Story or poem must include Christmas lights still up in April. Word limit 650.
It's March 25th and mine are still up. lol But you have to come up with your own reason!
love, LinnAnn

Nice work Prism! Not sure I can follow that! Let me think about it and get back!

"You're lights are still up."

"I know Mom."

"Well, when do you think you'll take them down?"

"Tomorrow. I'm sure tomorrow I'll get out of bed and take them down. I'm sure."

"I'm sure you won't. Just like I'm sure you won't get out of bed."

"I'm getting out of bed, tomorrow, for sure. When I get out of bed I'll take the lights down."

She circles me, feels my forehead.

"You're not sick you know, just sick in the head."

"I know Mom. Sick in the head, sick in the stomach, sick inside. It's all the same."

"Yeah, depression, depression, depression. We're all depressed. Years ago we weren't all depressed, needing drugs. We accepted our marriages. I never had the luxury of staying in bed and thinking too much. I took my Christmas lights down at least. You think I wasn't depressed, living with your father? Now that's depression! I was strong, I took things as they came, I raised you and your sister, and..."

"Enough! I told you I'll take the Christmas lights down. I'll get out of bed. I'll move to make something out of my life, but for God's sake, leave me alone!"

"Fine. I made you chicken soup. I'll warm it up and bring it to you. You need help."

Out of one sleepy eye I see my mother slam the bowl of soup on my bedside table.

"There. Eat this. I'll see you tomorrow. Honey, I love you." I close my one eye and nod while whispering, "Tomorrow Mom, tomorrow I'll get out of bed and put the Christmas lights away, I promise."

She ruffles my hair, "Call me if you need me." I fall asleep again at 6 pm.

With hazy eyes I glance at the alarm clock near my bed. 3AM. I'm proud I slept for nine hours. I get out of bed as promised, thinking of my mother that means well.


"Damn these lights!" I refuse to stop their twinkling on my staircase. I'm afraid if I'm not careful I'll let the lights run out and then I'll let my life run out. The children and I twirled them onto our staircase, leading to our front door. In and out, in and out and around. We created a beautiful tangled mess, but it was okay then. We were all still all a family. Suddenly I pull out of frustration and I bust a bulb, which cancels the beautiful light of my family, and I'm left with darkness; all on a fragrant spring filled April night. The darkness reminds me of my divorce, and the fact my children are not at home, but with their father. I fall against my staircase, encircle the lights around my body, around my throat, and pull tight. "Oh God, I can't take this! I can't take the bitterness surrounding the lights!" I pull tighter, restrict my air, struggle to breathe the renewal of spring air and suddenly turn loose as I feel the green plastic lights cut my throat. I run inside the house, afraid of myself as I collapse against my actions. I crawl to my windows and see the strings of lights lying on my doorstep. I watch my actions unfold, and howl between the glass of what I was thinking. I rise again and place the phone against my ear and call my mother. She awakes and comes to me. She drives through the April air and together we unravel the past light, put a tangled beast to bed. She lays with me, feels me sob and shake. She warms her soup again, and in bed we eat it together. She is strong, I am weak, and in I am in awe of her power.

That house over on Lake Drive is breaking the ordinance about Christmas decoration not being up after March 31st. What do you want to do? Maybe we can put a warning on their door?” Chavez answered.

“The zoning officer already put two pink notices on their door. They’re ignoring it. We need to make a personal call on those folks.” Samuels started the squad car and backed out of the Police Station parking lot. “If they like breaking the law, maybe they won’t be smiling when we take one of them off to jail. They can’t claim ignorance as we know better.”

The black and white headed toward Lake Drive with the police officers determined to stop the lawbreakers. Upon their arrival, they walked up on the porch and rang the doorbell. There was a strange sound inside the house, and the door opened.

“Hello officers! Is something wrong?” Standing in the opening was an ancient man with a long white beard, wearing a bright red suit.

“Yes sir, I’m afraid there is.” Samuels waved his hands in the air pointing toward the display. You received several citations about these decorations, now it is my duty to arrest you for breaking the ordinance. Have you nothing to say about all this?”

The oldster looked down contemplating the ground, “Well I guess you got me. You’ll have to do your duty officers. I’m ready to go, just give me a second.”

With that, he reached behind the door, turned the lock on the door. The whole place was a bright blaze of colored bulbs.

“Hey, Turn the lights off.” Chavez shouted. “You can’t leave them on when we’re taking you to jail.”

”Sorry I have no choice.” He stuck his hands out in front of him and added, “You going to cuff me?”

