I took this picture at work today. Looks like the thaw, combined with the rain brought us another piece of junk. I hate it when people drop things in our waterways. Still, one man’s junk is another man’s story prompt.
Fishing was lousy. Seven turns of the glass at least, and it rained the whole time. The scarf I used to cover my head was soaked before I cast out my first shrimp. One sand dab wouldn’t feed my sisters, let alone me and ma. Logs drifted past on their way to the bay, and I imagined the fish hid under them to get out of the rain. Then one came by that didn’t float right. It rode low in the water, and barely broke the surface. It had square corners too.
It rode until it lodged in the sand. I dropped my stringer and pole on the shore and ran after it. Maybe someone tipped a wagon upriver, and dumped something valuable in the water. Whatever it was broke loose and drifted again, but not far. The snag of a tree root grabbed it and anchored it until I could catch up.
Its lid was gone by now, and I looked inside. Something looked back.
A skull, not bleached and white like a proper skull, but muddy and covered with sand from upstream somewhere. I approached on tip toes. I’m not superstitious, mind you, but this isn’t something a kid finds everyday.
It was a casket. Nothing fancy, just a wooden box, and the person inside not more than a skeleton but for a few bits and pieces. Those pieces were covered with crabs, and none of ’em were big enough to cook. I looked at the poor skull, and it wore a big tricorn hat. The head rolled toward the sea, and revealed the fellow’s broken neck bones. “So it’s the sea you want, is it?”
I flipped the crabs into the bay. Sometimes people gets buried with coins and such. He didn’t need ’em, and my ma could sure use ’em. I patted down his rags, and found iron shackles around his wrists. I poked and prodded, but turned up nowt.
I looked around his eye holes, ’cause sometimes that’s where the coins goes, but there weren’t any. His hat was oily and stiff, but nothing was tucked inside. I tossed it on the shore. He wore better leather boots than I did, and be damned I decided to take ’em.
They were tall and fine, and turned over at the knee to make a large cuff. I tossed ’em beside the hat, and decided to push the box toward the sea. Better the sea than another hole in the ground for this one. When the water reached my belly, I let him go. He rode higher in the waves somehow, like a small boat. Almost like he appreciated me setting him on his way.
I wrung the hat out first, and it weren’t in bad shape. Maybe after it dried, I could make some use of it. I poured another crab out of the first boot, and knocked the boot against a rock to make sure there wasn’t any more.
A couple of bones poured out of the second one. Could be I tugged too hard getting it off, but these boots were mine now, by right of salvage. At least that’s what I told myself. I reached inside to make sure there weren’t more pieces. I pulled out a soaked piece of parchment.
The parchment had some kind of writing on it, but it made no sense to me. There was a drawing of the local area too. I recognized the old West Road, and Barrow Point, but not much more. That and a big drawing of a skull, with an X to mark something north of Barrow Point. Maybe ma could read it after it dries out some. She used to know the letters, and maybe she could remember some of ’em. Might be it’d tell who he was, and I could make him a little marker of some kind.
***
Okay, so my favorite Superbowl ad was the one for the new pirate movie. Somebody needs to come haul their junk out of the stream.
Inspiration everywhere…
I thought the Super Bowl ads were dreadful this year. Of course, I thought the outcome of the game was, too, so…
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Yeah, but pitchers and catchers report next week, so there’s that.
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Fine yarn thar, matey. No revenge for my Steelers. The horror, the horror.
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No Buckaneers this year, maybe the Pirates can come up with something before fall. (But I doubt it.)
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Yeah I doubt it too!
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Love the voice of this piece!!! Nicely done.
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Thanks, Sue. This little stream has inspired parts of three of my stories now.
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#writerslife No experience is ever wasted, and nothing is off-limits. 😉
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Loved the story!
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Thank you. I don’t know if it’s long enough to be a story, but it qualifies as a vignette.
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Maybe the start of another experimental notebook story?
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I could be. I also have a fantasy I partially outlined last summer it might weave into. Now I can always find it again for reference.
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Great story. Reminds me of an article about a town that flooded. The local cemetery flooded too and the coffins were washed into the streets. For some reason, I think I’m the only person who went ‘meh’ at the new Pirates movie. Logan and John Wick 2 were my favorites.
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Gotta admit, Logan looks pretty darned good too.
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I’m looking forward to seeing how X-23 (the girl) is done.
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I dream of finding a map like that somewhere….
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We probably all do.
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie.
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master story telling at its finest!
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Glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing.
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Great little story and very cool voice for the narrator.
Love how you pick up inspiration so easily.
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It really is everywhere, but I also have a curious mind. I told Sue Coletta this little stream has appeared in three of my stories, and inspired two of them.
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I was glad to finally see a preview of Pirates that included Depp – but other than that, the Super Bowl ads were soooo disappointing this year. Last weekend, my son and I went across the street to a pond and filled a couple of trash bags. People just don’t care.
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I’ve had my doubts about the movie, because Depp wasn’t in the previews until now. People really don’t care, and it always seems to be someone else’s responsibility to clean up.
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Nice! But I’m not sure I’d want to put on haunted boots.
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I never thought of them being haunted. Might be interesting. Now somebody needs to come get their garbage out of my view.
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Aw I loved that story, Craig! It had a bit of a Huckleberry Finn feel about it… and a happy ending, although he doesn’t know it yet. Well done. Although I have to say, I sense there’s a bit more to this story. 😊
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There could be more some day. I like the idea of the floating casket and some kind of clue inside. I have a fantasy partially outlined it might fit into.
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Oh goody! I must have been picking up on those vibes!
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Great story, Craig!! LOVE it!
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Thank you, Jan.
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‘One man’s junk is another’s man’s story prompt’ Truth.
And a great story you got from it too! Hope you’re going to write the next bit…
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Maybe someday, I have a couple of outlines for my next projects ready. I need to finish my current ones.
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The muse says what the muse wants, right? I know the feeling 🙂
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So true.
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🙂
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