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A challenging prompt this week from Trifextra: Take the snippet The first time I saw… and add 33 more one-syllable words to create a 38-word story.

Trifecta

 
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Posted by on January 15, 2014 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Fruitcake and consequences

fruitcakeFruitcake cartoon posted on numerous websites,
not sure who gets the original credit

“Dave, it’s here! The annual fruitcake from Aunt Mable. Who should we pass it to?”

“Hmm. We’ve been fishing the newspaper out of puddles for months.”

“So, not the mechanic.”

“Or my proctologist.”

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Exactly 33 words for this week’s Trifecta challenge: Charles Dickens, in A Christmas Carol, wrote “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.” We are giving you exactly 33 words to make us laugh out loud and spread some festive cheer.

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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That sinking feeling

100_0520Inherited nearsightedness from myopic parents. Sun’s blinding dazzle on the bay. Too many sloops moored in the basin. As $13.5 million sank beneath his feet, Tony was only surprised disaster hadn’t struck sooner.

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Thirty of my own words, added to the three provided by Trifextra this weekend: basin, dazzle, myopic, for a total of thirty-three. 

 
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Posted by on December 8, 2013 in Challenges, Sunday Best

 

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Eicke’s game

dachau-pistol-range-61.3Photo copyright 1999 by Philip Greenspun 

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

Bound and blindfolded, all hold their breath. Few hold their bowels.

“Anlegen, zielen, Feuer!”

Pistols crack.

Eicke’s words are an empty promise. Again.

Dignity is the only victim in this SS game. Today.

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Thirty-three words (not including the bold prompt, which comes from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) for Trifextra: Week Ninety-Two. For me, the words brought to mind the horrific mental torture endured by prisoners in Dachau, marched repeatedly to stand before SS firing squads. Sometimes the guns were loaded…sometimes they weren’t.

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Looking out for Number 1

anger
ME, ME, ME!

Horns honking, birds flipping, curses flying, guns blazing.

Decency, respect, and compassion the exception, not the rule.

Selfless acts now worthy of the 6 o’clock news.

What are we becoming?

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Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, wrote, “It’s like the smarter you are, the more things can scare you.” Inspired by the quote, this weekend’s Trifextra challenge is to write 33 words about something scary. 

Blogger’s note: I came across the above photo on several other blogs and websites, but have been unable to find the original source to which to give proper credit.

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2013 in Challenges, Observations

 

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