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SPORT My dad wrapped my scarf round my neck. I looked forward to our Saturday match home games.
As we entered the hum of supporters being drawn towards the stadium dad grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. The turnstile squeaked as we passed through. Once inside, the ground opened up and singing and chanting echoed round the ground. The refs whistle sounded, the action was end to end. We were 1-0 down then equal, then one up, in the 96th minute a draw was scored. Dad looked glum. We always got a bag of chips on the way home. FOOD Loved the smell of your battered leathers, the stains on your chef’s whites, the taste of thousands of ingredients outwitting the cigarettes infusing your clothes.
My signature dish was potato cakes. I fried them to your heart’s content, even when my arms ached from grating potatoes. With you sat at my square yellow formica kitchen table, I was increasingly conscious of my culinary inabilities. You brought gravadlax once - just in case. You never cooked for me. My culinary talents are no better today. I pickle herrings, preserve them in recycled jars, do a good apple cake for special occasions. TRAVEL, FOOD We were heading north. The sky was clear, and the sun had been colour-bleaching our shirts.
“What’s this scent?” she asked me, wide-eyed, zombie-like. “What is it?” I turned back. At first, all I could think of was the deodorizer. Later, I realized it was deriving from my pounding lungs. A quiet heady smell that resembles strawberry, as if my heart had been replaced by a giant strawberry pulping orchards instead of blood. She grabbed the steering wheel and forced me to pull over. Then, she climbed over me, ripped my chest, and ate my heart. SPORT Run, Jack! It’s your day today. The competitors behind you are tired, exhausted. So are you. Why do you not give up like the others?
You’ll do anything to be the best. You’re talented, and you’re fast. You’re better than the others. The others are begging for help. They would like some assistance. But you shall carry on. Because you have to win, and the people behind won't help you with that. You crossed the finish line first! You won, Jack, as we predicted! Tomorrow, another will win, and leave you-struggling, begging for help. But not today. Today, you won. SPORT He was back, breathing amplified and sinister. An invader. Who let him in she wondered? His weight behind her was crushing. She was trying to ignore him but his presence ignited a heat wave across her cheeks and down her neck. A transparent curl of white smoke wafted through the air in front of her. Surprised, she thought it was dust. Where did that come from?
“Lady” The hulk spoke behind her. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll carry you out.” The neighbors, she thought, horrified. What would they think? “Ok, let me tidy up a bit.” She screamed. SPORT Jack strolled past the boarded-up pub where he had spent many a merry evening.
A ghost entered his mind. He remembered a dishevelled man at the bar talking to him, or rather at him. "I could have been greater than any of those footballers on the telly but I broke my leg, didn't I?" The sad character limped away to his seat speaking to the air in an angry tone. He's probably down in the earth by now and Jack wondered if he was telling the truth...or just another deluded drunken figure. TRAVEL I was seven when I got in the car and travelled to the capital. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to my childhood friend who I had never met again for more than three decades later.
I held my teddy bear and gazed at the window. Things went slowly, sometimes went fast. I nodded off for hours and woke up when we were in the queue to enter the ferry. The breeze greeted me, as I stood at the deck, hand in hand with mum. As we landed in Jakarta, I knew, I've left my childhood in Dumai. FOOD Tony gazed with wonder at the chocolatey goodness in his hand. The donut looked so perfect he almost hated to eat it. Almost. However, somebody had to
He took a bite. The taste was heaven ... fresh, rich, and delectable. If a more perfect food existed, Tony hadn't found it yet. He saw a flash of light. Suddenly he was sailing through the clouds, with chocolate donuts all around. He chomped left and right, delighting in the incredible sensation. “Dude! You still there?” Tony snapped his eyes open. He smiled. “Sorry, Sheila. I was just taking a trip to donut paradise.” The opposing teams took the field. The visiting team had a bad reputation and an ugly nickname, The Invaders. They liked to play on the road. They traveled with heavy equipment, and they left a lot of damage. They played dirty. Refs tried to call fouls, but The Invaders simply mowed them down too.
