I’m sorry to have missed last week. I had a bad couple of weeks in my ongoing struggle with my achey breaky back, but things are looking up now–until the next episode. Truly, I missed reading all the intriguing stories that are created, all different, from the same post!

Iggy stopped to rest. His legs trembled with fatigue. He was parched for a drop of water. After a second, he fluttered his wings again and resumed his endless journey.
“Only a few more steps, and then I can rest,” he thought, his little heart pounding. With incredible effort, he took one sideways step, then another, and another.
Just as he got to the hole, the cable started to move. It rapidly took him right back to where he had started.
He took a breath, fluttered once, closed his eyes, and died.
That’s an unusually glum tale for you, Linda
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Yes, I guess it is. I’ve had a couple of unusually glum weeks–maybe that’s the reason.
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Nice cheerful one… Sorry about the back issues. Hope you are doing much better.
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I am, thank you.
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I feel for Iggy and all like him. Life holds many challenges, some of them are not fair
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Agreed. No chance that poor little bug was going to win!
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So sorry about your back. Unfortunately Iggy’s fate has been known to befall well too many bugs~
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Indeed. Short lives, not much time to learn to avoid the pitfalls 🙂
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Aw, what a shame. Poor Iggy!
I hope your back improves, Linda – I’m sorry it’s been troubling you. Sitting at the computer doesn’t help, does it?
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Actually, I have a lap table for my laptop, so I can use it in a comfy chair. If I had to use a regular desk chair, I wouldn’t have been using my computer much at all for the past 2-3 weeks!
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Dear Linda,
Oh, poor iggy. A sad tale. I hope he went to buggy heaven. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
PS I hope your back continues to improve.
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Poor wee Iggy. But sometimes life’s like that. Nicely told.
I hope your back is getting better.
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Thank you. Back is improving slowly, having to be careful.
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Dang it! That got dark. I was thinking of the movies that anthropomorphized insects putting me in a Disney mind state. Then, “He took a breath, fluttered once, closed his eyes, and died.” You caught me off-guard.
I hope your back is better. Back issues are the worst.
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Someone else made a similar comment, surprised I would write something so dark. It’s not my go-to, but now and then it’s kind of fun 🙂
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Aw… What a downer! Or upper? Fate can be a fickle fiend.
Wishing you well.
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Thanks, Christine.
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i didn’t expect the sad ending. if anything, he tried his darndest best to survive.
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He sure did, but a bug can take just so much 🙂
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Oh no, I was expecting him to start again, poor little fella 😦
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There’s been a lot of sympathy for poor little Iggie. 🙂
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I thought I ggy was a bird but but bug, he is. 😀
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That would be one very tiny bird!
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The sad life of many an insect. Well done, Linda.
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Thanks, Mason. You seem to be enjoying our zany group–you fit right in 🙂
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Aww thanks, Linda.
I’m loving the challenge of using 100 words only. Meeting and chatting with everyone as I read their stories is lovely too. Thanks for letting me be a part of the group.
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We love having new people join in. And I know what you mean about learning to keep to 100 or less. It’s making my writing tighter, cleaner, and adverbs are infrequent visitors 🙂
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Yes this is a great way to learn which words are important and which you can chuck out without losing the story. Its the best writing and learning tool there is I think.
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For me, it has helped me learn to choose strong verbs that don’t need modifiers. Yes, I agree, this is an excellent learning tool–and I was an English teacher for years 🙂
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That’s why your stories are always beautiful.
I haven’t had much training. I learned by myself in order to work with the characters that came to ask me to write about them. As a result my punctuation and grammar are terrible! But at least my stories are I hope enjoyable.
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Yes, they are certainly enjoyable. I’d like to offer you one correction: it’s definitely, not definately. Since you mentioned your lack of grammar and punctuation (which are NOT terrible!) I hope you won’t mind my noticing the misspelling.
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Definitely is one of those words I always spell wrong and often dont notice to correct. Thank you for pointing it out I appreciate it.
I’ve failed through a lot of publishers and editors through the way I write things. Seems my books and publishing are incapatable. At least for now anyway.
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At least you have the courage to keep trying. Don’t give up. Some well-known writers tried over 110 times before they were accepted!
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In honesty I write more for fun now. I haven’t looks at my novels in over a year. They languish in a drawer for now.
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Me too. I have about 50,000 words, and came to a complete standstill. Sigh.
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Sorry to hear that. I hope you can find a way to finish it.
I wrote 7 Fantasy books and 20 mysteries. They’re all complete but thanks to scumbag publishers and editors and lack of funds I can’t do anything with them now.
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(:
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Incompatible, not incapatable. Sorry. It’s the English teacher in me.
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Haha! Thanks, Linda!
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That was a sad tale, Linda. I hope you’re on the mend now. Nothing more debilitating than a bad back, both mentally and physically.
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Thanks, Sandra. I’m better, still being careful how I move. Healing is slower as I grow older. Not fair!
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Oh no, poor Iggy, to die after all that effort. At least he made an effort…
Here’s hoping your poor back will be better soon, Linda.
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Poor little bug, indeed :). And I am better, just very slowly this time. I have to move carefully, but at least I can still move!
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Oh, that took me by surprise – him too I guess!
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Yes, and I think it was a painless death 🙂
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Oh no! Was not expecting that ending, but it was perfect! You nailed it! Good writing!
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Thanks so much.
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Your story pretty much summed up my week, well, except for the dying part. Not saying that I didn’t think about it. The second vaccine hit me harder than hard. Still trying to get back a week later. UGH! Glad to hear that you’re feeling better. You can see your struggle in the story, too. Have a blessed week. ~Shalom, Bear
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Perceptive of you, Bear. I’m sorry you’ve struggled with the vaccine. Terry and I have chosen to avoid it, mostly because we’ve stayed so much to ourselves over the past year. I read the other day that there are, on average, 30 people every day who die after having the vaccine. I don’t want to be a statistic!
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Iggy sounds like me trying to get out of bed LOL
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That’s really funny, Mae. I SO get it!
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Whoops! That ending took me by surprise but I can sympathise bad back does that to you. I did mine in during the week too. Hope you get better soon and regale us with fun tales again. Which in FF world often means innovative ways to kill off characters 🙂
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Thanks so much : I am better, still be careful how I move. But really, much better.
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I’ve had my share of back pain, and surgery about 25 years ago. (It really helped)
I think most of us can relate to Iggy’s tale. Many times I’ve been close to achieving something only to either have the goal move or suffer a major setback.
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Russell, I’m so happy that your surgery was successful. My problem includes degenerative joint disease, which isn’t going to be fixed with surgery. I’ve had two surgical procedures that have given relief, but it’s just a matter of time , really, until some other part starts hurting. Mostly, my doctors do the best they can with pain control. Strengthening back and core muscles is important, as well. And you didn’t need to know all that 🙂 i appreciate that you “got it.”
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A wonderfully written tale, Linda but with such a sad ending. Poor Iggy.
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Poor Iggy, indeed 🙂
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Are you sure his name wasn’t Sisyphus? I feel guilty for laughing at the end. Sorry I have no bug empathy.
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Maybe it was, but Iggy is easier to spell :). No, I don’t have a lot of empathy for bugs, either–especially the ones that give me the shivers, like centipedes. Kill ’em all, is what I say!
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🙂
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