The Year That Shall Not Be Named
Sometimes, letting go & smiling is all you CAN do.....14 total reviews
Comment from Janilou
Life just seems to do this kind of thing to us, doesn't it? My husband lost his house and all his possessions to a house fire a few years before I met him. He said one of the things he couldn't understand is when people started dropping off clothes and furniture and blankets etc etc when they had absolutely nowhere to put it! Still grateful of course, but I wonder why this doesn't occur to people.
I hope you eventually found a nice house to make your home.
You wrote this well and I found no errors.
I wish you all the best in the contest.
Jan
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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Life just seems to do this kind of thing to us, doesn't it? My husband lost his house and all his possessions to a house fire a few years before I met him. He said one of the things he couldn't understand is when people started dropping off clothes and furniture and blankets etc etc when they had absolutely nowhere to put it! Still grateful of course, but I wonder why this doesn't occur to people.
I hope you eventually found a nice house to make your home.
You wrote this well and I found no errors.
I wish you all the best in the contest.
Jan
Comment Written 30-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Jan! And, yes, you are certainly correct, life is certainly a game of dodge ball that gets us once in a while! We have been in our new house for some time now, but I do so appreciate your well wishes! :) :) Again, thanx for those wonderful stars, and may you have an awesome weekend! :) :) ;)
Comment from Joy Graham
Oh my goodness! That's incredible. We live on a corner where scumbags use our yard as their shopping center. We've had our car broken into several times. We've had lawn ornaments stolen from the front of the house. Our son-in-law had his trailer parked in our driveway and we saw marks like somebody was trying to break into it so we moved it to our family's land in the country. Went to pick it up in the Spring to have it de-winterized and wouldn't you know it the hitch and plates were gone. They had broken into the trailer and all the vents were opened, but nothing inside was stolen or damaged. My husband, David, thinks they were looking for the keys so they could take the whole darn trailer to a different location. Our woes aren't as huge as yours. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm happy to see you joke about being baptized by fire and water. You have a terrific sense of humor about it. I hope you find a new house soon.
On a good note, my dearly departed cat was also named obiwankanobee the Jedi Knight.
Best wishes in the contest. This is an outstanding entry. Six stars from me, the Canadian reviewer.
Joy xx
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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Oh my goodness! That's incredible. We live on a corner where scumbags use our yard as their shopping center. We've had our car broken into several times. We've had lawn ornaments stolen from the front of the house. Our son-in-law had his trailer parked in our driveway and we saw marks like somebody was trying to break into it so we moved it to our family's land in the country. Went to pick it up in the Spring to have it de-winterized and wouldn't you know it the hitch and plates were gone. They had broken into the trailer and all the vents were opened, but nothing inside was stolen or damaged. My husband, David, thinks they were looking for the keys so they could take the whole darn trailer to a different location. Our woes aren't as huge as yours. I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm happy to see you joke about being baptized by fire and water. You have a terrific sense of humor about it. I hope you find a new house soon.
On a good note, my dearly departed cat was also named obiwankanobee the Jedi Knight.
Best wishes in the contest. This is an outstanding entry. Six stars from me, the Canadian reviewer.
Joy xx
Comment Written 29-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Joy! And, although it was a crazy terrible year, it's in the past, and we have been in our house (in the country - hooray!) for a while now. :) :) And, perhaps our Obiwans are snuggled together in the beyond as he has since passed on as well after 13 years with us -- now have a fun pair of young feline sisters that have taken up residence with us which add a bit of spice (yeah, let's go with the "some" -- forgot what a handful "kittens" could be -- LOL!) to our lives! Again, thanx for those wonderful, wonderful stars!! Sending many wishes northward from the South for an awesome weekend! :) :) ;)
Comment from Jannypan (Jan)
You did a great job telling your awful year, but remaining positive with the fact that you & your family lived through it. I commend you for your courage under fire. I like the 'rope' metaphor. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes. Jan
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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You did a great job telling your awful year, but remaining positive with the fact that you & your family lived through it. I commend you for your courage under fire. I like the 'rope' metaphor. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes. Jan
Comment Written 29-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Jan! I always appreciate any and all input -- thanx for those wonderful stars!! Wishing you an awesome weekend! :) :) ;)
Comment from Mustang Patty
Oh. My. Goodness.
I am so happy that through it all, you, your husband, and your children came out okay. (And, the cat, too, I assume?)
My tears were flowing by the time the trailer was stolen from the church. I was glad to read that the telling/writing of the story was cathartic for you, and I once again rejoiced.