This time, though, the home team managed to stand its ground. Its players were scrappy. They played with heart. Other teams came to their aid, and The Invaders were roughed up and sent packing, back to their home field, a bleak and most unhappy place. SPORT Mike sprung from the couch, flinging his hands up. “Dammit!” “What?” Mike’s wife, Julie, yelled from the bathroom. “It’s over.” Mike shook his head. “My team is going to lose.” The Dolphins had led the Patriots 28-27 going into the fourth quarter. But now, with only seconds left in the game and trailing by 5, Mike’s hope for a comeback had diminished. “Have faith,” said Julie. “Faith?” Mike laughed. “They need a miracle.” Julie held out the pregnancy stick as two lines darkened in the test window. “Maybe today they’ll get their miracle.” Smiling, Mike faced the TV. “C’mon Dolphins!” Note: This story references the 2018 football game between the Miami Dolphins (6-6) who beat out the favored New England Patriots (9-3) in what was hailed as "The Miracle in Miami". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_in_Miam
TRAVEL “Are we nearly there yet?” wailed Jer’my for the fifth time in as many minutes.
Mummy sighed. “No dear. Eat the sausage, it’ll keep you going.” Further and further they rushed towards their destination. “Are we nearly…” Splash. The family landed. “Hurrah,” shouted Jer’my, “we’re here.” Mummy smiled… I reached for my antibiotics. “And that’ how Mr and Mrs Salmonella and their son Jer’my arrived in my stomach then wreaked havoc for the last three days,” I growled at my son, my writer’s tongue very much in cheek. Then I smiled. “Yes, please, Tony, I’d love a cup of tea.” TRAVEL ‘The world is better on foot’ proclaimed the brochure headline, beneath a cloudless blue sky picture.
I saw nothing here to stop me. I booked. A taxi to collect me from my door, transport me to the airport; a coach ride to the start. I would walk the Camino, meet fellow travellers, get to know myself. Pandemic came; the trip is cancelled. Pulling on my boots, I walk from my front door. To the edges of town, around its borders. I see the world, smile and say hello. I find friends, old and new; and learn to love myself. TRAVEL He felt no physical pain or mental anguish. His entire being seemed purified and was completely peaceful.
Suddenly he was being pulled out of this wonderful environment. How could that be? He’s being returned to the world he once knew, full of pain, sorrow, aches, disappointments and terrible memories. He realized he was no longer in Heaven but had been returned to his physical body and Jesus, his Lord and friend, was calling him from the grave. When he exited the tomb everyone was joyous and had a huge smile on their face. Everyone ……….. except for Lazarus. FOOD "How did you know that I would love these"? Alice was thrilled. What else could he get her? With a closet full of clothes and shoes, and two jewelry boxes full - no overflowing with jewelry, Charles did something different. He gave her a box of petite fours, one for each year they were married.
"Well, after 40 years I should know what pleases you." Like newlyweds, they served each other a nibble. That was three years ago. Now he decorates her place setting with her favorite flower, a shell pink rose, as he dines alone looking at their wedding picture. TRAVEL No electricity and we’re running out of light. Out of time.
I’m going room to room. With a videorecorder. This isn’t like the scavenger hunts of my childhood. Instead of house to house for odd items, the quest is for happy memories — those of my patients. Pets, first loves, families. Most don’t understand what’s happening. When daylight fades into dark, they become frightened. The electricity will come back on soon, I lie. I need to finish the recordings before the ship arrives. For one last party. Sharing our lives. Then we’ll do a time capsule. For the next scavengers. SPORT Playing racquetball for over thirty years, one gets hurt. My worst injury - splitting open my head.
The melon-splitting occurred during my weekly game with Paul, a stoic, unflappable ER doc. In the corner, digging out the ball for a return, I hit myself hard between the eyes with the racquet frame. Immediately, blood flowed over my goggles and onto my shirt, splattering onto the floor. Paul approached. “My God, that looks deep,” he said in his detached professional voice. I wrapped a towel around my head and finished the game. Court reservations were hard to come by. FOOD Bethany groaned as she opened the oven door. The chicken was burnt, the potatoes were mushy and the broccoli had practically disintegrated. She particularly wanted her first Valentine’s Day dinner with her new boyfriend to be perfect. She really liked him.
