My taste buds are changing, and I am okay with this.
Thursday’s lunch for work: Cucumbers, onions, Roma tomatoes, & a homemade vinaigrette dressing. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Saturday & Sunday’s breakfast: seasoned grits & salmon croquettes with onions, green bell peppers, & Roma tomatoes. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Last Sunday’s dinner: Pan-seared pork steak, homemade mashed potatoes (with cheese & sour cream), & pole & green beans with onions. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
I will share “Something To Think About” for the next five weeks on Sunday afternoons. It may be a quote, a picture, an interesting phrase I heard, artwork, etc. Whatever I share will surely be intriguing or involving enough to spark a casual discussion or in-depth conversation. Stay tuned every Sunday for this feature!
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-BookandPaperback) yet?
I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak aboutthe most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.
Flash Fiction response to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Prompt
Photo by Tetyana Kovyrina on Pexels. The image depicts a side view of a chipmunk with a tiny teacup. On the ground in front of the chipmunk is a tiny tea dish with a blueberry on it. The ground appears to be a stone-type walk, and there is a dark blue background.
Mr. Doyle lives across the street from us. He’s an older guy with wiry fire for hair in a golden rage. My mom hates him… says he’s on some sort of in-house arrest for his past following him all the way here. I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I like Mr. Doyle. He has this lisp that I bet could scale a ladder quicker than The Flash. I have tea and danishes with him twice per week. He paints nature–makes it pop.
Today’s piece is a chipmunk sipping from the tiniest teacup I’ve ever seen. He also has a rather fat blueberry on a plate in front of the chipmunk. “A proper breakfast”, I comment. Because who wouldn’t want tea and blueberries?!
He tells me he’s titling the painting The Beauty of Voyeurism, and I sit back on the green, crunchy cushions of his couch, swirl the name around in my mouth. I like it. But . . . “Why voyeurism? Isn’t this a more sexually derived term for being too nosy and too into what you’re snooping up on?”
Mr. Doyle rolls back and forth on the heels of his feet, nods his contemplative head, and shouts in my direction, “YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, SAM! If you notice, the chipmunk is focused, entirely too focused on the tea. The blueberry is lonely. It would like some of that attention, too. But the chipmunk has become enticed by, influenced by the deliciousness of the tea–so much so that its pleasure has been satiated by the tea alone.”
I know I ain’t the brightest crayon in the box, but I know at this point, exactly what Mom was talking about when she said Mr. Doyle has a past following him. I get up from the couch, grab my windbreaker, thank Mr. Doyle for the tea and danish, and high-tail it across the street.
Ain’t no way I’m telling Mom about this. NO WAY at all!
This flash fiction piece was written in response to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge. Maybe you’d like to give it a go as well? Here’s hoping your mind doesn’t take you to where my mind took me. It was a fun write, nonetheless, though.
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?
I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.
NaPoWriMo #29| Published in Chewers by Masticadores
It has been a long time coming (not really) since my acceptance email of the three poems I wrote for the express purpose of submitting to Chewers by Masticadores. I was delighted that they all made the cut and were published on Monday, April 28, 2025. However, I am sharing most of the published work here as my contribution for the 29th day of National Poetry Writing Month.
I hope you enjoy them!
My late maternal grandmother, Betty Louise Frazier. Photo Enhancement Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Flair
A show-stopper– She never asked for acceptance But was given it in Full measure at every turn.
Advocate for People of Color And wanderers of this broken World, she struggled to save What could not be saved.
Dying must be a gift for Those of us who have been Giving so much of ourselves That the flair we once had Can only be restored if our last Breath is taken.
Forever a part of my broken heart, I’ll hold her in my memory bank And pull her from it when I need a reminder of someone Special who made me better.
From the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
What Is Art?
Is it swirly whirls caked in Funny curls or sculpted crowns Matched with sequinned gowns?
Can it be chopped liver and Onions, mashed potatoes & gravy, And a side of hashbrowns?
Would you liken it to A couple on their first date– Woman and man about town?
Or could it be a banana peel Dressed in zeal, hanging daintily On a meshy wall turned Upside down?
I can’t tell you what art Is more than I can tell You what it is not, but I know it when I see it. And it never makes me frown.
The third and final poem, supertrE can be read by clicking this link. I hope you have enjoyed my offering to a publication I truly enjoy reading. Many thanks to Nolcha Fox for accepting these poems once again.
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?
I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.
political talk shakes up our nation so fast we’re built on these lies this administration knows its power dethrones others
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-BookandPaperback) yet?
I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak aboutthe most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.
A Cornered Gurl 
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