Friday Flash 55: Cows Rule!

Hi, I’m Swallow. The big handsome guy on my right?  He’s my boyfriend.

Back in April, they were all gaga over a horse. Yeah, okay, Einstein was a tiny horse and he was kinda cute.  But he was a horse.  Cows are better.  Everybody knows that.

Besides, I hold a Guinness World Record.  Nyah nyah

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The interview above with Swallow, the world's smallest cow at 33" tall, is my entry n G-Man's Friday Flash 55.

The Piper

Bill Millin  7/14/1922-8/17/2010

Born of commoners, I led an uncommon life.

Though not of the Peerage, I had my moment of glory.

I played with great ceremony, bringing courage to many.

Now I march off alone quite unceremoniously.

***

At the ready, we waited for conditions to be right.

When the moon was full and the spring tides flowing,

We hoped to give action to our plan of attack.

But high winds and high seas put everything at risk.

Then the weather calmed slightly and we decided to go.

Les carottes sont cuites.  La Résistance était prête.
BBC: "The carrots are cut."  The Resistance is ready.

Because of the weather, the Axis was lax, their defences off.

With the exception of Omaha, they appeared unprepared.

Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword were badly protected.

Mother Nature had chosen a side and hoorah! It was ours.

We came with our Allies: Yanks, Canadians and French,

And as the sun broke the horizon, we launched our attack.

At 6:30AM BDST, on Sword Beach we landed.

Sloshing through surf, my kilt billowing around me,

I piped them ashore to surprise in dawn’s early light.

I was unarmed, ceremonial dagger in my stocking all I had,

But I fought, nonetheless, in the service of Commander Lovat.

As my comrades took the beaches, I kept my pipes at my lips:

Hielan' Laddie, Blue Bonnets Over the Border,  
The Road to the Isles.

I stood straight and strong and played for their lives.

Bullets were flying and mortars exploding.
All around me, my fellows fell.

I continued to play, and somehow survived it.
Was I protected from harm by divine purpose?  

My pipes gave them courage;
They continued to press ever onward,

Winning the battle and eventually the war.

***

My service on this earth is over, and eternity calls.

Will St. Peter pipe me to heaven as I lay the pipes aside?

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"Rest your pipes a while, and tak' a dram, your job is now done! You are a better man than are we!"

                                             - Reader Comment, The Mail Online

                                               The Daily Mail, London

Read more about this courageous man : Mail Online, The Telegraph

The Choice

Promised to another, but loving only Khayyam, Siddiqa made a choice.  Allowed to marry four women, but not Siddiqa, Khayyam made a choice.  Custom said no to their love and marriage, so they made a choice. 

The men-only crowd cheered as they enthusiastically stoned the couple to death.  Such was the choice of the Taliban.

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Last Sunday, the Taliban ordered a public execution by stoning of this young couple.  To read more about this horror, go here.

This is my offering for Friday Flash 55, hosted by G-Man at Mr. KnowItAll.

160: Just Your Average Lad - or Not

Kieron likes to play soccer.

And he also likes to paint.

A sale of his paintings brought $235,000.

This lad is just eight years old.

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This eight year old prodigy is being compared to Picasso and Monet.  It stands to reason he'd have some good advice for other aspiring artists.  In a recent interview, Kieron Williamson offered these morsels of artistic wisdom.

"Never give up."

"Cows are the easiest thing to paint. You don't have to worry about doing so much detail."

 "Try and keep your buildings straight."

"And don't do a plain blue sky."

Bravo, Kieron!

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This is my entry for Sunday 160, hosted by Monkey Man. Have something you want to say in 160 characters, spaces included? Go tell Monkey Man here.

Flash Friday 55: Busy Being Cute

This is my entry for Friday Flash 55.  For more 55s, visit G-Man here and look in the comments under Friday Flash 55.

Busy Being Cute

Just a week old, and I’m already a celebrity.   Everybody tells me what a doll I am.  (In fact, some of them think I am a real doll.)  Good Morning America and People magazine are clamoring for interviews.  Sorry, but my public will just have to wait.  For now, I’m too busy just being cute.

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As we were reading 55s last Friday, little Einstein was born on a farm in New Hampshire.  Mom and Dad are diminutive, but no one expected their newborn to be anything like this little guy.  He weighed just six pounds at birth.  That’s less than any of my children did!   I'm not sure they were as cute, either.  Well, OK, yeah, they were, but Einstein is the most adorable horse newborn I've ever seen.

Folks, meet Einstein!

For more about Einstein, go here and here.

Friday Flash 55: Hephæstus’ Revenge

This is my entry in this week’s Friday Flash 55, hosted by G-Man. The idea is to write any story you like in 55 words (no more, no fewer) then tell G-Man by leaving a comment on his Flash 55 post.  Go visit for some more great 55 entries.

Hephæstus’ Revenge

 

That trollop!  Mine by Olympian decree, and Aphrodite dares betray me with that bloodthirsty warmonger Ares?  She knows not with whom she trifles. I will have my revenge! 

Hence, Hephæstus set forth to forge a trap they wouldn’t escape.   As his wrath grew, so did his fire, and all the land knew well his fury. 

  AP Photograph. Eyjafjallajokull Eruption, Iceland April 14, 2010

Portrait of a Tragedy

Portrait of a Tragedy
 

It was a new day. She was beginning her first year of high school in a new country. Her Irish eyes smiled with anticipation.

But she never anticipated what would happen.

She never anticipated that the price of popularity with the cool guys would be sex.

She never anticipated that the consequences of that would be online and physical harassment, cruelty, and physical abuse from her fellow students.

She never anticipated indifference from the teachers and administration.

She never anticipated being unable to cope.

But she couldn’t.

The end of the day found her at the end of a rope.

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Backstory:

In 2009, Phoebe Prince came to the United States from Ireland and began high school in South Hadley, MA. She was 15 years old, an age when fitting in is paramount. She no doubt made errors in judgment in her attempts to fit in, but again, she was 15. The result was a continuous barrage of harassment from a group of her fellow students, the pretty, popular girls who came to be known as the Mean Girls. Determined to put her in her place, they were relentless, stalking her and calling her cruel names. She was threatened with physical harm. She was brought to tears more than once by the vicious attacks, some of them witnessed by teachers. Taunting messages were posted on Facebook, Craigslist and other social networking sites, and were circulated via text messages. Repeated pleas for help from both Phoebe and her mother were allegedly ignored by the school administration.

On January 14, 2010, after suffering three separate attacks at the hands of the Mean Girls, Phoebe went home and hanged herself.

But, unbelievably, that wasn’t the end of it. After she was dead, vicious messages belittling Phoebe were posted on a memorial Facebook page. In school the next day, the Mean Girls continued to bad mouth her. And the school administration continued to deny any culpability. The mother of one of the Mean Girls actually blamed the victim.

Perhaps because of an attack of conscience, or perhaps because pressure from public opinion and the media, help has come for Phoebe, albeit too late. At the end of March, the local District Attorney brought charges against nine students who made Phoebe Prince’s life a living hell. A movement campaigning for “Phoebe’s Law,” legislation that would make school bullying illegal, is gaining momentum nationwide.

This is all good and necessary, but really? It’s too little, too late.

Rest in peace, Phoebe.

Phoebe Nora Mary Prince (1994 - 2010)

Update:

On May 3, 2010, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed an anti-bullying bill into law. 

Friday Flash 55 - Payback's a Bitch

This is my entry in this week’s Friday Flash 55, hosted by G-Man. The idea is to write any story you like in 55 words (no more, no fewer) then tell G-Man by leaving a comment on his Flash 55 post.

Payback's a Bitch

Like any proud mama, I was thrilled to watch my boy play ball. Wearing his jersey, I sat in the stands ready to jump up and cheer. He swung the bat (CRACK!). Before I could utter a sound, the ball hit me (THUNK!) square in my #2.

Shouldn’t have grounded him so often, I guess.