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A quote: “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~~ Plato
I’ll start with a story …
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“Higher, HIGHER!!”
I pushed sis with all the might a 12 year old big brother could muster. The rusty old swing, the last thing dad put together before ghosting us, squealed along with her.
At the top of the outward swing, sis let go – an exotic bird hanging in the air, then plunging into the tall grass.
I rushed, scared to death, to find her giggling, eyes wide. “Let’s do that AGAIN!”
They tell me she stood on the railing of her 15th floor penthouse before launching herself outward. And this time I can’t find her giggling in the grass.
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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license.
corsair red says: Excellent.
Navig8r says: The previous owners prided themselves on their immaculate, picture perfect yard and the clockwork visits by Chemlawn. The first time the kids wrestled in the grass, they all came in with burning rashes. Kinda explained why the neighbors always wear long pants and gloves to tend their flower beds. Five years later, the contamination has abated to where the kids can play barefoot and you can find the occasional fish worm in the flower beds, but the notes from the HOA are getting strident and threatening fines.
“Honey, I think it’s time to move back to the country.”
“I agree.”
Lloyd says: A few more than 100 words based on personal experience:
SUICIDE
Soft wood burns hot and fast,
Giving us light and keeping us warm.
But, its bright flames are short-lived,
Burning out sooner than we’d like.
We are left in the dark and the cold,
To shiver and suffer in our misery.
Sadness turns to anger and overwhelms us,
And for a time, we hate the wood.
But, in time, if we are strong,
We will be drawn back to the hearth.
To brush away the surface ash
And discover the glowing knot embers beneath.
Careful and gentle fanning
Can turn them back to flame;
To once again give us light
And warm our hearts!
Cameron says: The girl giggled with delight as the swing went higher. The mother looked up in horror as she raced over. “Ashley, stop it right now!”
The girl looked ready to cry. “But I was just-”
“Baby, I know but we’re out in public. Mommy could get arrested for this.”
OK, time to intervene. I walked up quietly and gave her my most charming smile. “Ma’am, this is a public park. It’s fine.”
“Please don’t report us,” she begged as she clutched her daughter. “We just got here.”
“Ma’am, you’re safe. This is the new America. We let kids be kids.”
Carlisle Starke Iooked up at Earth hanging high and full over the lunar landscape. When had those who stayed behind begun to turn their backs upon space, severing the bonds of kinship with those who braved the Void, saying, “We know you not”?
Over on Farside it was easy to avoid thinking about humanity’s original world and the millions eking out a pre-industrial existence among the ruins of the civilization that had opened the gateways to infinity. With the whole Moon blocking the view of the blue orb that birthed humanity, it was easier to look outwards to Mars. the Jovians and their families of moons, the Main and Kuiper Belt small bodies. Those were humanity’s future, while Earth was the past.
Looking at it above him, he could only feel sad for those whose future had been foreclosed upon for the sake of their ancestors’ fear of boundlessness.
Dupin says: I’m going to fly!
Daddy says that you fly by throwing yourself at the ground and missing. I don’t know about that. I’m gonna keep kicking higher and higher, then push myself off and fly when it gets high enough. The ground’s soft so if I don’t flap my arms hard enough, it won’t hurt too much. But I want to miss the ground like Daddy said. I want to fly.
I’m high enough now to do it. All I have to do is to push off and let go. Oh, and flap. I have to flap.
Here I go!
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