Charli inspires me with the reflection on why she comes up with the prompts she chooses each week. They are often related to historical research she has undertaken in the process of preparing to write her story of Cob and the events that lead up to his death at the hands of Hickock at Rock Creek. I find this history fascinating as I often do other history that I come across.
from wikipedia Sir Walter Raleigh
from wikipedia Bess Throgmorten
One such history was the love affair between Sir Walter Raleigh and Bess Throckmorten. How did Queen Elizabeth feel as she placed Sir Walter and her lady-in-waiting, Bess, in the Tower? Was she jealous of the child Bess carried? But questions remain unanswered for me in regard to Bess as well. Why did she do what she did after Raleigh’s execution?
Pamela walked to the clothes line. The rut in the path caused the bag hanging off her waist to bang her hip with each lopsided step.
“You’ve got to stop doing it.”
“No. I don’t want to.”
“It’s not healthy.”
“Why?
“No habit is healthy if you can’t stop doing it. I’m surprised the authorities let you do it in the first place.”
“Legal precedent. They had no choice. Bess Throckmorten did it. Twenty years she carried Sir Walter’s head. Carried it ’til the day she died.”
“That wasn’t the only rut Bess had. She was jailed for the other.”
Charli’s prompt October 29, 2014 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a rut. The rut can be a habit, a circuit or a furrow in a road. It can be what causes the crisis, tension or the need to change. And if your writing feels stuck in a rut, use the flash fiction to do something radical. Who knows what is lurking behind the doors of your imagination!
Respond by November 4 to be included in the weekly compilation.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Lovely, Irene. We have a couple of ornamental heads in our house but this takes it to a whole new level! One to bear in mind should my husband die before I do.
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I just can’t understand why you would want to do that. Mind you for years I wanted to float in a fishtank in the loungeroom filled with formalin. I could see my air blowing backwards aided by the aerator. Luckily I’ve moved on.
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Oh clever. Took two reads and a huge grin to grasp the double meaning at the end. The story you mention re Raleigh has passed me by so I will look it up, or if I want the full S P I’ll ask the Archaeologist.
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I wondered how long before anyone got it. Trust you. Just hope it fits in the content rules for Charli.
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just make it clear it is R rated. And thank you. I take it as a complement that I can detect smut at 100 paces!
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Yikes…I got that double meaning right off the bat and immediately thought ‘Oh Irene, you clever thing you!’ 😉
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Like Geoff, I need to read up on Bess Throckmorten. This story sounds absolutely fascinating. Great flash Irene 🙂
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Thanks Sherri. I just loved the name. It gave plenty to conjure with when it came to imagining the woman. Such characters the English. 🙂
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It’s an absolutely wonderful name isn’t it? Just rolls off the tongue…haha, I’m saying it now and probably will be all day 🙂 These crazy English 😛
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Love ’em ❤ XD
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Woohoo! I laughed so hard! At first, I was so fascinated by the story and then realized you slid the other meaning of rut right in there! Well done! Oh, it fits just fine. 🙂
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Glad you laughed. I wanted to get in the three meanings of rut one obvious, one subtle and one oblique. Loved doing this flash. Thanks for the prompt Charli. 🙂
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