1416535039 Should we or shouldn’t we? Talk about religion, that is. Lately, I have heard so many stories about childhood memories around religion, many not very favorable. Mainly, I think, it’s the unfavorable ones that have a profound effect on us. Tell us about a memory you have that...
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Destruction Ere from within Stabbing myself with steeled stupidity Terribly speaking words that bring about scars Ruinous havoc upon that which I should hold sacred Undermining entire  efforts to be totally human Creating darkness where light cowers Trashing my soul Slaughter
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I have a real longing for my grandfather’s grapes. When I was little, we would go out in the vineyards on my great-grandparent’s property and pick grapes. Many a grape would go into our mouths before reaching the kitchen, and I can still taste the sticky goodness. My teeth would break through the thick...
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This is an actual quote retrieved from Wikipedia this evening, and it brings back memories: “Front Royal, settled by whites as early as 1738, was originally known as Lehewtown, and was also known as ‘Helltown’, due to the abundance of rough and wild mountaineers and river travelers in the area who came into town looking...
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This was my entry for the Women On Writing Flash Fiction Contest for the Summer of 2010 Quarter. Although my entry didn’t make the honorable mention list,  it did beat out two thirds of the submissions for the contest. I asked for an editorial assessment when I submitted for the contest and was actually...
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What follows is my submission for the the food memoir prompt issued this week by Kim. Enjoy! I love my Wel-Bilt bread machine. Absolutely, unfettered, with no holding back unadulterated love. I bake Blueberry bread, Sweet bread, Pumpernickel, Rye, Tomato bread (awesome for BLT’s), Raisin bread, and a Caramelized Onion Walnut Focaccia. But the...
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The memoir prompt for this week has to do with cooking and you have two options to choose from. When did you taste your favorite fruit for the first time? If you don’t remember, imagine it. Goldberg says that imagining often leads to the real deal. Also, it might not be the first time...
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My brother had a party for his seventh birthday.  His idea of celebration was to run and hide.  I joined forces with his classmates , two years my senior, to try and chase him down. With my own classmates, I would not have been so bold.  Newly five, I had already experienced a year of...
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There weren’t many lessons in school that I anticipated with such fervour. Yes, I had an enduring interest in language, but English was always my favourite and strongest subject. However, when I was 13, what manifested itself as a schoolboy crush led to an interest in another language that would have far reaching changes...
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For Memoir Prompt: Feeling Different – This prompt extended another week. Being as quiet as I was growing up, there were many, many instances where I felt left out or like I didn’t fit in. Fortunately, I always had a few close friends and family that I could count on for feeling loved and...
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My father. Oh, there have been plenty of teachers in my life; some I haven’t met, others I have, some I have heeded, and a lot I have regretfully dismissed, but my father has, and will always, teach me much. Almost everything my father has taught me has not come in the form of...
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1416535039What about those little (or sometimes big) hurts from childhood? We’ve all had them. There is a lot about bullying in the news these days. Whether we were bullied or not, I know that everyone has times when they felt different or like they just didn’t fit in. Or...
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The Extreme Writing Now Ghost Stories Contest is finished and we have a winner. But, announcing only one winner seems like a grisly crime, because each entry was superb, chilling, and extremely entertaining. Once again, I want to thank Jennifer Akers for talking on the unenviable task of judging the contest. Here is her...
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