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“Now this is what I call going down the gurgler.” Baleen said.
“No! My Mum told me its not over ’til the fat lady sings.”
“Don’t you think I’m bigger than any fat lady. I am a hump of a woman and my voice, well, it’s lyrical. Music to some ears.”
“You’re having yourself on. Perhaps this is a nicer way to go. We can breach and slap all we want then poof. Better than a slow death in a hot ocean with no tucker.” Bluey blew, his water-spout spurting high.
“Oh no! I see a singing fat lady.”
In response to Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers where all are invited to write 100 words to photo prompt. To see other entries follow the frog at Rochelle’s.
About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Oh no! That doesn’t sound good. Let the humpbacks keep on singing!
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Sadly climate change is going to effect them early in the piece. I hope we can do something to keep them singing also.
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Wonderful story reflects the photo – very creative approach. I read it first time before seeing the image and still understood the basic dilemma. Poor humpbacks, gorgeous mural, maybe they’ll repaint it on another building – with your story painted along the edge.
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Thanks Sharon. The wall art is just spectacular. Seeing it first I thought it was real which made the photo confusing to the eye as the destruction let the city world intrude. I think the artist had real talent. I don’t know if it was graffiti or commissioned but now it will be lost and I know what view I would prefer to be looking at.
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Great story for the photo!
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Thanks. It was a great piece of artwork.
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Love it! A story from the whales’ POV. Who could beat that fat lady’s blubber? 😉
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Thanks Lorna.LOL. I have no answer to that .:)
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Well written piece reflecting the tragedy of our world.
Nice one, Irene
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Thanks. I think it is such a shame that such beautiful art is going just as I feel its sad climate change will see the decline in whales and a change in our beautiful natural world. Thanks for such a great photo. Do you know if the artwork was graffiti or commissioned? A talented artist.
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Glad you like the photo, but I know nothing about the artist or the background to the mural.
I spent some time in Vancouver BC and took the shot.
Given that it is, or was, a substantial 6-storey building I think it is unlikely to be casual graffiti.
And it is now completely gone.
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Pity to lose it.
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Not humpbacks – ‘killer’ whales. Glorious things – so amazingly clever !
Wonderful street art, too: that’s the trouble with creating on the sides of falling-down buildings – so ephemeral.
Thanks, Irene !
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Thank you M-R. I stand corrected although I wanted to get in some whale bits and pieces, hence the names, and terms. But one should be correct or credibility is lost so I thank you for picking me up on it and my hat off to you for an old bird whose temper flares due to fading brain power, your powers of identification are alive and well. I wouldn’t have had a clue what type of whales they were. [grin]
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You can tell by those amazingly high dorsal fins – and also by the background ! 🙂
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Thanks. Good to know the difference.
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Sorry about the lecture: can’t help myself. Pain in the arse.
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I love lectures M-R and stay just the way you are. 🙂
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O very nice person.
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Love the whales point of view…
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Thanks Dale.
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The destruction of the mural is an accurate reflection of the destruction of our oceans (and earth in general). The fat lady may not be in fully melody yet, but I can hear her tuning up.
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I’m glad the fat lady is not yet in full melody — hopefully there is time to get her on a diet.
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Love the photo – does reflect the destruction of our oceans, which can only accept a limited amount of our detritus. I love the humpbacks – saw a wonderful movie about them at the Museum and Life and Science in Chicago in a wraparound theatre. I’ve also communicated with the man studying their singing, in Hawaii. They change their songs (only the males sing, BTW) occasionally and they do not respond to music or human voices. I hope to visit him next time I’m in Hawaii.
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Love your info re whale singing. That would be incredible to to have a wrap around movie of the whales. It would feel as though you were in there with them. Look forward to more after your next visit to Hawaii.
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Not going out with a fizzle, wise whales, sad story. And sadly, a possible outcome of our callous, stupid, selfishness. I’ve read in other comments that this mural was made by an artist named Wyland, and there are many more around. I can’t understand why they aren’t cherished more. Surely, even if the building has to go, the mural could be saved and relocated?
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Thanks for the mural information. I think he is a talented artist. They are certainly saving graffiti in places now so it is definitely possible. Perhaps those in Vancouver had stopped noticing it. Hopefully they missed it once it was gone and will make efforts to save any other building he has painted a mural on – should they be demolishing those also.
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Great voice!
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Thanks Dawn.
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Stunning photo, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And your flash is very clever Irene, love the dialogue but so sad that the fat lady turned up, for the whales and for the beautiful mural…
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It is such a great piece of art work. I think the fat lady turned up for the whales on the building but hopefully not yet those living in our oceans.
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I hope that never happens…
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me too
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Hi Irene…will try again, I seem to be having problems with my comments showing up. Did my last one go to spam? I hope not…
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Yes three of your comments went to spam I don’t know why. Probably a WP glitch but it might be worth letting them know. They are now all retrieved.
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Ahh…thanks so much Irene, really apppreciate you letting me know. I’m in process of getting it sorted, luckily the WP engineer helping me is a blogger friend who also just happens to work in the Akismet department and she responded to my pleas for help! I hope it’s just a one- off glitch…
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Yes some weird things are happening lately so maybe they’ll fix it for all of us. Thanks for the email to send me off to find them — otherwise neither of us would have known. I never look in the spam folder. I guess I should.
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I never do either, but this happened to me before, so I thought it might be the problem. It seems to be fine now, phew!
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Glad to hear it.
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Dear Irene,
Imaginative POV. I think I hear that fat lady warming up. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. We just have to hope the fat lady doesn’t get past warming up. Cheers Irene
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Great job, Irene. I enjoyed their dialogue. It’s not fair. Let them keep swimming.
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Yes it seems such a shame to destroy such a wonderful piece of art work and a shame that we are not taking better care of our world.
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It’s very sad! You think there would have been some way to preserve it.
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Sharon who commented after you has put the story of the mural in the comments. There was apparently no choice with this one as the building was dangerous. He has done many others though around the world.
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I’m glad to hear there are others, Irene. Thanks for letting me know about his story.
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Oh no, don’t the whales go stranding.. to sad if that fat lady sings.
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I was told to suck a lemon in front of singers to make them lose their voice — you never know it might work with fat ladies.
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Copied from a website. Here is the rest of the info:
The mural in question is one that was painted by American artist Robert Wyland, commonly known as Wyland, who has painted 100 whale murals around the world.
Known as whaling walls, he painted his last one in 2008 in Beijing.
The murals, which feature whales painted in life-size dimensions, are intended to increase awareness of and draw attention to marine life.
Vancouver had two such murals. One has been mostly covered up by new construction and the other one is currently being destroyed. (RAWR!!)
The mural “Vancouver Island Orcas” was completed on August 15, 1994, on the former Continental Hotel at 1390 Granville Street, which is surrounded by the Granville Street Bridge and its off-ramps.
The 80 feet long by 90 feet high mural was restored in 2010 for the Winter Olympics.
The deteriorating building, which was built in 1910 and has served as social housing since 1970, is being torn down.
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Thanks Sharon for doing that research. It is fascinating. I will keep my eyes out for the other 99. Perhaps that could be a travel goal — visit every one of them.
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The final mural is in China, on one of the Olympic venues. Let’s go together!
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That sounds like a plan. I’d be in.
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I love the whales’ voices, and the light-hearted tone makes their tragedy more poignant. Great story. And I’m really glad I commented after Sharon, just above me, so now I know all about the mural too.
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It was wonderful of Sharon to do that research and return to share it with us. Glad you enjoyed the flash, lets hope that although the mural may be gone we don’t lose those in the sea as well.
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