PHOTO PROMPT © Valerie J. Barrett
Momma made sure Poppa looked good, even ironing his faded work shirt. He drank his “tea”, really some dandelion greens soaked in hot water, as she fussed about him.
“Now yous show ‘em what you ‘ave.”
It had been a hard year. The heat and drought of last summer made for a lean winter, then the cold, wet spring has made it impossible to plant on time. We all counted on this interview.
Long before I’d been born, Poppa worked in the Power Plant. Now, after more than a dozen dark years, theys a gonna be turning it on again.
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(Not sure if the post apocalyptic vibe came through…)
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Word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © Valerie J. Barrett. Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
Very nice. I didn’t catch it at first, but I wouldn’t change the subtlety.
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Thanks. Always fun working with these limits and trying to find that right balance between subtly and that in your face twist.
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I do love that there are some hope in all the misery.
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Where there is life there is hope… At least there should be. We all try to make do for a better future.
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A story of hope.
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Yes, and new beginnings.
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You could be describing this past winter and spring here in PA, only pre-apocalyptic :) So wet, the farmers are just now doing what they’ve been waiting to do for several weeks. Good story, love the voice.
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It was our winter and spring here, for sure! Thanks.
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So true, you need to be ready to survive after worst of times – my take from the story.
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That is a good way of looking at it. Always be ready to act.
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These ups and downs are so terrible. No one is sure if they’ll get another job. A good story and writing, Trent. —- Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne. When the entire society or at least the regional economy, takes a nose dive, it sometimes seems it will never come back.
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The vibe came through…my first thought was the TV show “Revolution”, about surviving after the power goes out. Good job!
https://authorshutterbug.wordpress.com/2019/06/13/fridayfictioneers-the-fortuneteller/
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If I wanted to damage America, I’d start with the power grid – people don’t seem to know what to do once the power goes out. Of course, the cell phone grid would be right behind it ;)
Thanks.
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I’ve said exactly that for years. Back in 2005 when I was touring the US on my motorcycle, I was on a ride with friends out in California. Two of the guys needed gas and we stopped at a station – no power. Um, no gas. Also back in 1988, I was flying back to Chicago for the second week of IT training after coming home to NY for mother’s day. Big fire knocked out a huge section of telecommunications. Our flight was rerouted to Cincinnati for a couple hours before being allowed to land about 5 hours late. No phone service (no mobile phones then either), no ATMs working, no 9-1-1 services, it was a disaster for over a week. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-03-11-8903250918-story.html
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Back in the early 90s a rare hurricane hit New Hampshire and took the power out for a cou8ple of days – not long compared to some blizzards, but… One of my friends had a few roommates who had no idea what to do. They pretty much sat in front the TV all day and cried. It made it hard for him to read ;) After that he said that if the grid where shutdown for more than a couple of days, America would rip itself apart, and I believe him… Reading the article you pointed out, I worked at an Air Traffic Control facility and, again early 90s, one cut line pretty much shutdown communications with all planes in New England. It was quickly restored and since then they built in a lot of redundancies into the system, but it’s still scary.
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Just read your ABOUT page…I retired from a career in IT (although networking is still a dirty word to me), mostly in software consulting in specialized languages. I grew up in Mass until 9th grade (Duxbury) when we moved to NH (Exeter area). Small world…
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These days I’m a program manager for web hosting. In a few years I will be moving the other way, from NH to MA – we are in the process of selling our cottage and bought a house In Dennis (on the Cape) which will eventually be our retirement home. yes, a small world :)
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Poppa is getting ready to work again on a power plant. In this era of climate change, when summers are long and hot, winter is short and spring is wet, what fuel will be used? Will it be environment friendly?
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As I answered to Iain, starting the power plant back up might be a double edged sword – perhaps the power plant running was one of the reasons for the power plant to be shut down – in a way it caused it’s own demise by the environmental damage it caused….
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It’s ironic to read this today when just earlier I was listening to the news and how in our prairie provinces the lack of rain means many farmers are selling off their cows as they cannot feed them.
Sorry I could not help but think of that as much as apocalyptic – mind you… kinda is, too, eh?
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“Apocalyptic” doesn’t have to be 4-horsemen, Revelations all of the time. It is a kind of local apocalypse, the collapse of a way of life. Very sad about the farmers, though. I know similar things have happened in the past, but it doesn’t help the people who can’t pay the bills today.
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No, I realise that. It is a word that gets overused for the huge things that it feels out of place in this case. And for this family, it is definitely apocalyptic… Do forgive my ignorance in this case!
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It is an overused term, but then it is a useful one to describe some things.
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This is true.
Like the word ‘dystopia’ – I don’t know why I just can’t stand it…
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Post-apocalyptic, but optimistic, too. The family have survived many years, and now, with the power plant starting up again, there’s the chance of renewed prosperity.
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They have survived, and things are finally beginning to take an upswing.
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The story was good, but I didn’t get the vibe. Probably because I am not really into the post apocalyptic stuff. I just thought they were on hard times. Sorry!
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Not a problem, it can be read like that, though the entire region would be on hard times since the power plant had been shut down for over a dozen years (last sentence).
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Yes I think we all have a different take on things we read. I sometimes need things explained more.
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A problem with 100 word stories… One of the reasons I put the little disclaimer down on this story, because I knew it was possible people wouldn’t catch the clue about the power plant being off line for over a dozen years.
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Apocalyptic but cheerful. I’m glad they got the power plant working again within one lifetime
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Not sure if they can get keep the power plant working quite yet, but it’s worth a try… Thanks.
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I find myself really feeling for them and hoping for the best. Nice one!
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Thanks. Things may get better for them, but then again, it might be just the start of a long “Dark Ages”.
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I enjoyed the family-feel, encouraging and supportive. The last lines especially gave evidence to it being a post-apocalyptic story. Nicely done!
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Thanks. The prompt leads me towards the small and homey, so I went that way.
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It did come through at the end, Trent. Well done.
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Thanks, Robbie. With the 100 word stories I try to have a twist or zinger at the end.
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Love the prompt photo and your response to it.
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Thanks. I agree, it is an interesting prompt.
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I like the bondedness of the family and that there is a flame of hope for them.
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Alas, apocalypse has come and gone in too many places over the centuries, wearing different technologies and reasons …but always the ones who ended up suffering the most were those reduced to dandelion tea, and they were almost always the ones with the most dignity.
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I love the way you summed it up :) It is usually the “commoners” that bear the brunt of it, not those who actually caused the given apocalypse….
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Thanks … and … very true – those who cause it are often those who suffer the least of it, for they have options to escape, evade, plan ahead, and replace…
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Thank heaven for the tough old dandelion plant. As I read this I saw the 1930s and the dust bowl as I read this, perhaps a different apocalypse,
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Let’s hope it’s sustainable this time round.
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I know – it is possible that the Power Plant itself is one of the reasons the Power Plant had to be shut down in the first place…
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Dear Trent,
I like the way Mama supports Papa. The post apocalyptic vibe came through in the last line. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks, Rochelle.
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