#2 – The Worst Thanksgiving Dish…

…you ever had.

Turkey was dry.
It’s flesh was rough to the touch.
Unappetizing.

But still we ate it.
Though it made stomachs revolt.
Gagging it down hard.

No gravy could help it.
No wine could help that foul taste.
All present like death.

It was her first time.
A learning experience.
Too bad she failed hard.

Next year she promised.
It will be the perfect meal.
She would get it right.

We all exchanged looks.
The next year would be perfect.
Swiss Chalet is open.

Behind the Random: I’ve never been a big fan of Thanksgiving (and it’s so fitting that I got this prompt right before the American Thanksgiving…but I’m Canadian so what the hell?), turkey in particular.  Not enough dark meat and white meat is too dry and leaves me with painful gas.  So for me to have truly bad turkey is sort of an achievement in and of itself.

#266 – Your Worst Experience on an Airplane

The plane dipped down, roiling black clouds appearing around it without warning.  Angry slashes of lightning sliced through the sky, illuminating it with bright blue light as rain pelted against the window like pebbles.  I gripped the armrest a little tighter, trying my best to remain calm.  It wasn’t until this moment that I realized that I was afraid of heights.  I’d always been uncomfortable being so far above the ground, but now in the face of such obvious doom it gripped my heart with icy panic.

Beside me, my mom leaned back in her chair and watched me out of the corner of her eye.  “It’s okay.” She murmurs, patting my hand, “Just a little turbulence.”  It does little to soothe the prickling skin forming along my arms and the back of my neck.

Suddenly, the plane drops down 10 feet.  I lift up off my seat, kept in place only by my seatbelt.  My eyes go so wide, I feel like my eyes are going to fall out of my sockets.  The winds pick up and rock the aircraft side to side, up and down, like an vengeful cat god trying to get a can of tuna open.

There’s a loud clicking sound followed by a thump.  My mom cocks her head to one side, listening to it.  “Uh oh.” She says, “I think the engine just stopped running.”

At first, I’m not sure I heard her right.  The idea that could happen just didn’t register inside my brain.  How could the engine just stop?  We’re in the middle of the biggest storm ever millions of miles in the air and now we’re going to die because the engine just stopped.

“Huh?!” I ask intelligently.

I look at her and she returns it.  At first, I see nothing but a mask.  Then, I notice it.  A tiny smirk at the corner of her lips.  My mom notices that I saw it and smiles a little wider, “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“Very funny, mom.” I mutter.

As quickly as it started, the storm passed and the sun beamed happily through the window.  I look back to see the roiling inky clouds continue on their way, their quest for airborne people unsatisfied.  Relief flooded inside of me, but at the same time, I wanted to go again.

Behind the Random: This is sort of an amalgamation of all the times I’ve been on a plane.  Every time has been with my mom and she has been a cruel prankster every time.  Definitely where I get my sense of humor from.  The one good thing that came out of it, however, was that I overcame my fear of heights through her antics.

#58 – The Worst Thing that Could Happen

I am trapped in a failing body.  Every sense in my body has shut down, leaving me in a silent dark prison with only my own mind as my company.  I can’t even remember how I wound up like this.  At first, I believed that I’d died and this was all that lay for me in the afterwards.  Maybe I am.  It’s not like I have any sort of frame of reference to compare it to.  I’m not even sure how much time has passed since I found myself in this place.  How long will I stay in the darkness before it ends?  Or is this forever?

Behind the Random: There are a lot of things I could consider being bad.  Surviving a zombie apocalypse (because let’s face it, not every one can be Daryl Dixon), losing my job and house and being left to live on the streets alone and forgotten, being slowly eaten by a Sarlaac, and so forth and so forth.  But for me, being trapped inside my own mind with no outside contact of any sort would be terrible.  Maybe not at first but as time went on, left alone with my thoughts and being driven more and more mad…yeah.  I’ll pass thanks.  I’m plenty mad as it is.

#122 – Write an Anonymous Letter…

…to a stranger detailing the things you’ve learned about life.

To whom it may concern,

Within these words lies the secrets that I’ve learned throughout my life.  Take what you like or ignore them completely (though that would make this a complete waste of time on both our parts, so I hope you take something from my wisdom).

First, life is too short.  There will never be enough time to do everything you want.  So pick what you use the time you have on this planet to make it the most for your life, no matter what it is you choose to do with it.

Next, and I can’t stress this enough, laugh more.  Even if you already have a good sense of humour, laugh more.  There are few things that are so serious that you can’t find some humour in it. 

After all, nothing in this world is permanent.  Everything good and bad, happy and sad, is temporary and will fade with everything else in time, only to be replaced by future experiences and events.  That’s life.

As for pain, everyone in your life will hurt you.  Everyone of them at some point will let you down or act against you or forget about you or otherwise do something that will have a negative impact on your life.  However, this doesn’t mean you have to live with hatred or cut people out of your life in fear of being hurt.

It’s up to you on whether the people in your life are worth having.  Do the pros outweigh the cons?  Sometimes those choices will be easy but others not so much.  Is the drama caused by one friend worth the companionship they bring to you?  Is the shared interests and hobbies worth the financial problems another friend constantly has?

Don’t let others tell you what to think or believe.  Trust in your own judgement and instincts.  Nobody knows how your life works better than you do.  Having said that, never discount the advice of others, especially those who have gone through similar experiences as yourself.  Learn from them and apply the lessons to your life.

I hope these writings help you in your own journeys and that all my trials and tribulations impacted more than my own life.  Good luck out there and I’m sure I’ll see you at the end.

Take care, friend.

Behind the Random: Yep, another one of those life lesson posts.  Popular topics in these books.  I hope I’ve added something I haven’t touched on before, but it’s getting harder to add to something I’ve done a few times.  I wonder how many more times I’ll have to do this kind of assignment…