You are meant for greater things - whether the rope is firmly in your hands or not,
~patty~
Good luck in the contest with this well-written piece. I just wish I had a sixth star for you.
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2018
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Oh. My. Goodness.
I am so happy that through it all, you, your husband, and your children came out okay. (And, the cat, too, I assume?)
My tears were flowing by the time the trailer was stolen from the church. I was glad to read that the telling/writing of the story was cathartic for you, and I once again rejoiced.
You are meant for greater things - whether the rope is firmly in your hands or not,
~patty~
Good luck in the contest with this well-written piece. I just wish I had a sixth star for you.
Comment Written 29-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Patty! And, yes, our lovable Obiwan made it through just fine (was a little "clingy" for a while afterwards - lol!) although he has since passed on......had 13 great years with us and the two "girls" that have taken up residence in his place have been a almost hilarious adventure in themselves.....hooray for more reasons to laugh at life sometimes!!! :) :) :) Oh, and the rope? Ha!! Never firmly....but I'll take loosely any day now! Again, thank you for stopping by today and thanx for those wonderful stars! Many wishes for an enjoyable weekend! :)
Comment from Roxanna Andrews
Oh my! I would have been beside myself, many, many tears would have flowed, and I'm not a crier. That is one truly unbelievable year, but hopefully it all got done with in one year and from now on things will go well. I sure hope they did and do. Losing all the personal photos and DVD's would be the hardest I think. Amazing story. Hope you win the contest. Rox
reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018
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Oh my! I would have been beside myself, many, many tears would have flowed, and I'm not a crier. That is one truly unbelievable year, but hopefully it all got done with in one year and from now on things will go well. I sure hope they did and do. Losing all the personal photos and DVD's would be the hardest I think. Amazing story. Hope you win the contest. Rox
Comment Written 28-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 28-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Roxanna, and a special thanx for those six stars! ;) :) :) :) And, nah, no place in the contest, but I really meant it that it was wonderful closure to put it all on paper and wave good-bye!! LOL :) Wishing you a wonderful week's ending, ma'am! :)
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The worst thing I had happen was my apt flooded. They were working on something outside and broke a pipe but had no idea the water was going into the apt until they saw it pouring out from under the door. ={ I know what you mean by the smell. It was summer and the smell almost killed us. We were packing to move so everything in the boxes and on the floor was ruined. We did save all the furniture, thank goodness. Tons of friends showed up to help clean out the apt, the mangers got us a POD to store everything until our house was available, which was just a week. They let us stay in the model apt until we moved, so did all they could to help us. Which was nice. Sorry you didn't win but glad the writing gave closure. That is a win, You have a get weekend too.
Comment from pbomar1115
This is one of those stories a fiction writer said, " Exaggerate if you want someone to read your stories." Well, this was not fiction and I thought it is the best example of story writing (although it was bad news for anyone) I couldn't pull myself away from the words.
Phillip
reply by the author on 26-Jun-2018
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This is one of those stories a fiction writer said, " Exaggerate if you want someone to read your stories." Well, this was not fiction and I thought it is the best example of story writing (although it was bad news for anyone) I couldn't pull myself away from the words.
Phillip
Comment Written 26-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 26-Jun-2018
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Wow! What a wonderful review -- thank you so very much, Phillip! And, yes, sad to say, it was NOT fiction, but I am certainly glad to hear you "enjoyed" the style enough for the stars! :) :) :) :) Have a wonderful week, sir!
Comment from orangesandbridges
hi! i honestly can't believe that this was a true story! it's just so much happened in the span of like, a year. but it was really well-written and made me smile at some points. some parts were almost sarcastic and had dry humor, which i appreciated.
reply by the author on 26-Jun-2018
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hi! i honestly can't believe that this was a true story! it's just so much happened in the span of like, a year. but it was really well-written and made me smile at some points. some parts were almost sarcastic and had dry humor, which i appreciated.
Comment Written 25-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 26-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review! So glad I could bring a smile to your face.....I tried to do just that! Because, after all, when things go THAT bad, all you can do is laugh or you'd be sad all the time!!! :) :) ;) Have a great week!!
