Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
The rules are: a story based on the prompt word. The length of the story to be no more than and no less than six sentences.
Prompt Word:
CIRCUIT
Darnell-James looked at his friend, Eustis McClintock, sitting in a chair next to a summer-orphaned wood stove and said, “Been five years, this store don’t look nothing like I remember, and I know you never set so calm when the gas pumps have a line of out-of-state cars in front.”
Jutting a chin that showed a half-week of white beard, Eustis said, “If you remember, the back wall of the store was six, seven feet further back, behind where all those little glass and stainless steel doors are now; a fella from the city showed up last year and said to me, “Let me bring you a little of the 21st century and I will give you back your quiet life.”
As the two men watched, a young couple came in through the door, looked around, in that skittish way first time tourists did when forced off the interstate, saw the refreshment section of the back wall and, finding what they believed they came in for, swiped their credit cards and took their coffee and plastic-wrapped pastry back out to their car.
Seeing the half-perplexed frown on his old friend’s face, Eustis said, “The man who installed these cases said something about a circuit; a credit card in the slot completes a connection, the little door opens, whether it was ready-made hamburger or a souvenir tee shirt, said it used an electric eye or a laser or some-damn-thing; the important thing being a circuit is closed by the credit card.
“So, what you’re sayin is,” a grin started to wrinkle Darnell-James’ face, “If the circuit is unbroken, they can buy.”
“Yes, lord, buy and buy,” both men laughed like boys setting out on a homemade raft in the middle of a hot summer day.
About clarkscottroger
Oh my, that’s punny. A six sentence set up, deftly delivered.
Thank you, Miz. Avery
Such a quiet life on a summer day and they are getting richer by the minute.
I love the “summer-orphaned wood stove” and the use of the name Eustis. I’d almost forgotten about that name.
Funny how (some of) the old names still carry some presence, even though now out-dated and odd sounding.
Lots of visuals in this one. And yah, great minds, yah! Have a good one. Great six.
Thanks, man
That is called transition to new age lifestyles :)
thanks, Reena
Great music – may the circuit never be broken :)
Utterly delightful :) I too found it to be very visual and written such that I felt I was in the story, kinda like Final Girls!
thank you!
Laughing all the way to the bank, river bank.
yeah, right?
And do you suppose there is a better home to go to from all this technology? I’m still thinking he’s glad for big front porches and yarns to spin. Love where you took this.
as Joni Mitchell reminded us, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone’