Drabble Corner

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Drabble Corner

Michelle Swisz

"You Snooze, You Cruise" is our Drabble for the month, written by Cristina Dyer-Drobnack, on the theme of what you could do that would make you happy even just thinking about it.

You Snooze, You Cruise, by Cristina Dyer-Drobnack

“I want to get drunk!”
Clay raised an eyebrow at Millie’s pronouncement. “Drunk? You’re already seasick.”
Millie adjusted her deck chair. “So? It’s a cruise. You do things you don’t normally do.”
Momentarily triumphant, she awaited his retort. Instead, Clay sat silent, then gestured to a young man.
“Yes, Sir?” The attendant hovered expectantly.
“Margaritas, please. Frozen. No Salt. Keep ‘em coming.”
The lad scurried off. Clay grinned at his gaping wife and silently rose from his chair.
“Where are you going?” she gasped, astonished.
“Bed - I’m going to nap. It’s a cruise. You do things you don’t normally do.”

Have you done anything new lately? Sometimes you can go overboard in bringing newness into your life when you're not really up for it, and then find yourself getting overwhelmed and going home to sit in your bathrobe reading the Sunday paper on Monday.

Other times, you can just keep going with it, taking it all in as you go along, somehow. You go to a professional workshop and meet a couple of people there who are doing projects that intrigue you, and you get their cards. You call, or they do, and you get involved in putting on a workshop with them. At a party, you meet another couple of people who are going to Jamaica soon for a time-out—they have an extra ticket—cheap, too—and need someone who wants to go sit on the sand for a few days. You're in between relationships, and meet not one but three or four people who want to go hiking or out for lunch.

Feast or famine, I guess. I'm just going with it. It's a whole lot better than spending time agonizing over each and every individual choice in life, chocolate or vanilla, paper or plastic, to start a conversation and keep it going or not. . .

What have you done lately that's new, that could get you into trouble? But doing nothing gets you into much more of it—not living your life will destroy you! If you haven't done anything of this description lately, then make something up, and send it here by the 10th day after your copy of this ezine arrives in your mailbox. If the ezine arrives on the 1st, then submissions are due by the 10th. And here are the guidelines again, 100 words exactly, excluding title. Submit to: drabble@wvu.org. The theme is—what have you done lately that's provided a possibility for a new direction for your life to take? Have fun! See you next time.

About the Author
Hello, and welcome to Drabbles. I'm Michelle, your Drabbles editor. I live south of San Francisco, with four spoiled cats, near the sea where I love to walk every day. I've tutored English in workshops, classrooms, and individually at San Jose State University, and have worked on the Fiction Panel here at Writers' Village. Comments and questions are always welcome!