Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Memory

This memorial day, I didn't do anything in particular to honor the veterans. I think war is a horrible thing, a tragedy in a fallen world, and i have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who fought in a war and lived to tell about it. my pastor said God is in a constant war with evil, and perhaps we have to make daily decisions on which side we'll be on. certainly the spiritual war is more complicated than the humans wars.
I spent my Memorial day yesterday helping my neighbor move. he knocked on my door at 7;30 in the morning and I didn't even have time to fix coffee. he promised me no money to help him move just food(he's been a professional cook since he was in fifth grade, and he later went to school and worked as a chef. he is now in his sixties. i worked from 7;30 in the morning, till about ten in the night, and i'm going to help a little more today, too. my reward, food! Someone in the hall saw me and said, " I would only do it for money.' But i'll do what i can to help people, and i am certainly too cowardly to join the military and fight for my country overseas. i have seen many stories on the news of soldiers being reunited with their wives and children, sometimes with their limbs missing or something. some of these stories brought me pretty close to tears. but as a friend said yesterday, it is better to laugh then cry. There is not much funny about 9/11 or the ensuing war on terror. our brave soldiers died so we could have simple freedoms we take for granted. the american dream used to be to become a millionaire, but with the recession so real, americans are appreciated more simple pleasures. i was in my writing class, and i'm from the chicagoland area, and i wrote, " I may never get to visit China, but i can always get on the el train and go to chinatown," and everybody in my class laughed. what makes me think i'm going to be a world traveller, when i don't take advantage of Chicago, right in my backyard? as much as Chicago has a million things to do, sometimes i'm just content to go to a local coffee shop with a bag full of books and read or study people, my world can be small. but the written word conects us all. that is why you are reading this. happy belated memorial day!

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