July 9, 2019

Twittering Tales #144 – 9 July 2019

About the challenge: Each Tuesday I will provide a photo prompt. Your mission, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to tell a story in 280 characters or less. When you write your tale, be sure to let me know in the comments with a link to your tale. This is important as I have noticed that some of the ping backs have not been working. If you would prefer to post your tale in the comments (some people have very specific blog themes but still want to participate), I am happy to post a link to your site when I post your tale in the Round Up.

A final note: if you need help tracking the number of characters in your story, there is a nifty online tool that will count for you at charactercountonline.com.

I will do a roundup each Tuesday, along with providing a new prompt. And if for some reason I missed your entry in the Roundup, as I have occasionally done, please let me know. I want to be sure to include your tale.

Finally, have fun!

Twittering Tales #143 -The Roundup

Photo by Ryan McGuire at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…
Junior was determined to get his old VW back on the road. With all gas guzzlers banned, this old car met the maximum MPG requirements. But the AM radio/8 track player had to go. It might not have floor boards or air conditioning, but it would rock! Oh yeah!
257 Characters

By Reena at ReInventions:
Underliers
“Doctor, if you had to give a single reason for mental health issues, what would be it?”
“Underlying thought connections – the cause of malfunctioning always lies beneath the exterior. “
(185 characters)

By The Dark Netizen:
Dream Come True
I enjoyed my job.
It didn’t pay much, but being in a garage let me be close to cars. Sometimes, I would get to lay my hands on some exotic models. When the Beetle was brought in, it was a dream come true.
However, finding the cash stash underneath truly made my dreams come true…
Character Count: 280

By Deepika at Deepika’s Ramblings:
”I’m old and dying.. Let me just rest in my ripe old age, here in my garage home and die peacefully.. ” but mechanical sciences had advanced a great deal and it was a challenge, which he could not give up, the car doc had to save his dream car !!

By Kristian at Tales From the Mind of Kristian:
A Nighttime Drive
The engine gave a sputter as Geoff drove into his garage. He shouldn’t drive in the dark, but the streets weren’t safe for walking.
At one point he’d felt a bump and thought he heard someone screaming for him to stop, likely a carjacker. He wasn’t going to make that mistake.
[276 Characters]

By Graham at Graham is Just My Name:
Mac was a busy man. If you passed by the garage you could see him lying down, hard at work.
He was also sly and devious, and changed the dummy and number plate each morning.
Mac was elsewhere, fishing in his favourite spot with a crate of beer at his side.
(254 chars)

By Willow at WillowDot21:
Possession
Tim spent every waking moment on the old car. He was possessed, no time for wife or mates it was his life.
Finally they all heard the engine roar. They found the car purring shiny and new Tim was gone, the next day so was the car. The disappearance of a whole family hit the news .
(280 Characters)

By Di at Pensitivity101:
Roland couldn’t wait to get his hands on Dino and slipped underneath the engine to have a looksee.
The guy he’d bought her from said she could be a bit temperamental, but Roland had the gift and would soon have her running sweet as a nut.
‘Do you MIND?’ squawked a tinny voice.
275 characters

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
The Restoration
How long have you been working on restoring that Bug?
A couple of months.
How long do you think it will take you to finish?
Another couple of months.
Aren’t parts for that car hard to get?
Yeah, kinda.
So why bother?
They don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Yeah, there’s a reason for that.
(280 characters)

By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go:
Marital Strife
Herman and Muriel Wisey drove each other crazy so they got a divorce. Herman started calling Muriel an ex Wisey. His friends gave him the idea to give her his car so she could be a VW ex Wisey. He now always threatens to get rid of them too.
(246 characters)

By John at The Magic Shop:
Erin was sick again and I’m back under the VW. Kids get ill, you can’t stop that. I can’t fix my little girl and I feel damn useless in her suffering. Oil drips on my face whispering a silent comfort.
“You can always fix me” is what I know this car thinks and once again, I feel strong in my worth.
(300 characters)

By Enzo at Travel, Good Food, Arts and More:
Old Cabrio
Joe was very proud of his car, one of the very few flashy ones in his little village in the good old days. Now it looked really dated. What was once a jewel of mass production was no longer a status symbol. Joe had to relinquish it, along with the good memories he had driving it.
(280 characters)

By Tien at From the Window Seat:
Seasoned
The seasoned mechanic rolled under the car to conduct a routine checkup in the quiet workshop – he loved to work alone.
A jet of oil splashed onto him but he continued working; he would change later.
The car was glad he would change later; it relished meat with some seasoning.
(275 character)

By Melanie at Sparks From a Combustible Mind:
“Pass me the socket wrench. It’s in the top shelf of the tool box”. There was no reply. “Jory??” Mary frowned. Where had the kid gone now? Of course he was gone, there was work to do. Well if she fixed the old ‘bug, she’d drive it. The license plate was certainly appropriate.
(Character count 283)

