November Prompts – Family, Food, and Giving Thanks

[Christine Daaé]

It's that time again! Time for a new set of prompts for a new month! This month's prompt include three different options for you to respond to with any and all characters you wish. Remember that responding to a prompt is worth 15 euro and that, in order to collect your euro, you must post a request in the IOU list letting the admins know how much you are owed and for what reason. Instructions for prompts are given in each individual prompt. Now, this being said, have at it and enjoy your writing!

OPTION ONE – FAMILY

Family can be something that an individual cherishes deeply, or dreads and loathes being near. Some families are big, some families are very very small. They often have different traditions or thing that they like to do together, sometimes based on culture. What is your character's family like? Imagine that your character is going to a family gathering. Why is the gathering taking place. Who does your character see there and what do they do. Is it a happy gathering, or a sad one? Is it a holiday, or just because? Your task is to write about your character's experiences at this family gathering. It can be written as your character reflecting back on a memory of a gathering, or as them currently experiencing one. Your family gathering may be from before they were taken from their story, or before they died if your character is a Phantom character or if they are a ghost. Your response must be written from third person point of view, must be at least five paragraphs in length and contain proper spelling and grammar.

OPTION TWO – FOOD

Whether eaten frequently or infrequently, food is something necessary for your character to maintain life... if they are alive, that is. Many times, people have certain foods that they prefer to others, or certain drinks that they prefer to others. What is your character's favorite food or drink? Why? Your task is to write what your character's favorite food or drink is, how they first encountered it, and why they like it so much (or dislike it least as the case may be). Your response must be at least three paragraphs in length and contain proper spelling and grammar. For this option, you must also include an image of the food or beverage. You can do so by placing the direct link to the image, encompassing the link in [img*][/img*] (without the “*”).

OPTION THREE – GIVING THANKS

What is your character most grateful for in their life? Is it a person? a place? an object? a feeling? an experience? How do they express thanks for such? Your task is to write about what your character is thankful for and why. Your response must be at least four paragraphs in length and contain proper spelling and grammar.

[Christine Lucinda Dallas]

OPTION ONE - FAMILY

The weather had turned chilly and ten year old Lucinda Dallas had her duster on with a hand-made sweater underneath. She wore her mother's wide brimmed hat, with the inside stuffed with some scraps of cheese cloth to make it fit better. It was coming on to dinner time and Thanksgiving, though it was a time when Lu was thankful for all the things that she had, it was also a time when she missed her mother.

Lu sat down on a stool outside the chuck wagon. She was always avid to help Charlie, the cook, when they were on a cattle drive. Since her mother's illness and death three years ago, her father, John “Tumbleweed” Dallas, took her on cattle drives and taught her the ropes. Of course she was only ten, but he told her and demonstrated many things about the cattle drive. She was her father's greatest “fan,” and she listened to every word he told her. She watched Charlie cook for the large number of men and sometimes he would allow her to “help”.

But this time of year was when Lu became a bit melancholy too, missing her mother. Even when Effie Dallas had been ill, she had been a nurturing, loving mother. Lu had helped Effie prepare the family Thanksgiving dinner those three years ago, Effie's last Thanksgiving. Only seven years old at the time, Lu hadn't realized that her mother would be leaving them for good very soon. Effie knew though, and tried to make this last celebration a memorable one.

And it was. They invited all the ranch hands and those who had a girl or a wife and Lu helped with the food preparation. She remembered the dancing and singing later on. She had a good voice even as a child and had learned to play her mother's piano and her father's fiddle. Lu loved singing and playing and it was an occasion she would not ever forget. Effie kissed her daughter before she went to bed and told her, with tears in her eyes, how happy it had made her. Lu was ecstatic.

Now, at ten years old, Lu was a bit sadder and more sombre, having lost her mother, but she would never stop being grateful for the years that she had spent with her lovely mother. And then there was Tumbleweed. Lu loved him as well. He was a born teacher and she learned about life on the desert and how to make a living and keep oneself alive while on the move. Lu never had “store-bought” clothing or other things as a child, but she didn't want for love.

So as the crisp wind blew, Tumbleweed, his daughter and the ranch hands ate their Thanksgiving dinner in the open air. After the dinner, Tumbleweed asked Lu to pull out the fiddle. She played and sang for the men and they clapped and sang along, Tumbleweed playing the banjo, the others making music on mundane objects such as tin cups, wooden spoons and someone found the sleigh bells, which, perhaps a bit early, lent a jolly sound to the strange orchestra.

To finish out the night, the instruments were handed over to several of the hands who played them as Tumbleweed and his daughter danced under the stars.

It was a Thanksgiving to remember...