Stories

Six Words: Ash, Vegetarian, Era, Sensitivity, Outline, Shift

We are living in a time of shifting sensitivities. That’s no secret. But can we say that we are in an era of shifting sensitivities? Has there ever been a time when sensitivities have not been shifting?

When did people start becoming vegetarian? Or vegan? Or concerned about animal rights? Or women’s rights? Or race? Or religious bias? What happened to the actual ERA – the Equal Rights Amendment?

Could we draw an outline around the time that we’d say we our sensitivities have shifted more extremely? Was there a difference between the sensitivities in the Obama era compared to the Trump era? Was one better than the other?

Is it time to cover ourselves in ashes like Job or the king of Ninevah as a sign of repentance? Instead of ashes, can we repent by voting.

Six Words: Invasion, Victory, Hardship, Evolution, Equinox, Arrangement

As the spring equinox approached, and the hardships of living in a war zone because of the Russian invasion continued to evolve, the family made arrangements for their children to live in America until Ukraine achieved victory.

Six Words: Problem, Artificial, Prove, X-ray, Wound, Steak

It didn’t take an x-ray to prove that the wound was a real problem, not an artificial one. When the clothing was removed, it looked like raw steak. The injured person couldn’t see the injury herself, so she didn’t understand why her roommate fainted.

Six Words: Productive, Video, Print, Paralyzed, Citizen, Overview

She thought she was being a good citizen when she wrote the letter to the editor and was delighted when she saw it in print. It turned out to be more productive than she could have imagined when she was asked to expand it into an op-ed.

Soon, she was asked by a local network to make a video where she would give an overview of the article. It was during that video interview that she froze, completely paralyzed, in front of a live audience. Fame might have been fleeting, if it wasn’t being broadcast live. Instead, like a bear and forest fires, her picture became the image for the phrase “A deer freezing in the headlights”.

Six Words: Relaxation, Huge, Celebration, Connection, Needle, Moving

There was no relaxation time for the host in the days leading up to the huge celebration. Connections were planned between the theme of the event and the food that would be served. Everything was moving in the right direction. She’d been so focused on the planning and the preparation for so long, that her friends were needling her that she’d become a recluse because she was so focused.

Six Words: Exotic, Minority, Landowner, Video, Community, Posture

There was nothing particularly exotic about the new neighbors, although they were clearly a minority in this community. They just wanted to be homeowners like everyone else. We didn’t know whether they had any particular posture on politics or religion or anything else, but there were a few landowners who had a bias against anyone who was at all different. As a precaution, I helped them setup a video monitoring system around their house.

Six Words: Comment, Debut, Fluctuation, Feature, Oral, Transfer

There is an awkward time in the life of every boy in the tween years. There may be growth spurts which everyone notices and can’t be hidden. But there is another feature that changes, that can lead to awkward moments and that boys hope are never noticed as they transfer from boyhood to manhood. Not every boy finds himself in an awkward situation where the embarrassment may occur, but because of reasons they can’t control, it happens to some.

The worst time is when a young man makes a debut speech in front of a class or a school assembly or his bar mitzvah. He never knows whether his voice will fluctuate between his new, deeper tones and a squeak. Usually people pretend to ignore the oral surprise and don’t comment on it afterward. But some can’t help but giggle or even laugh out loud.

Six Words: Fixture, Crosswalk, Other, Arrange, Asset, Example

A common fixture at crosswalks in big cities are pedestrian warning lights, telling people when to walk, and when to wait. Sometimes they display timers when walking is permitted, showing how much time is left before it will change back to displaying Don’t Walk. There are a few different arrangements as to what these warning lights can display. In some other countries, parts of France, for example, the walk sign is a little, animated green man. Parents tell their children, and tour guides tell visitors, to wait for the green man before crossing a street. These walk, don’t walk lights, are a real asset in saving lives.

Six Words: Cassette, Positive, Notorious, Density, Uncertainty, Interest

This week five of the Nobel Prize awards were announced. The prize in Physics is always the second one announced, and is usually the one that interests me the most, although they are often notoriously difficult to understand. This year’s Physics Prize was awarded to three people whose work in quantum mechanical tunneling seems to challenge the density of matter.

The Nobel Peace Prize was announced on Friday. While there was uncertainty about who the recipient would be, I was positive that a certain someone who has been campaigning for it would not be the recipient.

The three winners will split about $1.2M, but they’ll each get their own medal. Each medal will come in a nice cassette. Some will simply leave the cassette open to display it, but others will choose to frame it so they can hang it on a wall. I was surprised that the medals are made of green gold. I’d never heard of green gold until I researched what they are made of. The green gold medal is then gold plated, maybe so no one is green with envy?

Six Words: Trustee, Calorie, Exemption, Survey, Cater, Lemon

The trustee of estate sent an annual survey to each of the beneficiaries of the trust, inquiring about their projected needs in the coming year. They were also reminded to watch their calories, because the trust encouraged them to take care of themselves and to watch their diets.

A couple of the beneficiaries discussed the reminder during a catered birthday party and decided that eating the lemon meringue pie should be an exemption to their usual dessert-free diets.