In several previous posts, I've made reference to "bug" stories I have written: "Tarantulas On Leashes" and, fairly recently, "Running With The Beetles."
Then, the other day, I came across the Pill Hill Press call for submission BUGS.
They populate our world. There are over a million known species and they represent over half of all living organisms alive today. If you include both bug and bug-like species, they can be found in every environment from the bottom of the sea to the high stratosphere. They populate our nightmares. Bugs literally get under our skin, they invade our bodies, have poisonous bites and carry disease. The most common phobia in the world is the fear of spiders.
The only problem is the word count. (My obsession.) "Tarantulas" is 2,600. "Beetles" is not complete, but I know it will come nowhere near that.
But in my back pocket, I have "Worm Herding."
It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. That's just a little joke between me and the boys, though Beanpole thinks I say it too much, that it's getting old. I don't care. I think it's funny. And out here, when you're not working, there's not much else to do, other than crack jokes, talk about long-lost loves, sing old cowboy songs off key, and look at the stars. I don't mind Beanpole giving me some lip. He's a good man. I'm lucky. All my boys, my crew, are solid fellows. Besides Beanpole, there's Skinny Pete, Lean Gene, and Tiny. We used to have a guy named Honest Abe. But he took a job splitting rails, or something like that.
I rely on these fellas to help me do a tough job. It takes a special kind of man to do this work. You need stamina. You need to be quick and accurate with your six shooter. And you need really good eyesight. These critters depend on us to keep them safe. And if we slip up and lose our focus for just one second, then ZOOM! Out of the sky comes a robin, and one of them is gone.
We're worm herders.
I started it around the same time as the other ones. But I didn't know where to "take it." However, thanks to this latest opportunity, I found inspiration.
The submission deadline is 1/31...next Tuesday. I'm up to 5,000 words, and the words are still coming. In fact, much like the experience I related in the post that can be accessed by clicking on "My obsession" (above), yesterday I sat down to work on a conversation, and 1,200 words came out of nowhere.
Will I make it? Stay tuned.
You do know that the common worms we see in the garden are an invasive species that chew through forest detritus with a dexterity that is not good for the eco-system. We think of them as our friends, working hard in the compost pile after the bacteria has done the heavy lifting, but they are not a friend of the forest.
ReplyDeleteThey are invader, who, if they had there way, would leave us in a sad and treeless setting.