Ready. Set. Go.
by Jen Schneider

 

Wall clock minute hand

clicks at a steady pace while

internal time clocks cease

 

Daily crosswords prove too draining. Arcane phrases in too small eight-point font. Morning showers, too. Hot water visits by chance and cold showers linger. Disconnected landlines ring in new modalities – relentless texts, electronic messages, and insta-chats. Pressure to recharge batteries – and settle electric bills – persist as fresh fruit – apples, bananas, mangos – and vegetables – peppers, onions, kale – soil. Recipe books and daytime television shows urge stews, fried rice, and crock pot wonders. Temperature controlled pressure cookers, too. What to do when I’ve always preferred a single frying pan and simple fare prepared on an electric stove?

 

Fingers punch memorized numbers and silent rings connect.

 

Hello, friend. Can you talk?

One minute, please. Okay. Sure.

I’m ready. All set. What’s up? Go.

 

Words fail but childhood games never lose their charm. Please, play. Thank you, friend.

 

Ready. Set. Go….

 

As fingers tipped in crimson lacquer flick through pages of a week’s worth of collections, overdue bills, and library draft slips, your thoughts settle on corner coffee shops, second hand clothing, and caramel moose ice cream, sold by the scoop. Eyelash kisses, walks at dusk, and homemade apple crisp. Litanies of favorite things. Quick, hold that thought. Ready. Set. Go.

 

1. Name an age that someone might find first love
2. Pick any favorite thing – first thought, best thought
3. List a color of the rainbow
4. Write an activity you’d choose to fill a free day. Any -ing verb
5. Choose a synonym for many
6. Select a big number
7. Pick a synonym for less
8. State something that makes you smile
9. Select an instrument that plays music
10. Share an adjective that describes sleepiness
11. State the first word that comes to mind when you think of rain
12. Name an animal most likely to accompany a rocket to the moon
13. Select an adverb that suggests care
14. Select a noun found in nature
15. Select a type of flower
16. Quick. Pick one word that describes the color of touch
17. Share a favorite food
18. State another word for magic
19. List a favorite book
20. List a famous painting
21. Write one of the five main senses (1 syllable)
22. Name a synonym for new
23. Name a synonym for raise
24. List an action verb for movement

 

As fingers flutter and fail – lost in a funnel of madness – to find funds needed to fuel a life lost, thoughts settle and simmer on hypotheses of days to come. And days already spent. Perhaps a mad lib built of our least favorite things might yield answers on the power of choice. No. Stop wasting time. Now. Write down that thought. Ready or not. Set. Go.

 

1. Name an age that someone might be crushed by first love
2. Pick any disliked thing – first thought, best thought
3. Select a word that describes the color of darkness
4. State an activity you’d avoid any day. Any -ing verb
5. Select an antonym for many
6. List a big number
7. Write an antonym for less
8. Share something that makes you cry
9. List an instrument that causes harm
10. Pick an adjective that describes wrestling
11. State the first word that comes to mind when you think of hate
12. Identify an animal most likely to have a poisonous bite
13. Write an adverb that describes disgust
14. Select a noun found in prisons
15. State another word for drugs.
16. Describe the color of jail
17. Select a type of weapon
18. List another word for deceit
19. State the title of a banned book
20. State the name of a stolen painting
21. List one of the five main senses (1 syllable)
22. Name a synonym for old
23. Name a synonym for broke (verb)
24. List an action verb for fail

 

 

Help Needed

 

The county morgue posted a help wanted sign not too long ago. For __1__ position(s) that often goes unfilled. The sign was a simple one. Written in __3__  and __16__ ink. And read: “__11___ needed for a __14__ environment with ___5 ___ needs. We pay well. Plenty of time for __4__Our clients are ___10 ____.” Fine print shared more details. “Most are homeless, with no known relatives, ___2___, home addresses, or recognized causes of death. Treated liked __12__. We are in the business of identifying bodies. Though we mostly identify need. Last year, we served over __6__ victims of gunshots, over-doses, and plain old loneliness. This year, we plan to serve ___7___.”

 

Though times were tight and the cost of living high, the morgue struggled to retain staff. Dieners struggled to __8__, too. Always thinking and ever hopeful, the overworked and underfunded director installed wooden boxes beneath each exterior window. One slow Saturday, he planted __15___ and waited for them to grow. He watched them __13__. Soon, passersby paused to add water and __17__. Next,  __18___ occurred. __22__ life sprung and __23__ the spirits of all those who passed by. And those who passed inside, too.  Spirits dance. Eyes connect. Bodies touch. Humanity is still capable of identification, if only we know where to look.

 

Today, we choose to paint our own __20___, write our own __19__, and craft our own __9 __. We choose kindness. Ready. Set. __24___.

 

Kindness rains down on

those who choose to embrace life.

Stop. Pause. Connect. __21__.

 

Thank you, friend.

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