April A-Z
blogging challenge 2012
Y is the penultimate letter in this sequence of 26 short
stories of 250 words or fewer. All the stories are about the life and times of
a fictional character called Alice.
Through all the years of their marriage Norman was always able
to make Alice laugh. He had a sense of the ridiculous and one of the things Alice
loved about him was his ability to spin a yarn. He could elaborate on the most
mundane event until his audience was laughing so hard they were gasping for
breath. It didn’t matter to her that she had heard his stories many times
before. A large part of her enjoyment was seeing the pleasure they brought to
others. A shared sense of humour was one of the most important things in any
relationship, she thought.
She considered her children. Ted had a pronounced sense of
fun. He stopped short of practical jokes and she was grateful for that. It always
seemed a cruel kind of humour that made people anxious or embarrassed them.
Rebecca shared Norman’s aptitude for story-telling and
revelled in her daughters’ antics. She was quite as skilled as he at holding
her listeners’ attention.
Emily, Alice’s youngest child, was quieter than her siblings,
more introspective. She often said she couldn’t tell a joke to save her life
and it was true – she always forgot the punch line – but she loved puns and
witty repartee. Alice supposed Emily was
more like her than Norman, though Alice never claimed to be witty.
Alice was pleased that each of them had partners with whom
they could share laughter. Laughter, as well as love, made the world go round.
Alice is such a lovely lady.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby makes me laugh; it was the main attraction when I met him. Laughter indeed makes the world go 'round.
ReplyDeleteLaughter and love making the world go round? I'll go with that! Nice tale. Shame there's only one more...
ReplyDeleteHumour is so important in life.
ReplyDeleteSad to see the story winding down. I have really gotten to know these characters.
ReplyDeleteHi Janice, I've missed your wonderful writing this past time that I haven't been in blogworld. I'm suspecting that Alice isn't entirely fictional?
ReplyDeleteLoved this and I agree: love and laughter do make the world go round.
hugs, Carolina
Oh how wise, Alice is. Laughter does indeed help in a relationship.
ReplyDeleteMy brother can tell tales. I have to write them down.
After trust and respect, a shared sense of humour is a key ingredient to a great marriage and a happy life. I AM blessed... And you appear to have a book one letter short of being ready to publish!! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful gift when a family can share laughter. I've been blessed that way.
ReplyDeleteLaughter is indeed a gift! And so, of course, is love. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Janice .. a couple of great phrase of wisdom here .. Alice was happy to watch others as her husband told his story or tale (probably with embellishments, as it was a new day) once again ... how often we hear wives cut their husbands off .. or the otherway round.
ReplyDeleteThen laughter as well as love make the world go round .. too true ..
Great Y for yarn .. a tale - love it .. cheers Hilary