It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.
To visit the IWSG website, click here.
To become a member of the IWSG, click here.
Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and, Shannon Lawrence!
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Janet Alcorn, Pat Garcia, Natalie Aguirre, and, Shannon Lawrence!
I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.
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Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.
Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:
This month's featured question is:
Have you ever been conflicted about writing a story or adding a scene to a story? How did you decide to write it or not?
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Okay, yesterday, Tuesday, I thought I could run around all day doing things,
go to happy hour at my favorite Waikiki bar and restaurant, the Hideout at the Laylow,
have two excellent mai tais and an appetizer for dinner,
and return to our apartment at the Royal Kuhio to pound out my IWSG post in short order.
And this after an exhausting Monday night with little sleep.
Yeah, right ~ I had fallen victim to self-delusion yet again.
Mai Tai for Me (left) and Longboard beer for Terry (right)
The Hideout at the Laylow
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 24, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
All of a sudden I was awakened by white strobe lights outside my open window
and a loud garbled announcement.
I looked out the window and heard echoing off the nearby high-rises,
"Attention! May I have your attention?
There is a fire emergency in the building!
Please evacuate the building!"
I couldn't tell which building it was coming from,
because the announcement filled the space between the buildings.
And I couldn't see or hear any police cars or fire engines.
"Do not use the elevator!
Go to the nearest exit and walk down the stairs!
Attention, May I have ...!"
I ran into our little living room area and told Terry to mute the tv.
"Are you hearing this?"
"Attention, May I have ...!"
We looked out in the hall, saw the strobe lights,
heard the very loud, repeating message, and realized it was our building.
"Is this real?" we asked each other,
only because we knew that the Royal Kuhio was in the middle
of a month-long renovation of its fire alarm and smoke detector system.
We ran to our balcony and looked down.
Twenty-eight stories is a long way down!
Looking Down Twenty-eight Stories at Royal Hawaiian Avenue
Royal Kuhio
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 24, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
We looked out in the hall again and saw people going to the stairway.
"Okay, maybe it is real," we said to each other.
I jumped into my clothes,
and we grabbed our money, passports and other identification,
vaccination cards, iPhones, and my computer.
We started down the stairwell, smelling smoke.
It was impossible not to think of the twin towers in New York
or of the brave Ukrainians under fire for the Russians.
Down, down. Around and around.
Finally, we walked out onto the sidewalk by Kuhio Avenue,
where dozens and dozens of residents were milling around and one fire truck stood.
The Lone Fire Truck and Milling Residents
Royal Kuhio
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 28, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
No one knew what was going on,
except that there was bad smoke somewhere above the 32nd or 33rd floor.
After ten or fifteen minutes the fire truck drove away, and we were given the all clear.
It took a while for well over one hundred residents
to take the elevators back to their floors.
I fell into bed and sleep quickly.
Suddenly, a loud, raspy, discordant voice jarred me awake.
3:37 am.
That !@#$%^ rooster!
I want to wring his scrawny neck!
Yes, we are renting an apartment among many apartment/condo/hotel high-rises
in an urban area which has feral chickens.
Feral chickens roam the Hawaiian islands and are becoming more and more numerous.
"Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!" ricocheted over Royal Hawaiian Avenue.
Not a melodious crowing, but a strained, ugly, squawking of a crowing.
This rooster sounded old and battle-worn,
like the scarred surviver of too many cock fights.
He wants everyone to know he is still here
and sounds off repeatedly every morning around 3:30 am
and continues until dawn arrives and the Honolulu traffic starts up.
He hangs out with his harem in a green space by our building,
but ranges and struts throughout a wide territory,
venturing into other areas and challenging any other rooster to stop him.
I call him Putin.
A Feral Rooster and Hen Outside the Honolulu Zoo
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 28, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I think he may have an inferiority complex.
Kamaʻāina, or locals, tell me that there was a beautiful, golden-breasted rooster
who lived along Kuhio Avenue near our building for years.
Everyone loved him and remembers him fondly.
Then he vanished one day, presumably eaten by something.
A few months ago this rooster showed up.
No one likes him.
No one likes his raucous crowing after blissful silence and peace for months.
I think he senses that people are hoping something eats him.
So he struts around for hours in the predawn taunting,
"I'm still here! I'm still here!"
He wakes me up, and I want to wring his neck.
But if he goes silent, I listen and worry that he has met a similar fate
to the legendary, golden-breasted Cock of the Walk on Kuhio Avenue.
I really don't want something to eat this cranky, defiant rooster,
but I'd be totally okay with something slowly devouring the Russian Putin.
The Living Area of Our Tiny Apartment
Royal Kuhio
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 28, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
The Sleeping Area of Our Tiny Apartment
Royal Kuhio
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 28, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
So after a crazy Monday night, a busy Tuesday, and
two excellent mai tais, and a skimpy dinner late Tuesday afternoon,
I realized I had succumbed to self-delusion, again.
There was no way I could tackle a post on Tuesday evening.
So here I am. It's almost noon on IWSG Day, and I'm still writing my post.
And I have to FaceTime with my trainer Julie shortly,
because I have to workout to offset those delicious sweet mai tais.
And the workers are set to arrive to work on on the fire alarm
and smoke detector system in our apartment at any moment.
Another Glorious Sunset
Royal Kuhio
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
February 28, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Oh, this month's question.
I'm like a third grader who can't get to this morning's writing prompt
until I tell my teacher about loosing my tooth last night.
Yes, I have been conflicted about writing a scene in my memoir.
It was an event that had a profound effect on my young life
and has haunted me ever since.
