Weekly Challenge #675: Confluence

Tinny

LIZZIE

Trains are fascinating. The other day, I watched a webcam of a train traveling through amazing landscapes. The tunnels were the best. I finally saw the proverbial light, yep. That made me chuckle. I hardly ever spotted anyone though. Except that one time when a man was throwing another off a balcony. I wonder if anyone else noticed that. Well, the video wasn’t live. It was a live broadcast of a recorded trip, whatever that means. Nothing I could do. I wonder if that man is alive. The confluence of circumstances is tough sometimes. But trains are indeed absolutely fascinating.

RICHARD

Nile

In darkest Sudan, there is a truly wondrous sight: At the confluence of the mighty Blue Nile and White Nile Rivers, the two flow side by side, their distinctive colours flowing in parallel and separately between the same river banks.

It’s one of the great natural wonders I’d love to see, but I know that my chances are slim.

So, instead, every morning I recreate this incredible sight at my breakfast table, marvelling at the contrast between fresh white milk, as it takes on the colour of my coco pops.

And I bet the Nile doesn’t taste half as good!

TURA

Confluent
———
The title read “Confluence properties of quasi left linear conditionally orthogonal rewriting systems.” I glanced through it and sighed, then wrote back to its hopeful young author.

“It is more than twenty years since I worked in this trifling field. That you should seek out my opinion says nothing to the credit of anyone’s work since then.

“Your mathematical argumentation is rigorous, but grinding through sudoku problems would contribute more to the world than this nugacity.

“Ask yourself, what are the most important questions you could be working on? And why are you not working on them?

“Sincerely, Brezoianu (Professor)”

TOM

About the Waters of Ripple Rock

First time I witnessed the confluence of the Seymour Narrows in the Discovery Passage, British Columbia it was from 300 feet above the passage. It didn’t look right. The surface of the water broke in multiple directions. Later I found out dozens of major ships had gone down in those waters. The explorer George Vancouver described it as “one of the vilest stretches of water in the world.” From a man who had twice circumnavigated the globe. One summer we took a Zodiac through, the pilot drove the boat into twin sets of whirlpools and we just carouseled for an hour

JON

Coming Together

By

Jon DeCles

At the confluence of the two great rivers the explorers, fleeing the decay of their homeland, decided to build a town, a town which they envisioned to grow someday into a great city, and perhaps beyond that into an empire. They had moved beyond the decay, but not beyond the dreams that engendered the decay.

They cut the forests and built their houses and ploughed the land, and made it as rich a place as they had ever seen, but their vision was based on what they had left. They did not understand the ways of the woods they destroyed.

NORVAL JOE

“What do you mean?” Billbert asked the goth girl. “I’m an only child. I’ve never had a sister.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Yes. You were an only child. But with the recent confluence of your family with the Beederboker’s, you now have a sister your same age.”
Billbert looked to Linoliumanda for help. When she only covered her mouth and laughed behind her hand, he turned back to the goth girl. “Who do you think I am?”
The girl folded her arms. “Don’t be obtuse, Rhineheart. You would think I would know my own boy friend.

PLANET Z

The spirits gather at the confluence of the two rivers.
“Go back to your own river!” shriek the spirits of Westriver.
“Westriver flows into our river!” shout the Eastriver spirits.
They fight constantly, as you can see by the churning of the water.
But the fight will come to an end soon.
These are the plans to build dams on Westriver and Eastriver.
The valleys will become lakes, and there will be power for so many homes and factories.
And downriver, well, these will become streams.
The spirits will end their bitter struggle and rest as they come together peacefully.

Smooth Jazz

I like to listen to smooth jazz at work.
I start Amazon Prime Music and pick a station… Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubek, John Coltrane.
And then I hit Play.
That’s all.
No messing with a radio or listening to sponsorships and commercials.
Just random smooth jazz tracks, one after the other.
Sure, it costs money, but I already get Amazon Prime for the free shipping and the television streaming.
I’m sure there’s even more benefits I don’t use.
But I don’t need a baby registry, and I don’t have a Kindle.
I’m happy with my free shipping.
And smooth jazz.

