Two In A Row

By Michael Seese

First the commercial:

I recently published a long short story, Rebecca's Fall From... to Amazon. Tomorrow (Wednesday) it is free. (Otherwise, it's $0.99.) If you've got a few minutes, PLEASE download a copy. Truthfully, I would love to hear your feedback.

Why is it free on Wednesday, you ask? 

Because I am celebrating TWO WINS IN A ROW!

I didn't get a chance to post my latest Flash! Friday entry on Friday or Saturday, because we took our trip to the Century Inn for the music party. (Loads of fun.) By the time we returned on Sunday, I learned my short story, "Alone" had won. I am only the second two-in-a-row winner.

This is the photo we worked from:

Here is "Alone."

They’re all dead. And it’s my responsibility. Mine alone. I am the Captain, after all.

The scalding sands -- and the memory -- may well have been the fires of Hell. With no clouds above, the sun is a relentless, yet honest, adversary. I wondered if I had erred. Should I have done otherwise?

When setting sail, some of the more superstitious men voiced concerns.

“Trafficking is wrong.”

“They’re just children.”

“Using them like that is against the laws of man. And God.”

But lucre has a way of muting morality.

As the storm turned their ship into kindling and their bodies into chum, the crew looked to me for guidance. They prayed I would help. I turned a blind eye. Indeed, not only did I ignore their pleas, I doubled my vengeance. Because they were right. Their actions were against the laws of man.

And God.

Such is the burden I bear as the Captain of all men.

And here are the comments of judge Aria Glazki.

Where do I even start with this story? It stayed with me as I read the others, which may say it all. “Lucre has a way of muting morality” is a very strong center for this piece — that awareness of man’s fallibility, while also a distance from understanding that draw of riches, highlighting the difference between man and God, in a story that on the surface only likens the two.

The initial misdirect of the Captain’s involvement that makes such perfect sense in retrospect; the repetition of the line “against the laws of man. And God,” coming first from the doubt of those involved in a heinous choice, and second from the weary resignation of the one charged with being the “Captain of all men”; the chilling and poignant message of the burden inherent in being God; the pain and the solitude of being the one responsible… Overall, there’s just so much in these few words.

Was the Captain arrogant in creating man? Were the men arrogant in praying to the Captain while knowing they broke those aforementioned laws? Is the very expectation of them being good, and the vengeance that follows when they’re not, also arrogant? An answer isn’t simple in this incredibly complex, thought-provoking story.
 

My interview will be posted here tomorrow.

And as always, feel free to share your thoughts on "Alone."

 

Music Fest Part 4

I'll definitely finish the story tonight.

As I mentioned a few posts back, the actual party is Saturday evening. But getting to Saturday evening requires getting through Saturday day. With three kids away from home--and therefore away from all of the their toys--that can be a challenge. We went to the Washington County Fair. $9 a head to get in, including the kids. But at least the fairground is ALL UPHILL! Every way you turn, it's up. It's like an Escher painting. That place could use a funicular. My wife later commented, "You would think they could have found level ground somewhere."

But we persevered.

I think I mentioned that the Saturday evening party starts in the gazebo out back. Of the 150 or so attendees, perhaps 50 bring an instrument of some sort. There are a lot of guitars, of course. But we have mandolins, fiddles, banjos, drums, a bagpipe, and lots of voices. In previous years, a Japanese woman brought her Shamisen. At least I think that's what she played. I googled "Japanese instruments" and found a picture that looks like what I recall seeing. So it really is a musical feast, with various sounds and styles everywhere.

This year, we did something really smart: we hired a babysitter. We didn't foist all three kids off on her. We just used her as a third set of hands to maintain the 1:1 ratio. After all, there are woods all around, a pond, and 30 feet from the inn's front door (admittedly a hike, but doable nonetheless) is a 50 mph highway.

Suffice to say, in previous years it was a little hard to relax and enjoy the party. But this year...

Underscoring just what a good decision we made in hiring the young lady, at one point I was sitting on the gazebo's patio, with my daughter in my lap, talking to my friends Lisa and Denny. (More on Denny later.) I said to them, "This is why we hired a babysitter. I can sit here with her on my lap and talk to you both. I could not sit here with her on my lap, watching one run around, and talk to you both."

Parents of two kids have no idea how good they've got it.

Around 9:00 or 10:00, we got the children up to bed, and then re-joined the party. Or better said, parties. By this time, people have split off. Some are still playing in the gazebo. Others congregate on the stone patio above the gazebo. Still others play on the front porch. I usually camp out on the side with the aforementioned Denny.

Denny is a good cat. He plays a lot of 70s "traditional" acoustic stuff (Eagles, CSN). That's not always my first choices of genres. But I know how the songs go, if not the actual chords. And Denny is a very good guitarist and singer; I truly respect him and enjoy working with him. And, between the two of us, we probably could play every Beatles song. So there's a lot of Fab Four as well.