Comment from Possummagic
This is the story from hell. It is so tragic, with so many different disasters that it's difficult to believe that it is non fiction... in fact I just scrolled back up the page to check. Well I certainly hope that you never ever have a year like that again. You know out of all the things you lost, what would upset me the most would be my children's items, soft toys etc my photo albums and trinkets our parents left behind. Most other things can be replaced... it's just the inconvenience. PM
reply by the author on 23-Jun-2018
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This is the story from hell. It is so tragic, with so many different disasters that it's difficult to believe that it is non fiction... in fact I just scrolled back up the page to check. Well I certainly hope that you never ever have a year like that again. You know out of all the things you lost, what would upset me the most would be my children's items, soft toys etc my photo albums and trinkets our parents left behind. Most other things can be replaced... it's just the inconvenience. PM
Comment Written 23-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 23-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Ms. Possum!! :) :) :) :) And I could not agree more -- it was definitely the year from hell! And, yes, I have to say that you are also right on your final account because there are still times (much rarer now, but they do still occur) that I go to look at something special I KNOW that I saved or maybe a piece of jewelry I just KNOW my grandmother gave me or....well, you get the idea.... and it's just not there. Sigh. But the big stuff, like you said, we have slowly acquired replacements. I look at each one as a gift I never knew I would need!! :) :) :) Many thanx again for the five stars and have a wonderful weekend!
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God bless. PM
Comment from Cindy McIntyre
Yikes! This was so much to endure! I loved your raw honesty in telling your story. Loved the way you ended it and I'm glad you've still got it goin' on after 50...because that's creeping up on me too. :) Thanks for sharing your true story. This is a wonderful entry to the contest.
reply by the author on 23-Jun-2018
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Yikes! This was so much to endure! I loved your raw honesty in telling your story. Loved the way you ended it and I'm glad you've still got it goin' on after 50...because that's creeping up on me too. :) Thanks for sharing your true story. This is a wonderful entry to the contest.
Comment Written 22-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 23-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for your review, Cindy! And when the day of the big 5-0 comes? Just hold your head high and step into the next fifty smiling and proud.....because you did it, girl!! :) :) :) Blessings!
Comment from Scarbrems
Blimey! It all happened to you, didn't it? I enjoyed this wry look at your fiftieth year and how you dealt with all the stuff that happened, but still managed to smile. Good for you. This had humour throughout, something which I suspect was your saviour at the time.
A few little points:
In the second paragraph, I think three uses of the word 'extent' is a bit much. I'd drop the second one.
'Well, now you do because seriously?' - This sentence in the paragraph about the cat (which was so true, by the way, ours is the same) doesn't need a question mark.
'Okay, at this point, I would allow you, perhaps, a bit of the feeling that things were slipping out of your control. But only a bit, mind you.' - I'm not really sure about this stopping mid-flow to address the reader in this way. We haven't commented, we aren't going through anything, we're reading about your experiences. It's just an opinion, but I find it a bit of a jolt out of the story, like an off - note in a symphony. I think if you put these sections back in the first person, you'd lose less of the flow.
'Because that way?' - right at the end, it's that erroneous question mark. I think I understand the tone you're trying to convey, but it seems out of place a little.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, and hope my own big 5-0 sees me being as positive as you (though preferably without the fire, etc). I do know I won't look good for my age; I haven't looked good for any age I've been in.
reply by the author on 22-Jun-2018
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Blimey! It all happened to you, didn't it? I enjoyed this wry look at your fiftieth year and how you dealt with all the stuff that happened, but still managed to smile. Good for you. This had humour throughout, something which I suspect was your saviour at the time.
A few little points:
In the second paragraph, I think three uses of the word 'extent' is a bit much. I'd drop the second one.
'Well, now you do because seriously?' - This sentence in the paragraph about the cat (which was so true, by the way, ours is the same) doesn't need a question mark.
'Okay, at this point, I would allow you, perhaps, a bit of the feeling that things were slipping out of your control. But only a bit, mind you.' - I'm not really sure about this stopping mid-flow to address the reader in this way. We haven't commented, we aren't going through anything, we're reading about your experiences. It's just an opinion, but I find it a bit of a jolt out of the story, like an off - note in a symphony. I think if you put these sections back in the first person, you'd lose less of the flow.
'Because that way?' - right at the end, it's that erroneous question mark. I think I understand the tone you're trying to convey, but it seems out of place a little.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, and hope my own big 5-0 sees me being as positive as you (though preferably without the fire, etc). I do know I won't look good for my age; I haven't looked good for any age I've been in.
Comment Written 22-Jun-2018
reply by the author on 22-Jun-2018
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Thank you so very much for you review -- and, yes, it all did happen (unfortunately)! And in this and all my writings, I truly appreciate any and all constructive input; so, again, thanx! Have a great weekend! :) :) :)
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You're welcome, and you.