Shake Shack

We like to drive to the Shake Shack and watch the waitresses skate from car to car, taking orders and bringing out trays of shakes and fries and burgers.
“Push the call button,” says Pops. “Everybody smile.”
A waitress rolls out to our car, and Joey grabs a hold of her hand, clamps a steel handcuff over her wrist, and latches it on to the car’s frame.
“Let’s roll,” says Pops.
We start off slow, so we can hear the waitress scream, but Pops says “Floor it.”
Eventually the wheels break apart.
Fast food is bad for you, you know.

Wrigley

I was born in Chicago, and my grandfather used to take me and my brother to Cubs games.
All the National League teams came to Wrigley: The Mets, The Cardinals, The Phillies…
The Pirates wore their yellow and black.
Now, this was before Wrigley had lights, so every home game was a day game.
If the game went into extra innings, the umpires would call the game when it got too dark.
The station at Addison, full of angry drunk fans.
Take the Red Line South, then the Green Line West.
Back in Oak Park for a quiet family dinner.

Fainting spell

Hillary fainted at the 9/11 ceremony.
She said he had overheated. On a nice day in the mid-seventies.
So, a group of large men in suits put her in a black van and drove her away.
Her doctor said that she had been suffering from pneumonia and had become dehydrated.
I’m not confident in a presidential candidate who thinks that the solution to dehydration is to ask for a group of men in suits to shove them into a black van instead of, perhaps, giving her a glass of water.
No wonder why medical care is so fucking expensive.

Serenity

A poet died recently.
I think you knew them.
They were good, weren’t they?
The poets agree.
A good poet, and a good person.
Had they been ill?
I don’t know.
I don’t know what they died from.
Unless she was killed by a serial killer who travels the world and kills poets, what business of it is yours?
You want to know, so you can hold a fundraiser?
If she died from cancer, a cancer fundraiser.
If she died from heart disease, a heart disease fundraiser.
I still don’t see the point. It’s far too late to save her.

What’s the point?

My grandmother didn’t have a funeral.
She’d outlived her two husbands, and everyone from her generation of the family.
“Why doesn’t anyone visit?” she’d asked.
“You’re the last one left,” said my mother.
My parents took over caring for her after my mom’s sister had pretty much robbed my grandmother blind, selling off everything, giving her kids all kinds of gifts.
Let’s not talk about my brother. He’s dead to me, okay?
So that just left me.
“What’s the point?” said my mother.
So, I hung up the phone, sat in the parking lot of the grocery store, and wept.

Weekly Challenge #674 – Why can’t you be more like your sister?

Companion

LIZZIE

Kneel and don’t move.
Be obedient and don’t move.
Smile and don’t move.
Never answer back and never look up.
Look down and never up.
Do this. Do that. And never look up.
I’m unique. I’m beautiful.
Why can’t you be more like your sister? Why?
Look at her. So unique and beautiful. She looks up and never down.
She’s independent and smart. She is everything everyone would like to be.
But not you. No, not you. You can’t. You won’t.
Kneel and don’t move.
You’ll never be your sister. Never.
I’m unique and so beautiful, just like my sister.

RICHARD

Sibling Rivalry

I’m sure some siblings get on perfectly well, but I grew up hating my sister.
To be fair, it wasn’t her fault – she happened to be good at everything she did, and my parents’ made it worse.
They’d shake their heads at my school reports, and complain, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?”
It was like that throughout my formative years, until I left home and put my family behind me.
Years later, I paid them a visit… And they were horrified!
The sex change had made me a hell of a lot more like my sister!

Marital woes

We were going through a tough patch in our marriage, well to be honest, it had been like that for years.
However, it was at the height of one of our blazing rows that I really managed to put my foot in it.
In the heat of the moment, I suddenly blurted out: “Why can’t you be more like your sister?”
“Oh, and what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, she’s stylish, smart and glamourous, she doesn’t spend money like it’s water, and she’s so much better in bed than you!”
Oops.
Ever said something that you’ve really regretted?

