The lights are back on. I don’t guess it makes much difference outside right now but at least I can get back to writing. The market is a mess, soldiers everywhere, as if soldiers can do anything after the fact.
Father called to make sure we were all right. No reason we shouldn’t be but I guess he had to call, given that this one was nearby. Though that is unfair of me as I know he cares for us. If he didn’t care he would let me do what I want.
I’m still mad at him about yesterday. Bad enough we had to go over the whole writing is a waste of time argument, but he also wouldn’t fire Cook, and after the man killed my dog. Well, sort of killed my dog.
He was supposed to feed her. Tikka, that was my dog, was just a little thing. Her bowl in the kitchen is where scraps from meals were supposed to go, to feed her. When I checked after dinner night before last Tikka’s bowl was empty and clean, not so much as a spot of grease, and Tikka was whining. Her ribs stuck out.
I found some rice and fed it to her. Then I went to Cook and asked why her bowl was empty. He gave me the whole “people are starving” argument, said it was wasteful to feed the dog with table scraps, that food was expensive. I pointed out that my Father bought the food, and had instructed him to feed the dog.
He got defensive, and while we were shouting Tikka got out the door. I don’t know how, if I knew she was going I’d have grabbed her. Even Cook, malodorous cretin though he is, wouldn’t have let her wander out of the house. Not until he’d permission to feed her to his own family anyways.
I sent him out to chase her down, being restricted to the house by my father’s own rule–because of the riots last week. Cook went out after her, sulking.
It isn’t my fault they were in the market when the bomb exploded. I don’t care if he loses his hand or not, he should have fed Tikka. Then none of this would have happened.
Father doesn’t see it that way.
Michael D. Turner lives in Colorado Springs. He’s been married a quarter-century and is still under fifty.
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12 Responses to “I AM TIRED OF BOMBS AND MY DOG IS DEAD • by Michael D. Turner”
Comments
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April 19th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Great job on voice, Michael, amongst other things. Thanks for the read.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Great last line.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:57 am
Loved this one. I think it talks about people - real people - in a very insightful way. Great job! And the title is simply inspired!
April 19th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Was this meant to be humour, becuase i found it funny…probably just me.
Great story anyway, full of life and vivid..ness?
Also..seriously too many writers are called michael, this is why i use my surname primarily…seriously…stop being called Michael!
April 19th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Can i just really emphasise here that it was a great story, my review there was a little lax…i could really pciture it all, really good…nice job
April 19th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Poor doggy.
Cool story, though!
April 19th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Good one, Michael. Yes, I agree with prior comments–inspired title, wonderfully understated last line, and good capture of voice. I’m glad this is flash, because I don’t think I could tolerate this protagonist’s unconsciable self-centeredness in a much larger dose!
April 20th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Congratulations on capturing a universality in the arbitrariness of war–and making it more poignant by reducing it to a small dog and his master.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:47 am
Yes, this character is an incredible sort of person, eh?
I wrote this story because of a similar complaint I came across on a web-board. Yes, I actually “met” this person. He angered me. So I wrote about it.
As I got going, other things crept in. The whole life in a war-zone, which is a common enough topic but this perspective was new to me. I had never before considered the well-to-do might not all leave when things get bad. Shallow of me, but there you go.
Am I alone in wondering about the dogs fate?
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Great title, great characterization.
I hope the dog’s alive.
April 26th, 2008 at 5:52 am
Great story. No, you’re not alone. First thing I thought was what happened to Tikka? But then I can never watch films with animals in. I always side with the dog. Good flash.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
[...] I am Tired of Bombs and my Dog is Dead [...]