C is for . . . THROWN A CURVE

Welcome to The Blogging from A-Z Challenge April 2014! This year, I’m offering up a story – each one 100 words or fewer - for each letter of the alphabet.

Some are heartfelt, poignant, sweet. Others are…not. 

I hope you enjoy them.

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THROWN A CURVE

Baseballs hurtle through the spring air, slamming home into well-worn gloves.

Jordie longs to be part of the crowd at the fence: kids showing off players’ autographs, fathers grinning, mothers taking pictures.

His mother scolds his father through her cell. “You were supposed to take Jordie….”

Tears threaten. He ducks his head.

Someone taps his cap’s brim. He looks up.

The coach jerks a thumb back at his players. “There’s more than one kind of family, kid.” He thumps a stained baseball into Jordie’s hand then walks away.

Jordie grips the practice ball. A pitcher is born. 

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King's Speech: C is for CHEAPER

Regular readers of The Shellshank Redemption know how much I enjoy a good quote (see Motivational Mondays) and that I’m a huge fan of Stephen King (see the King of All Days Part I and Part II.) So, for the 2013 A-Z Challenge, I decided to combine the two, using some of my favorite King quotes about reading, writing and life in general. Enjoy!

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Talent is CHEAPER than table salt. 

What separates the talented individual from the successful one 

is a lot of hard work.

(Stephen King)

This quote hangs on my bulletin board. It’s been there a loooong time. It makes me think about the people I know who are talented and special, and who basically waste the gifts they were given. I use this quote as a reminder – okay, as a kick in the butt – to not be one of them.

Give Me a C! CONFORMITY

Welcome to The Blogging A-Z Challenge April 2012! Some of the most popular posts here at The Shellshank Redemption are the Motivational Mondays. So, after consulting the tortoises, we decided to make April our Motivational Month! Please join us for this (almost!) daily dose of alphabetical inspiration. We hope you enjoy it!

* IF YOU STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, FROM TIME TO TIME YOU MAY GET YOURSELF KNOCKED DOWN. BUT REMEMBER THIS: A MAN FLATTENED BY AN OPPONENT CAN GET UP AGAIN. A MAN FLATTENED BY CONFORMITY STAYS DOWN FOR GOOD. (Thomas J. Watson Jr.) *

You are the only you that will ever exist. If you let yourself become just another part of the group, just another face in the crowd, the essence of who you are will be swallowed up. Sure, it might be easier to just go along, but what a waste that would be! A waste of your ideas, your thoughts, your creativity, your imagination, your dreams. 

Please don’t give in.

Please don’t give up.