TOM

We Just Did Talk About That Stuff

My father never actually said why can’t you be more like your sister, it was more, just let her do what is needed. At the time I had no idea this reference was a coded message about my grandma’s “condition”. When you’re eight what do you know about alcoholism. If nothing else the 50s and 60s where about burying secretes. If I‘d known this possibility I would have been such a dick to my sister. Surprising how sad my grandma was both myself and sister are pretty happy people. Maybe I’m more like my sister then I ever considered possible.

JON

She looked at him in disgust.

“Which sister would you like me to emulate? That weak, whimpering Cordelia, or Regan? I can’t imagine you are excited by Cordelia, with her oh-so-honest manner and her taste for that fancy French king. –So it must be Regan that you fancy. Tell me, Albany, were you excited by the tale of how she gouged out Gloucester’s eyes with her very own fingers, then watched her servant murder her husband, then kill her servant as well?’

“As a matter of fact, yes, I was, very.”

SERENDIPIDY

My parents really had it in for my sister. She was always in trouble, breaking things and causing upset and problems.
It came to a head when the school called after some of the kids complained she’d been bullying them. Nasty stuff, with razor blades and knives.
That evening, they had a serious talk. “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” they asked.
I peered through the door, smiling as she wept.
The great thing about being a twin is that you can get away with murder, without being blamed.
And one day, I sincerely hope that I will!

TURA

Our mother had our twin lives all arranged. One of us would be a dancer, one an artist. God knows where she got the idea, none of her family were at all cultured.
We freaked her out once, by arranging that when she came into our studio, we would be wearing identical tutus, while painting identical pictures, synchronizing our movements brushstroke by brushstroke. After that she was never sure of telling us apart.
Then we tried taking turns to be mean to her. The jackpot was when we got her to say, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?”

NORVAL JOE

Billbert realized calling Linoliumanda’s report silly was a bad idea, the second the word slipped from his mouth. Scrambling for an appropriate appology, he was interrupted, and possibly saved by an attractive goth girl who plopped down next to him.
Without preamble she asked, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?”
Linoliumanda only blinked her eyes rapidly when Billbert said, “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
The new girl slugged him gently in the arm and laughed. “I wasn’t talking to her silly. I was talking to you.”
Then, it was Billbert’s turn to blink like an idiot.

LAIEANNA

“Susan was promoted to management today, and her boyfriend, Edward,
proposed,” Steven’s mom updated him over the phone. “And you?
Dating? How is the job?”

“Nothing’s changed,” Steven admitted.

“Steven,” his mother sighed with disappointment. “Why can’t you be
more like your sister? Follow her example.”

“Sure, Mom.”

He understood all the reasons why his mother saw Susan as a good role
model, but staring at himself in the mirror and envying the curves and
delicate features his sister possessed, Steven wished he was more like
her for other reasons. He just wanted to feel right in his own skin.

PLANET Z

“Why can’t you be more like your sister?” my parents say.
We’re twins. How can I be more like her?
Okay, she gets good grades. She’s nice and has lots of friends.
Head of the cheerleading squad.
I kept waiting for her to snap.
But she didn’t.
So, I did.
I killed her.
But not before letting my hair grow back out. Cleaning myself up.
Learning how to be her.
Then, when she said how proud she was of me, I killed her.
Or did she kill me?
After all, I’m pretending to be her, right?
Is it real?

Sneak

Billy Smith was a great quarterback.
He could throw, he could run.
And he was the best quarterback ever at the quarterback sneak.
If all he needed was a yard, then he’d get it.
TOUCHDOWN!
Not only would he get the yard, but he’d steal the defensive line’s wallets.
“Here you go,” he says, tossing them back.
Lose your car keys? Billy’s got em.
He was so sneaky, he’d fuck one or two of their girlfriends without them noticing.
The problem was, he was the holder for the extra point kick.
And that’s when the defense would kick his ass.

The Chair Helps

I used to type a hundred words a minute.
Now, I stare at the alphabet on a screen and blink to form words.
It takes patience to write this way. And I have to slow my thoughts, because I cannot write as quickly as they form in my mind.
I find that I produce better writing now than I did when I wrote with a typewriter, or pen and paper.
Did I have a car wreck? A disease?
No, I just needed to slow down.
I’m perfectly fine.
But the twitching geek who I threw out of this chair isn’t.