Happy Thanksgiving (especially to those who “dress” rather than “stuff” your turkey)!

How to Dress Your Thanksgiving Turkey – and give it an alias…

While still in elementary school, my son brought home a cardboard turkey one November with the assignment of providing some suitable dressing to go with it.

Being of that magical age in which one celebrates that Wilbur the Pig will live in slop heaven for the rest of his mud-laden days because of winning a Web writing award at the county fair (something to which many of us bloggers aspire so we might earn some extra bacon), my son wanted his turkey to have the appropriate attire to assure his feathered friend’s absence from the chopping block.

For a fowl character like this to survive when he’s on November’s most wanted list, his accompanying dressing better be bad – to the bone. He’d better be better than a homegrown pig. He needed to be a Wild Hog. And he’d better be one hasty hellion to avoid the Thanksgiving dinner table. I ask you – would you want this tough, gristly, grimy guy served up on your platter?

Oh yeah. I said grimy. Check out the t-shirt to see how long he’s been dusting down the road. Don’t miss that this guy ain’t just any ol’ run-of-the-mill gobbler either. Heck no. “Turkey don’t ride café style.” This is one bad outlaw on the run.

***

Feel free to help us come up with a suitable alias for our Outlaw Turkey, so he can survive this year’s Thanksgiving season without being seasoned again!

Why it may be Best to Avoid True Love

He was certain she had exhibited pure craft and cunning, luring him into her web of lies. She’d never possessed one ounce of love for him, despite all of her convincing performances, her repeated manifestations that had all but assured him otherwise.

He was sure that she’d been playing him all along. He’d tried every way he knew to confess the depth of his love to her when they’d last met. In return, she’d mutely sat there, staring at him, almost imperceptibly nodding, though never uttering a word in return.

He’d stewed over it for weeks now, until he’d finally mustered enough anger from within that he was ready to confront – maybe demoralize – her.

***

She knew why she hadn’t heard from him. What she didn’t understand was why she couldn’t bring herself to send him all the words she’d written from deep within her heart – the ones that acknowledged her undying love for him.

Her mind had rehashed that night many times over. Awkwardly, in the midst of all his shared frustrations, he’d worked in his true feelings for her. After all this time. But he’d also worked in his feelings for another – how he’d felt torn over a decision he would be faced to make; how he was being pressured to marry another.

All the love she’d held inside that had been bottled up for so long, swelling with joy at his earlier utterances, suddenly felt as ripe as an over-filled water balloon. The cork that had held all that pressure – so tightly, for so long – refused to release, refused to allow her to declare the words she’d long wanted to say.

Her heart raced…and then it ran away. It had been shredded too many times before to bear yet another assault.

***

So as their paths crossed this final time, the result was an unfortunate collision.

Alas.

Sometimes, the truest kind of love is the craftiest and most cunning of them all…

leaving no survivors in its wake.

****

****

This 333-worded flash-tragedy was brought to you courtesy of this week’s Trifecta challenge prompt:

CRAFT (noun) (3rd definition)

1 :  skill in planning, making, or executing :  dexterity

2 a :  an occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill <the carpenter’s craft> <the craft of writing plays> <crafts such as pottery, carpentry, and sewing>

b plural :  articles made by craftspeople <a store selling crafts> <a crafts fair>

3 :  skill in deceiving to gain an end <used craft and guile to close the deal>

Come join in!

Remember:

• Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.

• You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.

• The word itself needs to be included in your response.

• You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.

• Only one entry per writer.

• If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.

• Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us.

This weekend’s challenge is community judged.

• For the 14 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.
• In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link. To vote, simply click the star that corresponds with your favorite post.
• You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
• Voting is open to everyone.
• You have 14 hours to vote. It’s not much time, so be diligent! We’ll send out reminders on Twitter and Facebook.
• The winners will be announced in the comments of Friday’s post and will be posted in our typical fashion in the post on the following Monday.

– See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.qkWkbl8o.dpuf

Strange Human Observance #29 (aka Things that make ya’ go hmmm)

The weekend Trifextra challenge is as follows:

In The Scorpio Races, author Maggie Stiefvater writes, “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”  (If you want to find out more about Maggie Stiefvater, check out her Twitter here and her Facebook here. – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.IHMejm27.dpuf)

Give us the next thirty-three words of this story, as you imagine it.  Take it wherever you like, but make it original and make it 33 words exactly.

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

 

So is this day more significant than any other of the year?

Only if you consider it also happens to be All Saint’s Day –

fundamentally meaning we take time to celebrate those deaths.

**********

The Hospitality of a Hallowed Eve

Hi, my name is Jody. I’m a Christian. And, here’s my hellacious holiday confession. Well, hey, I happen to like Halloween.

I don’t see it as a holiday to be demonized. And I really don’t think all those little kids are dressing up so they can come onto my front porch to practice their evil incantations. Basically, they’re in it for the candy. And I’m in it for the hospitality.

How many other days of the year can I expect that, if I sit on my front porch, a large percentage of my neighbors and even complete strangers will come by and visit? I walk my neighborhood each day – and though I stop and chat a time or two with someone each week for a couple of moments – how many other days of the year are our sidewalks filled with people joyfully greeting one another and socializing along the way? How many other days do I have the opportunity to chase down people I don’t know and ask to take their pictures? (Okay, well, maybe I’ve done that a few other times too…but you get the point.)

I wish I could tell you the excitement I felt at rushing to get home last night, after traveling on the road all day, then bringing my dinner out with me onto the porch, so I wouldn’t miss the busy group of excited children and teens gathering as it all began.

I wish I could tell you the joy I felt in my heart when I extended a handful of candy to a young visitor and was met with large eyes attached to a small, amazed voice that gasped, “I can have ALL of these?” “Only if you want them all,” I answered with a giggle.

I wish I could express the satisfaction I received from offering extra candy along with a bandaid to the overzealous trick-or-treater who tripped on my sidewalk because he was so excited to get there, as we both picked up his spilled trail of candy together.

I wish I could explain my frustration that I hadn’t thought to take pictures of all my visitors until after many of them had already gone on their way – and then my delight at rushing inside to grab my camera so I could share a tiny bit of my joy with you.

With that being said, I hope you, too, get some enjoyment from the precious few photos I did gather. More than anything, I hope that you were able to personally get great enjoyment from the hospitality opportunity that this Hallowed Eve offered once again to us all. I would hate to think that any of us might miss an opportunity to extend or receive the warmth of hospitality to one another.

The sun sets over our Hallowed Eve Neighborhood

Halloween – a family & friend affair (with hot dogs!)

Peter Pan & Tinkerbell (looking for their Halloween shadows?)

a sweet treat of a baker

Tiberius expressing his best front porch hospitality

mY LIL Vampiress

striking a pose – or two

Hallowed Front Porch