Denny and I played until around 12:00 or 1:00. Then I went inside to get a glass of water, and wound up staying for an hour, as a few folks were hanging out and playing in the tavern: Billy Idol (again), Cure, Mazzy Star. Now you're talking my music!

So to bed around 2:00, and up at 8:00 or 9:00. Then we had breakfast, checked out, and headed home, stopping at our friends' house in Washington to visit with them and the out-of-towners who had been staying there. We got back on the road around 2:00, and made it to our house by 4:00.

Then unpack, laundry, dinner, bath, bed...in other words, the real world.

Until next year.

Music Fest Part 3

So to continue, and perhaps wrap up my recap of the musical weekend...

We arrived in Scenery Hill around 9:00 p.m. Our friends graciously helped us get all our stuff in. (For those of you who have never traveled with kids, it's basically one suitcase and about 10 coolers, crates of toys, and other.) We took the kids up to the room, got them a snack, set up their beds, and then headed down to the party. With them.

Within about two minutes I had a glass of Cabernet in one hand, my guitar in the other, and Olivia on my lap. I couldn't help but think of the line from the Reese Witherspoon movie, Sweet Home Alabama: "Look at you, you have a baby... In a bar."

Around 10:30, we got the kids to bed and headed back down. If you're thinking, "What kind of parent would leave their kids in a hotel room," let me point out two things:

1. We had them on monitor, and

2. It's an inn, and the place is about the same size as some of our friends' houses. (In fact, it it basically a big house.)

My personal highlight from the evening...

A lady asked for some Peter, Paul, and Mary. The only tune by them that I know is "Leaving On A Jet Plane" which, of course, was written by John Denver. Standing near me were two 30-ish couples. I didn't hear them say it, but later my wife said she overheard them poo-pooing me for playing John Denver.

After I finished "Jet Plane," I asked them if they wanted to hear something.

"White Wedding" by Billy Idol, said one.

"You got it," I said. I played a little of it, but then jumped into "Dancing With Myself." It's an easier song, so I thought some of my friends could join in.

After that, I asked if they wanted anything else.

"The Smiths," one of the girls said.

I started, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before," but again stopped short, and said, "How about 'Girlfriend In A Coma?' "

"That's my favorite!" she gushed.

After I polished off a few more requests, I thought, "So the old guy can rock." And after my wife had told me about their anti-John-Denver comments, I was even more satisfied.

We finished up around 1:00 a.m., and headed to bed.

Perhaps I will finish the story later in a future post.

Music Fest, Part 2

So to continue my story...

The Century Inn is a magnificent place. As the sign out front says

it has been in operation since 1794, and was a "popular stop for stage coaches and waggoners." As an aside, this sign was damaged a few years ago; our friend Dave rebuilt and carefully repainted it.

It's no exaggeration to say that every time I go there, I am amazed to think about the history of the building and grounds...how many people have walked through its halls and over its lawns.

The original building (I have a picture of the front in my previous post) is a three-story stone structure. There was an addition put on at some point. I'm not sure when; I'll have to ask Megin some time.

Inside, when you walk from the old section to the new, you pass over an old stone threshold. Take a look at it:

You can clearly see it's scalloped, no doubt the result of centuries' worth of boots scraping on it.

The walls are covered with period art. In our room, was this:

Though it's a little hard to see, among the words stitched on it you can read, "Cynthia Barr was born May 21 1770," and "Cynthia Barr is my Name & with my needle wrought." The date on it reads March 8, 1786.

I don't care whether or not you're a history buff. The Century Inn is just a breathtaking place to visit. I'm fortunate to have lucked into a group of friends who found it for me. Otherwise, I might never have experienced it.

I can envision that some day, some piece of this time capsule of American history will find its way into a poem, story, or novel that I write.

Music Fest: A Great Weekend!

We just got back from our annual music party in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania. I'll go into more details in a subsequent post or two. But I thought I'd give the overview tonight.

The event started as a pig roast at the family farm of my wife's friends (well before she and I met) years ago...perhaps the 1970s or 1980s. But from what I've been told, it got out of control when friends started inviting friends, who started inviting friends...  

So it went on hiatus. But Jake brought it back about a dozen or so years ago at the Century Inn in Scenery Hill.

The Century Inn was established in 1794, and is the oldest operating inn in America. I think George Washington did sleep there.

The party itself is Saturday from 5:00 to ??? in the gazebo out back. And it's huge. Probably 150 people show up, and nearly half bring an instrument of some sort. But on Friday, Jake and the out-of-town folks are there having a more intimate gathering. Even though we're only about 2 1/2 hours away (and therefore could come out Saturday afternoon) we always show up Friday. When you walk in the front door, there is a center hall which leads to the back, with the stairs ahead and just off-center to the right. But a sharp right turn takes you into the tavern.

Back before we had children, we usually would enter, see our friends singing, playing, and drinking in the tavern, and just drop our bags in the hall, get out our guitars, walk in, and sing and play until about 2:00 a.m. Then we'd find our room, go to bed, get up, and repeat. The kids have changed the routine slightly, but not much.

 In my next post I'll write about some of the highlights of this year's event.