Short Today

 Good morning,

How are you today? How has your week been?

I'm doing well. Lots of destructive work on the house. ;) The sewing room is almost completely gutted. There is still half a chimney that needs knocked out, but otherwise it's pretty much done. Except for taking up the carpet. I've knocked the ceiling down, taken off lath and plaster, removed half the chimney (that's work!), taken a closet out, and done a lot of clean up.

Today we're moving my parents out of their room and will begin tearing that room out. More paneling, lath & plaster. Another ceiling to knock down, and then another carpet to take up. At least this room is a little smaller and doesn't have little closets and a chimney.

Have I found anything interesting in the walls? Yep.

• Part of a China plate or dish
• A casing for a 32 caliber Smith & Wesson bullet
• Scraps of newspaper from the Joplin Globe dated March 30, 1939
• A metal awning for a toy house
• A lady cut from a magazine or newspaper and a scrap of paper that says 1884

I have managed to get my 100 words a day written thanks to Bridget's encouragement. She and I are both trying to make it to the end of the challenge and are keeping each other accountable.

Today's story is another from the writing prompts from camp. It's short, but I don't have time to go searching for another one right now. Enjoy!

 

Cormorant

    “Dad?” Peter stopped before the door to his father’s study.
    Dad looked up from his desk and smiled. “Come on in, son.”
    Peter slipped into the office. He loved spending time in Dad’s office for his had shelves of books and a fireplace. Mom had made it look more like a library than just a regular office. The large windows looked out into the green yard, and Peter could see the neighbor’s house through the trees which needed trimming and over the grass which needed mowed.
    “Dad, what’s a cormorant?”
    “A cormorant?” Dad echoed. “I think it’s a type of bird. Why?”
    Peter sat down in one of the chair with a sigh. “Well,” he began, “some of the boys started calling Eddy Bowen a cormorant today.”
    “I see. Did you call him that?”
    “No sir. I didn’t know what it was or if it was a nice thing. Why would they call him a bird, Dad? Eddy isn’t small like a bird.”
    “Why don’t you look it up in that dictionary beside you. Perhaps if we knew what sort of bird it was it would help us understand.”
    Peter picked up the heavy book and settled back in the chair and started searching. “C . . . Co . . . Cor– What letter comes next, Dad?”
    “M.”
    Soon Peter had found the word. After reading the information about the bird, he looked up, puzzled. “I still don’t understand why they called him a cormorant.”
    Dad stood up from his desk and came to stand beside Peter’s chair. “Let me see. Hmm, not a very flattering bird. And look here, Peter, there’s another definition. A glutton.”
    At that Peter sat up straighter in his chair. “A glutton? Dad, do you think the boys were calling Eddy that just because he’s bigger than we are? I know Eddy eats a lot, but have you seen him work? He works hard and is really strong, but he’s always so nice.”
    Dad sat down in the nearby chair and faced his son. “I don’t know for sure why the boys decided to call Eddy a cormorant, but it probably is because he eats a lot. But just because he eats more than you or the others, it doesn’t mean he is a glutton, and to call someone a name in a derogatory way isn’t kind at all. A person who resorts to name calling is weak, and I hope you never join the others in such things, Peter.”
    “I don’t, Dad. I don’t like it at all and I’m going to tell the others to stop. I think some of them would if I said something. Thanks, Dad.”
    “You’re welcome, son. Come visit me again.” Dad’s eyes twinkled for Peter was often found in the study.
    With a laugh, Peter hurried out of the room. He was going to see if he could put a stop to the cormorant calling business.

What have you been doing this week?

Have you ever had to knock down a ceiling or chimney?

Did you enjoy today's short story?