Meg Sefton's Blog, page 29

Inktober: Circus II (lion tamer’s wife)

Ballroom ceiling by Steve Parker, flickr

My husband would not have harmed my son, but the child was so devoted he would have willingly jumped into a den of big cats. Now that my son trains lions and my grandchildren show interest, I realize a woman’s worries are without surcease.

Inktober: Circus (a lion tamer’s retirement)

Lion tamer, zeit punkte, flickr [chromolithograph, c. 1873, Library of Congress LC-USZC4-2994 (color film copy transparency)]

It was in the lion enclosure that the brain tumor struck the lion tamer. His vision blurred, he fell into a bulk of fur, and a giant tooth tore his cheek. He retired soon after.

Clever Gretel

german-dirndl-dress-heidis-closet-18 by Alessandra Nölting, flickr

I’ll have to admit, I have a thing for the #LeaveItChallenge on YouTube. Folks leave delectable items well within reach of their dogs and tell them “leave it” then leave the room. (There is a similar challenge for children called #candychallenge.) The camera tracks just how these tortured subjects react to the temptation.

I have recently purchased a book of the earliest versions of the Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales. Later versions of these tales were sweetened for younger audiences. The earliest forms are more brutal, just like our R-rated movies and and more salacious forms of entertainment. But then there are some funny tales as well, such as Clever Gretel. I won’t ruin it for you, but let’s just say Clever Gretel is a #LeaveItChallenge laugh-riot.

Inktober: Mother

tanya, flickr

Mother, you taught me about making bacon and egg breakfasts for father before his Sunday sermons. You sewed our outfits. You arranged my marriage. I know I have disappointed you, but you must know I love you. My higher self is in you. You gave it to me.

Inktober: Sunday II

boston76 by Chuck Patch, flickr

Sister, though I am older, you keep me grounded, you save me from myself, you saved me from cancer. I had to grow old to recognize in you the gracious and mighty Antigone. May your days always be blessed until we meet our brother in the house of the Lord.

Inktober: Sunday

marty hadding, flickr

Dad, remember when you took me to give the Lord’s Supper to the dying lady? You brought your kit of wafers, grape juice, tiny cups. At your mountain home decades later, during the pandemic, you feed your family this same spiritual food to commemorate our dear Lord.

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Inktober: Double

The Enemy Within Unleashed by Arne Halvorsen, flickr

My doppelgänger arranges dates for me. She lies about me on a dating profile.

I tell her: I’ve put that all behind me now.

One day I get a text: I loved meeting you last night.

I want to tell him it wasn’t me, but relenting, I reply: Thank you.

Inktober: Broken

This story is based on the case of a family annihilation in Mendocino County, California on March 26, 2018. See Broken Harts, Prime Video.

Diana: Broken Wing by Matt Callow, flickr

After two mommies drove a vanload of adopted children off a cliff, we the children of the Realm gathered the newly dead children in our arms. There is nothing like the cries of children who have died at the hands of their caretakers. Often, they have been abused for years.

Inktober: Bananas

I’m veering from the prompts list I put up several posts ago. Sometimes, I just like trying to write what I want to write and doing it in only fifty words. Having written a couple of seasons of fifty-word fiction pieces, I’m starting to sense that maybe every season needs at least one or two interesting relatives. Last year, there was an interesting Thanksgiving relative. Here, this Halloween is seeing at least one of these imaginative folk in Aunt Bettina, who brings life to the party. I’m sure there will be other trends as well. Enjoy your Friday night —Margaret

p. 700 of 1889 Ladies’ Home Journal, flickr

For Halloween, Aunt Bettina would stick our hands in covered bowls so we could identify “body parts:” big greasy olives were eyeballs; macaroni was brains; sausage links were intestines. When Aunt Bettina was locked up in Florida State Mental Hospital, Halloween died.

Inktober: Drooling II

Bizarre but true, my friends. —Margaret

School, Grade Classroom by IMLS Digital Collections, flickr

My first grade teacher broke yardsticks over our desks when we colored “wrong.” At her funeral, I wondered if she drooled after her stroke. Since it was open casket, I was terrified she knew my naughty thoughts and was gonna get me.