47 replies to this topic

[ronnie_suburban]

*standing ovation for Marlene*

=R=

[maggiethecat]

“Why Maggie, why?”  I pleaded.  “How do you get mixed up in these things anyway?”  “Well, it ain’t easy being cheesy and all that  JAZ, you know.  I have my public to think of after all” she shrugged.  “Here’s food4thought.  A couple of paragraphs, a few names, and thereuare!”

Gee, Marlene, what a judge of character you are! My bosom's heaving --with laughter.

(Admit I was right. It was fun!)

[Marlene]

I'm not even going to tell you how long that took me. Back atcha Dark Lady

edited to add: yeah, it was fun.

Edited by Marlene, 16 September 2003 - 01:33 PM.

[Toliver]

Such a dreary night, I thought, as I finally made it back to my pueblo, via Trixie’s joint, slipping out the back and up the fire escape unnoticed. Sybil rushed to the window like a good watch dog as I opened it quietly. Stepping through it into the apartment, I froze as I suddenly heard the sharp click of a gun hammer being pulled back. Some watchdog, I thought, as I gave the animal a wry look. With a small pop, the tranquilizer dart hit my bicep. My heart began to rev, arm in trouble, legs beginning to weaken.
“Madam, Bali can be nice this time of year,” I said to her through a haze. She laughed softly. I knew who it was. I could smell her distinctive perfume. I first met her in Indonesia during “The Case of the Missing Daijin”, my only failure as a private eye. I lost one client being too careless and swore I would never lose another.
Raw, bright light blinded me as she suddenly turned on a flashlight. I played along. I didn’t want to rob our dainty guest of her drama.
“Where’s your partner?” I asked, feeling a little woozy.
“I dropped him off at Guy’s place”, she replied. “I wanted you to my self.”
I knew she didn’t mean that in a good way. She liked her prey to fight. In Bali, we’d had one row after another before the big Dust-Off.
She laughed again. I would have gladly cut her off if I could, but I wasn’t the one holding the gun.
“So, Mrs. Terrine, what can I do for you?” I inquired, calling her by name.
“I am a Ms. Terrine now. I’ve recently lost my husband.”
I vaguely recalled him. John? No, it was Jim, Dixon county’s number one cabbage salesman. He was pudgy and bald, entering his late 60’s. The three of us had gone to an Indonesian movie theater to see “Godzilla” 369…no, it was 370 days ago, if I remembered correctly.
“Jay, messy divorces were never for me,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“That’s news to m...my ears” I stuttered through the sleepiness enveloping me. “So you lost your husband. Overboard on a cruise, I suppose?”
“If you only knew” she laughed.
She wasn’t kidding. As I blacked out I knew she was serious, on that I could rely. Serious and deadly, like her borscht.

edited to add a '.'

Edited by Toliver, 17 September 2003 - 01:18 PM.

[Marlene]

Good grief! That took some serious work! You win

[ronnie_suburban]

Classic Toliver, absolutely classic!

=R=

[jhlurie]

Okay, I surrender to someone who managed to get Jinmyo in there...

[Marlene]

And here I thought we were going to dance

[bloviatrix]

Wow, I'm impressed. How long did that take?

[Toliver]

Wow, I'm impressed.  How long did that take?

Thanks for all the kind words!
When I stumbled onto the competition, I started writing it immediately for about an hour or so. Then a week went by without any progress. When I discovered the deadline had been extended (thanks, Maggie!) I decided to finish it. All told, it took about 2 and a half hours.
I had to rewrite what I had originally started when Maggie threw down the gauntlet and said there'd be extra points to use "Chad" & "Bloviatrix" in the same sentence. "Hah!", I said, and leapt to the challenge (sufffering little to no physical damage in the process). Originally, I had a better preface setting up the use of "pueblo" but that went out the window with the gauntlet being thrown.
The major hurdles were "Bloviatrix" and "Jinmyo". Once I figured out those two, it set the tone for the rest of them.
I am not proud of what I had to write in order to squeeze in "Varmint". It is not good writing and I will not pretend that it is. Having mulled using words like "Nabokov" & "Kirov" (and tossing them aside) just to gain the "V", I settled on "rev".
And to pat myself on the back, I thought my "Zilla369" and "Tommy" were both a hoot and a half.

Thanks, Maggie, for the fun challenge!

[Lady T]

*Reads previous entries. Slinks softly away in terror.*

[tanabutler]

I've thought about seppuku since Toliver's entry, myself.

[tanabutler]

??

How is that that the winners share third place? I don't get it.

[guajolote]

??

How is that that the winners share third  place? I don't get it.

They'll announce 2nd place on Wen. and 1st on Fri.

Personally, I think 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place should get a cookbook prize for this round.

[Marlene]

Hey I agree! I can alway use another cookbook John, I guess we get to dance now. Or at least our third place Gullys can.

[maggiethecat]

Personally, I think 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place should get a cookbook prize for this round.

I agree. I'm working on it.

[tanabutler]

Um, where do I get the Newbie temporary tattoo?

[tanabutler]

Mea culpa, because this is different than my usual geek forum.

Edited by tanabutler, 23 September 2003 - 11:04 PM.