The two officer’s just shook their head. Then Chavez led the old fellow over to the squad car.
Samuels decided it was his job to turn off the lighting, so walked over to where the plug was and pulled it out.

Nothing happened.

Samuels frowned. He started walking around the house searching for other outlets, but could find none. He stood there scratching his head, thinking maybe there was some kind of a safety bar with a generator, but he could not figure out why the bulbs still burned brightly.

Chavez walked over to him and said, “What’s the problem? Can’t you find the plug?”

The connection hung down on the corner of the house.

“I disconnected it and the darn things keep burning. I can’t figure out how.”

“Here, let me see if I can help!” Chavez looked at the dangling wires and walked around the perimeter of the house. As he got back to where Samuels was standing, he scratched his head. “You got me, I don’t see anyway they could be burning but they are. This is weird.”

The two officers returned to the squad car where the man in the red suit sat with a smile on his face.

“OK Santa!” Chavez spoke softly, “Where is the cut off switch.”

“Sorry, but the only one that can turn off those lights is Rudolph. He is visiting a sick little boy, until he returns the lights will stay on. I’ve no control over them.”

“Are you trying to tell me you are really Santa Claus and Rudolph is your reindeer?” Samuels laughed.

“It is true and I won’t deny it.”

From the sky a reindeer came down and landed on the roof. The lights went off by themselves.

Chavez stared at the house then pointed at the rood line..“Well I will be damned. Look at that!”

“I don’t believe my eyes,” Samuel shouted. He turned the man in the red suit. “ I guess under the circumstances you can go, but try and get your lights down next year on time.”

Very Nice Corrine and Ben :)

Especially like that lovely twist near the end there Ben adding in the ex-wife vanishing...very dark and mysterious...loved it!

Kganz, that dark and heavy and was well done, I'd check for some small typos and need for commas.

Corinne, that was sooo cute. minor typo.

Ben, another depressing story. but nicely done. If not, It wouldn't have been as effective. lol
love, LinnAnn

Quirrell's Excuse

My Christmas tree stays up, alight
'Cos it keeps the thing in the closet afright.
I don’t mean to scare,
But a werewolf is there!
And lycanthropes fear aconite.

Written in 5 minutes. Go easy on me! [8)]

Why LinnAnn! Your invitation must have blown off your doorstep!! As for photos, I only brought my camera phone. What happens on the boat stays on the boat. lol. I'm still trying to figure out the research deduction angle, but first I have to have some kind of income to deduct the expense from! lol. Anyway, its good to be back. I wrote a little poem, though I'm not sure its a poem at all. It doesn't rhyme. Just some thoughts while watching the sun rise over the water. I'm not sure I should bother posting it though, since I'm not sure it qualifies as anything more than rambling.

Debby was clinically depressed. But that was not it.

She had a doctor's certificate she was sane and allright, and although it was from ten years ago, it still meant something.

Bob was cheating on her. Again.
With a waitress.
And the damn Christmas lights were still on.

She considered jumping from the roof, but then she would trample on the geraniums.
And she worked too damn hard to make them as beautiful as they were.
Being 45 and single was no fun.

Ben was just a car mechanic, but he had a good heart.
Why couldn't she fall in love with someone nice and easy, like Ben?
Ben would never complicate things this much.

Sure she had won a Nobel Prize last week, and the Pulitzer was wooing her again, Donald Trump wanted her to open another hilarious building imitating Tutankamon's grave, and a super mall to boot, but was life worth living without, sigh, true love?

She considered writing a cheesy country song about it, but that would be too simple. And the world was way-too-full of tralala country songs as it was.
Was there nothing worth living for?

She threw a glass at the wall, and felt quite bohemian.
She giggled. She hadn't felt this free since she was a little girl.
Odd electrical impulses seemed to permeate the atmosphere. It was heavy.

She felt inspired to do... something. Laugh, and dance, and run around naked. But at 45, you could excpect meaningful glances and calls to 911 if you endeavoured anything as adventurous as this.

And those damn lights kept blinking.

So she decided to do _something_. She decided to put them off.

/sorry LinnAnn, this cracks me up!! ;)) The ending isn't what I wanted it to be, but I had to wrap it up somehow, or it would turn in another budding telenovela of mine;))
Hey, maybe it will turn into another budding telenovela of mine anyway!!
Figure a foreign-looking spaceship-in-need is going to land on her roof anytime soon, and a handsome bohunk step out of it!! ;))/

you got your own personal DONALD TRUMP??
WOW!!