Saturday, May 24, 2008

Wordzzle- Vegas Style


I've read some of the short stories that many of you have come up with through Raven's Saturday Wordzzles and have enjoyed seeing how a few abstract words can be blended into so many different types of stories. Thought I'd jump in and give it a go this week.

This is week 14 of the Saturday Wordzzle challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works.

The words for this week's ten word challenge were: flamingo, monster trucks, Darth Vader, cucumbers, sugar-free, banking, determinate, thurible, sarcasm, drums

And for the Mini Challenge: procrastinate, memory lane, alley cat, argument, Florida

The idea is to use these words in a short, but coherent paragraph. I opted for a story with dialog in it so it isn't exactly one paragraph, but it is short. Hopefully that slight alteration to the rules doesn't tweak anybodies melon. Be sure to go by and see Raven for her contribution and to find some other participants.


***


While sitting in one of the many lounges of the world famous casino the Flamingo, in Las Vegas, a cocktail waitress walked up and asked me what I was drinking.

"I'll take a sugar-free vanilla latte if it's not too much trouble."

Noting my obvious sarcasm, she replied, "Perhaps I can bring you some nice cucumber sandwiches to go with that sir?"

"As lovely as that sounds, I think I'll take a Corona instead. Oh by the way, where's that sound of drums coming from?" I asked.

She informed me it was coming from a cover band called the "Alley Cat Strays", who were performing on a stage just past a bank of nearby slot-machines. I procrastinated for a moment, then decided that this was a show I could miss. Instead, I would walk over to the sports betting area and make a couple of wagers. My attitude was determinate that I'd be a winner; in fact, I was banking on my intuitions that told me the horse I had picked "Thurible Go", would win. I nearly got into an argument with the guy sitting next to me when I placed my bet.

"Are you crazy son?" he said, "That horse is the long shot! If I was your father, I'd have taught you a thing or two about the dark side of horse racing."

His voice and words took me down memory lane, because they reminded me of James Earl Jones as he portrayed Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies I'd watched as a kid. Well, in spite of all my wishful thinking, it didn't pay off. My horse pulled up lame in the third turn. Oh well, I thought, maybe I'll take my chances betting on the Monster Truck races they were holding down in Florida next.

27 comments:

Desert Songbird said...

Nicely done, Jeff. No word challenge too big or small for the likes of you!

Dianne said...

I'm never beneath saying I told you so!

I told you so - you were born to Wordzzle. I loved it.

and the 'rules' aren't really rules so no melons will be tweaked - although that sounds kinda sexy.

and you did a Mega! which is extra cool.

have a great weekend Jeff.

Leighann said...

Nice job Jeff, I enjoyed that!

Raven said...

Well done, Jeff! So glad you decided to join in with Wordzzles! Great story - and starting off with a mega to boot! As for rules - other than using all the words - there are none, just guidelines.

Isn't this fun? Hope to see you again next week.

Oh - just a reminder... you forgot to add your name to Mr. Linky.

Travis Cody said...

Pretty good. I keep saying I'm going to give this a try, but I haven't been much into writing recently and I always find an excuse not to do it.

Jeff B said...

Songbird- Thanks, i love doing these sort of things.

Dianne- If you've ever had your melons tweaked, you know just how sexy it can be!

Leighann- It was fun. I'll be by later tonight to check in.

Raven- Thanks for the welcome. I so like hearing, "Not rules just guidelines." That is music to my ears.

I went back and signed Mr Linky. Thank you for the heads up.

Travis- I understand about the writting void. I was glad to have this exercise to stimulate the creative juices again.

With your talent as a writter I'd love to see what you would come up with.

Jay said...

Welcome to Wordzzle World dude. There's no turning back now! Great job too!

And we both went for Vegas this week. Great minds, huh? ;-)

Dana said...

Hah! Why doesn't it surprise me that you are so good at this! Great job!!

Anonymous said...

Jeff, you put all the words onto one challenge that's a MEGA-CHALLENGE! Much harder than one 10-word challenge and a mini-challenge! Good for you! I loved your story!

Sandi McBride said...

Very well done Jeff...for your next assignment should you choose to accept it, follow through with next weeks competition!
Sandi

Richard said...

Welcome to the mega wordzzle Jeff. You and Jay both used a Vegas theme. Is a road trip in the offing?

Rich

Rhea said...

Great job! That's quite a challenge to combine all those words. lol You have a true talen, my man!

Ron said...

BRAVO Jeff!!!

Yahoo!

DAMN...you have such a magical way with words, and I know this can't be easy!

I especially loved how you used the word Thurible, because when I read the word challenge, I was thinking, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???"

Way to go, buddy!

Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Raven said...

Jeff, Richard - you both mentioned having trouble finding out what thurible meant. Thought I'd put you out of your misery. No idea why that word popped into my head when I was picking words for last week. I apologize for being so obscure. A thurible is the same thing as a censor. It's a hanging incense burner thingy and priests (or somebody) will sometimes walk down the aisle swinging them. Here's a better description. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurible

Akelamalu said...

Wahay you joined in Saturday Wordzzle Jeff, and you did it fabulously. :)

Odat said...

Nice job, Jeff. I totally enjoyed reading that!
Peace

Unknown said...

Well done Jeff. I see that Gene isn't the only one in your family that has a gift with words. Great Post...........

Jeff B said...

Jay- What happens in Vegas...

Dana- Why, thank you!

Maryt- Kind of fun to sit down and see how the words write their own story.

Sandi- As long as time permits, I'll be back at it next week.

Richard- Jay and I unleashed on vegas could be a heck of a lot of fun.

Rhea- Sometimes the words just flow together. Fortunately these seemed to find a rythm.

Ron- I couldn't find a meaning for that word so I just squeezed it into a name.

Raven- Thanks for solving the mystry.

Akelamalu- Seeing some of the great stories you've come up with with Wordzzles inspired me to give it a go.

Odat- Thank you my dear.

Jo- I taught him everything he knows! You beleive me right?

CrystalChick said...

What a fun challenge. You are so clever and really good at story telling!
Hope you are enjoying a nice holiday weekend!

Kimmie said...

Hi Jeff!

Oh Goodness, I forgot to comment on your Wordzzle...I swear I don't have a brain...I must go see the Wizard Of Oz! Maybe he can help...

I think you did a great job! I like how you weaved all those difficult words into such a fun story. When I go back to blogging I look forward to playing again. It's alot of fun. :-)
Hugs,
Kimmie

nitebyrd said...

Great job, Jeff! Florida will always add interest to any story. LOL

Utter Basketcase said...

HAHAAHA Brilliant!!! Absolutely Brill!! xx

Jeff B said...

Crystalchick- This is a fun writing exercise. The weekend was filled with work at Intel. They had a floor that had to be done in a cafeteria, and opted to do it over the first available holiday.

Kimmie- Nice to hear from you again. Hope you are doing well during your blog break.

Nitebyrd- Nothing but good things coming out of Florida from what I know!

Giggle- Thank you Rat Girl.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

Nicely done Jeff...

San said...

Jeff, I wasn't familiar with the Wordzzle challenge. I like the idea and you did a great job with it. There's something about linking all of these seemingly disparate words together that gets the creativity oozing. Darth Vader and cucumbers do go together and you've proven it.

katherine. said...

it always amazes me how your mind works....smile.

Jeff B said...

Bond- thanks my friend.

San- As talented of a writter that you are, I'm sure you would have some good stories to come up with. Raven has an open invitation to any who would like to join in.

Katherine- I'm trying to figure out if that's a good thing or not!
(snicker)

BTW, sounds like Gene is on the fire line not too far away from you.