Flash! Friday "Out Of Time"

by Michael Seese

I wasn't thrilled with this one. Of course, we were on vacation in Puerto Rico. So I had an excuse.

For this week's Flash! Friday, we had to incorporate as the theme a blunder. This was the photo.

Here is the appropriately named "Out Of Time," submitted literally one minute before the deadline.

I want to scream, "Fools! You're running out of time." But they'll never listen to me. They never have. Life is a series of slippery slopes. A single misstep may not matter. But too many can quickly cascade downward, giving birth to an unstoppable avalanche.

A young mother facing abandonment pleads for him to stay, even though she knows it – he – is a mistake.

A child facing punishment pleads for another chance to behave, even though he knows he did "wrong," whatever "wrong" is.

A teen facing facing the fury of his drunken father's fists pleads for the beating to stop, even though he knows the alcohol is in charge.

A terrified woman facing the barrel of a gun pleads for her life, even though she knows the bullet is coming.

A man on death row pleads for forgiveness, even though the ones left behind want him to burn.

A world facing the cancer known as mankind pleads for relief, for an end to war, greed, deforestation, pollution, population, fossil fuel infernos, global warming.

As I – the last grain – spilled to the lower globe, I'm sure they thought, I'll just flip the hourglass over, and start again .

Not this time. Not this time.

Oh well. Better luck next week.