The Speakeasy #142: RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG!

By tedstrutz on December 30, 2013

RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG!

Somewhere along the Brown Line, an iPhone sounds, startling nearby riders.

Quack!… Quack!… Quack!… Quack! “Hello?”

“Ethel, where the hell are you? Our show’s about to start!”

“Well Ralph is going to have to send Alice to the moon without me, Cheryl. I’m almost to Armitage now, I’ll see you in a bit.”

“You’re on the Ravenswood L? Do not tell me you’ve been to Jeremy’s!”

“We can’t ring in the New Year without fireworks, Cheryl, and he has the best.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You do remember the school playground last year, Ethel?”

“He says these are much safer ones. Record ‘TV Land’ and we can watch when I get there.”

“If you get here, Ethel. Remember, there is bomb sniffing dogs at Lake Transfer Station.”

“Oh shit!”

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Suzanne, the Editor at The Speakeasy, has issued the following instructions for this week’s Flash Fiction Contest:

“This week’ sentence prompt, provided by last week’s winner, Jeremy, can be used ANYWHERE in your piece.” “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“And the media prompt is a picture, which you will find below. As with all our media prompts, your post shouldn’t be about the picture, but you must make some sort of reference to it in your submission.”

To read J. Milburn’s award-winning story, go to Writing To Be Noticed

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In the summer of 1987, I moved to Chicago. I drove cross-country on I-80 with my daughters Krista and Ashley, and when we got to Nebraska there were huge fireworks stands. And not just your ‘Safe and Sane’ variety… but the ‘Giant Rockets and Bombs Bursting in Air’ variety. I bought some. The Fourth of July was past so I saved them. One night, I was drinking with a friend and remembered the fireworks. We took them across the street to an elementary school and set them off in the playground. It’s a good thing we were so drunk, or we would have been scared for sure. It was a dazzling display and we never got caught.

12 responses

J. Milburn December 30, 2013 at 4:37 pm | Reply

Ha! Love the story…both of them. Hope Ethel has some sausages or something to throw off the dogs!
ksbeth December 30, 2013 at 5:47 pm | Reply

oops!
honeydidyouseethat? December 30, 2013 at 10:12 pm | Reply

Ha! Ha! Love the “Oh Shit.”
silentlyheardonce December 30, 2013 at 11:36 pm | Reply

The signs of the time you caught it well.
Life With The Top Down December 31, 2013 at 2:36 am | Reply

Sometimes “Oh shit ” speaks so loud…lol!
ranu802 December 31, 2013 at 9:22 am | Reply

I love your entry it is so funny. When we mix pleasure and pain it becomes a nice concoction,I think.
Suzanne December 31, 2013 at 2:26 pm | Reply

LOL! Not only do I love Ethel’s shenanigans, but I love that the school playground part comes from your own experience! Fantastic ending.

Happy New Year!
jannatwrites December 31, 2013 at 6:14 pm | Reply

These two are so funny! I also like the added bit at the end, revealing your inspiration for the playground fireworks. Hope she makes it back 🙂
fatgirlinboxingglovesKaren December 31, 2013 at 9:55 pm | Reply

Ethel always makes me smile. Happy New Year Ted! Keep on writing like a mother – – – – – -.
Lala Rukh January 1, 2014 at 1:22 am | Reply

I am loving the story, The characters are so fun ! Wish you a very happy new year 🙂 Love xx
EagleAye January 2, 2014 at 8:07 pm | Reply

Bummer! Getting the fireworks can be tricky business. I think she’s going to be extremely late. Funny story!
betty January 3, 2014 at 9:51 am | Reply

Poor Ethel. Too bad she didn’t bring along a jar of minced garlic to get by the dogs. 😆 Funny story Ted!! Thank you