When Justin arrived at Bethany’s apartment, he presented her with a dozen roses and complimented the beautifully set table. As they sat down to eat, Bethany teared up and whimpered, “I am so sorry about the overcooked meal. I’ve ruined dinner.” Justin gushed, “What are you talking about?” Everything is delicious.” Bethany smiled. One day she would marry this man. TRAVEL He felt angry. He still wasn’t sure why he’d been sent to this faraway land. None of his colleagues had ever been given a “broadening assignment.” Did he have some deficit? If so, wasn’t there an easier way to get training?
He didn’t know how to eat the unfamiliar food in front of him. He watched others in the restaurant. He listened more closely. He didn’t know their language, but he began to get a sense of what they were saying from their facial expressions and tone of voice. Awkwardly holding his chopsticks, he brought the food to his mouth. SPORT, TRAVEL Life was so grey. Work so boring.
Alicia hoped a Maine seaside holiday would recharge her. Today the ocean, at high tide, was calm, and the hot sand had warmed the water enough to make it swimmable. She swam lazily, the gentle waves rocking her, the saltwater buoying her. But she didn't want to be lulled, she wanted excitement. A plastic bottle, something inside, slowly drifted near her. Curious she grabbed it and swam to shore. She extracted a note: "The waves will find you, my special love. Call: Liam, 222-333-4444." Alicia gasped and whipped out her phone. SPORT “It was your classic game of two halves, real end to end stuff but I think we just edged it and the right team came out ahead."
"To be fair the game needed a goal but they probably scored too early and just sat back on their lead and that allowed us to play our football." "Across the 90 minutes the lads gave it 110% and that was the difference between the two teams." "I think there were some tired legs out there towards the end but we just had a bit more in the locker to get the win.” SPORT Match point. One good serve and his name, Chad Peters, will be etched on the trophy. And in people’s memories.
Across the net, the stony-faced defending champion, Ivor Krajic, stares back. Chad breathes deeply as sweat drips from his chin and evaporates off the court surface. This moment – it's everything he’s worked for. He tosses the ball and hammers down a serve. A winner, surely? But Krajic, lightning quick, crushes Chad's burgeoning euphoria with a searing forehand down the line. Chad lunges, racquet outstretched. His shot is weak and the ball loops tamely into the net. “Deuce.” Chance blown. SPORT ‘Watch me play football today?’ he asked, one cute eyebrow raised. She’d hoped to go shopping with her sister but couldn’t resist. She’d take a book in case it got boring.
His parents beckoned her to the stands. At least she’d have some company. He played like a champion and she soon forgot her book, rising with the crowd at every score. Even at half-time she sat contentedly enjoying the atmosphere and sipping on a drink. Suddenly the crowd rose again. Had she missed something? ‘Laura Campbell, will you marry me?’ Read the scoreboard. Of course, she would. FOOD Chester looks out from his nest in an old oak tree. His previous digs just didn't cut the mustard.
He needs to gather enough acorns, seeds and nuts to see him through the upcoming winter months. But prying eyes could throw a wrench into the works by hijacking his food supply. His grey bushy tail swings as he scampers down the tree. Black, beady eyes scour the vast woodland for signs of Duke, his archenemy. He breathes a sigh of relief. The coast is clear. Time to collect and hide his booty. FOOD It was our first date.
We met at a new restaurant that featured cuisine and wine from the French region of Bordeaux. The candle-lit ambiance radiated romance, with music from the French Renaissance in the background. As we waited for our appetizers, we nibbled on brioche and got to know one another. “Did you hear what happened in Sri Lanka this morning?” I asked. “No,” she replied, with a look of concern. “What happened?” “I have no idea,” I said. “That’s why I asked. I was hoping you knew.” She stopped nibbling and stopped talking. There wasn’t a second date. |
