37. Sound: Nothing could get the Tolliver siblings’ attention like the M*A*S*H theme song. They would all drop whatever they were doing and flock to the living room like moths to a flame.
Why was this prompt so hard to write? I kept wanting to beat the subject of music to death. Branch out woman!
In our family the Star Trek theme and the M*A*S*H theme have a similar draw.
54. Air: There was nothing quite like the last few seconds before a performance began, whether it was a dance recital, a piano recital, or a choir concert. The performers buzzed with adrenaline and from the other side of the curtain/stage came waves of energy from family and friends. The air positively crackled.
See, I can't get off the subject of music and performance. I apologize. That is what comes easily to me.
59. Food: “Mom, what are these pictures of me?” Robyn called down the hall. She had been looking through her baby album in search of a cute photo she could share for a class project when she came across several of her with a messy face and those contorted faces that only a baby can make. She heard her mother’s footsteps and felt her warmth behind her. A soft chuckle came over Robyn’s shoulder.
“Those are your first time trying a bunch of foods. That one,” Athena pointed to a particularly scrunched face, “is when you tried lime. That one is avocado. And that one is raspberry puree. Even then you wanted more.”
I watched a slo-mo video of babies trying different foods for the first time on BuzzFeed or YouTube and was inspired to write this piece when it came up. Really funny stuff!
70. Storm: The horizon had been rumbling out a warning for the past two days, thoroughly creeping out most of Aurelia’s population and giving them time to brace for the oncoming cataclysm. Large front windows were boarded up, roofs were nailed down, food was stockpiled, and tourists were mostly gone when the first sheet of rain soaked the empty streets. Robyn was at her uncle Darren’s house, pacing in anticipation of the storm when she heard the musical tinkle on the window. She ran to the window then let out an excited whoop and ran into the kitchen. Spying her uncle she took a running leap and grabbed him from the side, wrapping him in a bear hug and pinning his left arm. He barely rocked from her weight and went on stirring the pot of chowder with his right hand while her purple socked feet dangled just above the floor.
“I gather the storm is finally here Greenling?”
“Geeeeeeeee!” was all the response he got, along with a peck to his cheek before she launched herself away and to the library on the second floor of his modest house. Shaking his head he returned his attention to the pot that was beginning to burble. As a fisherman, a storm meant loss of income and strange behavior from the stock for a day or two so he couldn’t join his niece's joy but he could understand her appreciation for the power of the ocean during a storm. From his library upstairs Robyn would curl into the chair that had been bought for her use, a ragged, green armchair, and watch with arm hairs on end as the ocean, vast and endless before her, writhed and foamed. Rain and a fair amount of wind were normal weather patterns for Aurelia but she loved it when one of these heavy squalls came in. She could spend hours watching the waves tear themselves apart and she and her uncle made a tradition out of it, which in time would come to include Salmon. She would come over and spend the first day and night with him, he would make a pot of New England clam chowder, she would make a pan of brownies, and they would sip hot apple cider while watching the waves and reading books together. They may not get to see each other much the rest of the year because of busy schedules but they always spent parts of storms together and caught up and got to know and appreciate each other.
I dedicate this piece to my sister, Deanna, and her love of Oregon coast storms. Who else wants clam chowder and brownies after this? I think they are a very comforting and warming combination.
102. Love: One of the drawbacks to spending so much time in a fictional world as a dancer and performer was that sometimes she disconnected from reality. Love and hate became much more intense and a bit skewed. She fell intensely for boys in the plays and fell out of love just as quickly for many years. Things evened out after high school and with Rosamund’s guidance but it took work to have a calm head when the heart was involved.
I was talking with one of my friends the other day, a woman who spent much of her life in ballet, dance, and music, and she mentioned that this was one of the problems she faced as a dancer, a disconnect from reality and expectation that life was as romantic as the sweeping epics she performed. I thought it was a very interesting observation and would fit Robyn's type-A personality so I am trying to integrate it into her character. We will see if the graft is successful in time.
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