General Fiction posted April 15, 2023 |
Flash fiction club entry
Could This be the One
by jmdg1954
Sal and Vinny are sixty-six year old twin brothers who have never been on the winning side of a money making opportunity. Over the years they’ve tried every get rich quick scheme available in the quest of a big payday.
In the 70’s when the Pet Rock was all the craze, they thought it was a sure thing. They contracted with a local quarry and had two tons of rocks delivered and dumped on the driveway.
In the 80’s Vinny saw Jelly Shoes advertised as the most comfortable shoe ever designed. He bought 250 pairs of knock-offs, while Sal negotiated a “great deal” on another 500 pair that did not comply with the companies quality control inspections. In essence, rejects. They went to flea market after flea market for many months trying to sell these “imperfections”.
The 90’s saw them try to bring back Bell Bottom trousers. They purchased old, overstock inventory from the manufacture's liquidation sale.
With the turn of the century they thought their luck would change and those grandiose ideas would surely reward them. They went all in by investing in the Crazy Frog, Mood Rings for the second time, Wacky Wall Walkers, Hula Hoops and more.
Nothing worked out as they expected. They hit zero home runs, normally struck out. Through the years they mortgaged and remortgaged their homes, took on personal loans and maxed out all credit cards they got their hands on. Sal and Vinny were residing in “debtors prison” with no easy way out.
One afternoon, Sal and Vinny were sitting around watching television when the following news item broke:
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE
The King Midas of Bacteria
Scientists worked out the molecular pathway that enables one species of bacteria to produce gold nano-nuggets.
A team of researchers from Germany and Australia identified the enzymes involved in this “gold cycle.” This bacteria extracts gold from heavy metal compounds in the environment, forming tiny gold nano-nuggets.
“Yo Saly-boy, you hear that?” Vinny asked.
Sal, half-asleep on the couch, “Uh-huh. So?”
“What’d ya mean, so? That’s our ticket.” Suddenly Vinny was standing and pacing the living room floor. “This could be it, Sal. This could be the golden egg we’ve been looking for; or in this case, nano nuggets.”
Sal looked up at him. “What makes you so sure, Vin? Everything we’ve done, everything we tried, nuttin ever worked! I’m done. I’m tired of failing.”
Vinny shook his head. “Bro, I know. But this is the real deal. Think about it. Scientists developed these nano, bacteria things. After we get our hands on them, we buy a couple of cars for the metal, you know, clunkers and we’re back in business. In like Flynn.”
Sal was still hesitant. “I don’t know, Vin.
Sounds risky, no?”
“No. Not to me. Come on, bro. Get the laptop. Let’s check Amazon. They sell everything. We’ll get this nano bacteria from them! Amazon Prime, baby. We’ll have them here tomorrow. Here we come! I gotta good feeling about this, Saly-boy. Trust me!"
Sal and Vinny are sixty-six year old twin brothers who have never been on the winning side of a money making opportunity. Over the years they’ve tried every get rich quick scheme available in the quest of a big payday.
In the 70’s when the Pet Rock was all the craze, they thought it was a sure thing. They contracted with a local quarry and had two tons of rocks delivered and dumped on the driveway.
In the 80’s Vinny saw Jelly Shoes advertised as the most comfortable shoe ever designed. He bought 250 pairs of knock-offs, while Sal negotiated a “great deal” on another 500 pair that did not comply with the companies quality control inspections. In essence, rejects. They went to flea market after flea market for many months trying to sell these “imperfections”.
The 90’s saw them try to bring back Bell Bottom trousers. They purchased old, overstock inventory from the manufacture's liquidation sale.
With the turn of the century they thought their luck would change and those grandiose ideas would surely reward them. They went all in by investing in the Crazy Frog, Mood Rings for the second time, Wacky Wall Walkers, Hula Hoops and more.
Nothing worked out as they expected. They hit zero home runs, normally struck out. Through the years they mortgaged and remortgaged their homes, took on personal loans and maxed out all credit cards they got their hands on. Sal and Vinny were residing in “debtors prison” with no easy way out.
One afternoon, Sal and Vinny were sitting around watching television when the following news item broke:
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE
The King Midas of Bacteria
Scientists worked out the molecular pathway that enables one species of bacteria to produce gold nano-nuggets.
A team of researchers from Germany and Australia identified the enzymes involved in this “gold cycle.” This bacteria extracts gold from heavy metal compounds in the environment, forming tiny gold nano-nuggets.
“Yo Saly-boy, you hear that?” Vinny asked.
Sal, half-asleep on the couch, “Uh-huh. So?”
“What’d ya mean, so? That’s our ticket.” Suddenly Vinny was standing and pacing the living room floor. “This could be it, Sal. This could be the golden egg we’ve been looking for; or in this case, nano nuggets.”
Sal looked up at him. “What makes you so sure, Vin? Everything we’ve done, everything we tried, nuttin ever worked! I’m done. I’m tired of failing.”
Vinny shook his head. “Bro, I know. But this is the real deal. Think about it. Scientists developed these nano, bacteria things. After we get our hands on them, we buy a couple of cars for the metal, you know, clunkers and we’re back in business. In like Flynn.”
Sal was still hesitant. “I don’t know, Vin.
Sounds risky, no?”
“No. Not to me. Come on, bro. Get the laptop. Let’s check Amazon. They sell everything. We’ll get this nano bacteria from them! Amazon Prime, baby. We’ll have them here tomorrow. Here we come! I gotta good feeling about this, Saly-boy. Trust me!"
Recognized |
Club entry for the "Midas Bacteria" event in "Flash Fiction/Nonfiction". Locate a writing club.
Pays one point and 2 member cents.
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