By Amanda at Walk a Myelin* My Shoes:
Just Listen!
The mechanic wouldn’t listen. Something was wrong with Norman, but he refused to hear that it might be the battery. My university stuff was crammed in the back seat, on top of the battery. My dad drove 7 hours through the Rockies the next day, we emptied the back seat, and Norman started right up. What would I know, though? I’m just a woman!
Characters: 280

By Lisa at Tao Talk:
Surprise!
Jo bought DINOCAR at an auction and spent most evenings and weekends working on her. Jo didn’t know that Dinocar was female and pregnant. She laid her eggs in the corner one night. Later the babies hatched and were ravenous. As Jo laid under Mommy, her babies stalked 2 drumsticks.
[285 characters]

By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It!:
We Have to Get Away!
“Linda, I am going down to get the VW running. You get Joey as soon as you can, bring him down and we’ll get out of here.”
“How? Ron, the police are still in there.”
“He doesn’t know anything, they will give up soon.”
“Do you have all the stuff loaded up and ready?”
“Yes, now hurry!”
280 characters

By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
Underneath
The tyres had given more than their fair share of utility. It’s time to change, he exclaimed!
Screech…
How could he forget this very sound? Goodness! Intuition, was it? He was there to grab his poodle from the jaws of death.
Years ago it was, but seemed like yesterday.
Character Count :- 272 characters.

By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
He had to be quick before anyone came. The job was simple enough. Empty out the brake fluid and loosen the transmission lines. There was a prick in his conscious but he ignored it. He needed the money this job was going to provide. He hoped that the driver survives the crash.
Character count: 276

By Regina at Help From Heaven:
On the Road
Charlie spent every minute that he wasn’t in school fixing on that old VW. It had been his father’s car. Getting it back on the road would be a tribute to his late father, who had loved spending time with Charlie, telling him stories of his escapades in the car.
(264 characters)

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
Simon forced his eyelids apart, licked his dry lips, and looked down, with a sigh, at his wallet, now devoid of cash!
The last thing he remembered was staggering out of the club.
He looked up, and could see, immediately, that he and the Beetle had an identical problem.
Piston broke!
(280 characters)

By Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freudian Slip:
The Installation
She stepped back to assess her entry in the July 4th Icons of Americana outdoor art installation.
Known for her witty interpretations, attention to detail and realism, she was sure 1960s garage would please.
If only Jeff hadn’t moaned so much as she stuffed him under the VW . . .
(280)

By Linda at Charmed Chaos:
The Man of Her Dreams
Faith loved men who could fix things and watching them as they worked. When she caught a glimpse of strong arms, it thrilled her. She saw the ad for a mobile mechanic and thought why not? She knew how to work on her old VW but who knows, he might be the man of her dreams.

By Deb at Twenty Four:
Most would have noticed the number plate, but that was actually immaterial, he thought as he gazed at the photo of his Grandfather.
What was pertinent about this photo was the bags neatly stacked down the side of the garage.
Garbage bags had made their family fortune.
(269 characters)

By Diane at Ladies Who Lunch Reviews, Etc.:
Last Photo
This is a photo of my big brother Mike. Yeah, I know you can’t see his face. I treasure it cause he’s fixing my car to keep me safe before he went to fight a war to save somebody else’s families on the other side of the world. A war he never came home from.
277 characters

By JP at JP the Wide-Eyed Wanderer:
Daddy’s Car
Di loved the old bucket, most of her free time was spent repairing whatever had gone wrong that week. Still, Dinocar was eclectic with a fun personality. Di left the garage humming softly but turned quickly when she heard the radio playing her late Dad’s favorite song. “Dad ?”
character count 278

By John at Broadsides:
The adventurer beneath the car thought that he would travel far, that his Beatle was dependable and would take him from Berlin all the way to Istanbul. But the wheels fell off just outside the Hotel Hof, and here he is, quite pissed off.

By Rob at Art by Rob Goldstein:
The Old Mechanic
The old mechanic yearned for the days of the Volkswagen–
when plenty was enough–before the greed and cruelty,
before the insatiable need for more.
197 Characters

Well done everyone! Thank you to everyone who accepted the challenge. We had a diverse group of themes. It always amazes me how one photo can conjure up so much creativity. This week’s photo prompt is by Lisa Fotios at Pexels.com. It’s a dinner party of course. What conversations might you overhear on such an occasion? It could be news…or fake news of the day, or maybe gossip about an absent person, recipe swapping, parenting advice, or shared memories of a dear departed friend. The possibilities are endless! Have fun! Maybe practice a bit of dialog this week. You have 280 characters to tell your tale, and I’ll see you next week at the roundup.