It took me a long time to be able to write about being molested
by a train conductor in a crowded passenger car when I was eleven.
I shared it on my blog here: The Pervert and the Sandwich Man.
I decided to share it, because I had to share it.
My memoir wouldn't be honest if I omitted it.
I have more difficult issues to address,
and I will pry the truth out of myself eventually.
Me at the Vue Bar in Vegas
Lemon Drop Martinis in Vegas, Mai Tais in Honolulu
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
February 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine
and to all the people in bordering countries helping the Ukrainian refugees.
I can't believe this is happening. I don't recognize our world.
I'm praying for peace.
Wishing you love and happiness this month!
I hope each of you has fun visiting around today.
Happy writing to each of you in March!
Note: I'm going to post this now.
There may be edit errors, but I'll fix them after my workout.
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
My next post will be on Friday, March 11.
Terry and I with Friends Jon and Catherine
The Vue Bar
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
February 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
The alarm, the rooster, and finally a great photo.Let peace be there with you, and if not world wide, at least some sense of hope for those who have fled to a different country for their own safety, laaving everything behind. I truly did not ever think this would happen in my lifetime.Enjoy those sunny days.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jean! It's so good to see you! Like you, I didn't think that this would happen during my life time. I am stunned and angry. We must stand up to this aggression. I remember the Cold War days, the Iron Curtain, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I don't want to be back in that world, but here we are. I hope that we can come through this safely. The Ukrainian people did not deserve this. So I pray for peace in Ukraine and for the safety of everyone helping the refugees and the resistance fighters. Meanwhile I hope all is well with you, Hugh, and loved ones! Take care, my friend! Stay safe!
DeleteI'd say you are very dedicated! Crap, after a fire alarm and then a rooster, not to mention a late night with drinks, you still managed a good-sized post. Well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd may nothing else wake you in the middle of the night.
Thanks, Alex! I hope you are having a fun IWSG Day! I'm five hours behind you here, so I'll be later getting through my visits. Have a good one!
DeleteA fire? Oh my goodness. Not a fun thing to wake up to.
ReplyDeleteSomeone really needs to catch the rooster and plant him elsewhere.
Have a good time in Hawaii! Let me know next time you're going and I can hook you up with my best friend who runs a resort there.
Hi, Diane! And thanks for offering to hook me up with your best friend next time! We hope to return again next January. If we can stay away that long ~ LOL! I hope all is well with you!
DeleteWow, that's an impressive post after such an eventful night! I didn't know Hawaii had feral chickens. You're a better person than I am, because just from reading this post, I want something to eat Putin the Rooster.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you had such an awful experience when you were young. I did, too, and like you, I didn't tell anyone for years. Those experiences leave such deep scars.
Hi, Janet! Thanks for co-hosting today. I hope that you are having fun. I always enjoy co-hosting.
DeleteThe security guard in our building was telling me that chickens get away from people who have them, and the people just let them go. The chickens reproduce and run amok. It's odd to come across them along the sands by Waikiki and the other beaches.
I'm sorry that you experienced what I did. Such experiences leave deep scars, for sure. My parents were appalled when I finally told them years later. By then it was way too late to do anything. Finally writing about the experience helped me, and I have forgiven my eleven-year-old self for what happened and my silence. I was just a girl and not responsible for what happened.
Take care! Happy writing in March!
I really wish the people of Russia would get rid of their dictator
ReplyDeleteI so agree, Adam! Putin is a monster. He's been a vicious murderer for decades. I hope all is well with you, my friend!
DeleteHow do your glutes feel after that long trek down the stairwell to the ground floor? I know you're in better shape than me, so perhaps it's not an issue. But when I have to evacuate my building due to a fire alarm, the (mere) eleven flights down leave me stiff and sore for a few days afterwards!
ReplyDeleteHi, Debra! I was a little sore and stiff afterwards, but I'm a little sore and stiff most days. I have to keep moving, or I'll seize up ~ LOL! Thank goodness I have my trainer (and very good friend) to keep me motivated. Terry wishes I could motivate myself, but I'm too weak-willed. I hope all is well with you, my friend.
DeleteWhat an adventure! (Although not the kind one desires to have!) Thanks for sharing your story. I hope your workout went well!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steph! My workout went well. My trainer and I have been together for over sixteen years. She keeps me motivated and moving. She is my big splurge Have a happy, productive March!
DeleteGlad your husband and you got out of your apartment building safely. You're dedicated to have posted at all this month after what you went through. And it must have been hard to write about the traumatic experience you went through, but it's good you did since you were writing a memoir.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Natalie. Memoir is all about truth and coming to understand your life in the context of your experiences.Thanks for co-hosting! Happy, productive writing in March! Hugs to you!
DeleteSuper blog
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rajani!
DeleteThat's a long way down. Glad you got to take the elevator back up. I've never heard of feral chickens. You told a good story here!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liza! You put a big smile on my face! Have a happy day!
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeletewhat a drama and what a thrill dear Louise
ReplyDeletelife is full of adventures indeed ,thank God it was fake and both of along others were out safely .yes the view below from 28th floor makes me dizzy though i can only imagine the glorious sky you are able to see from there ,room looks neat and cozy .
rooster story sadden me ,pretty or ugly ,good or bad both need to live until nature decides for them :)
best wishes for work out and all you choose to do !
my heartfelt prayers are with Ukrainians !
OMG the rooster lol...I feel that way about the crows right now, though I'm usually up before sunrise! What a scare for you! Fire alarms...I remember them well when I lived and worked in Montreal, they always get the heart going...I'm glad everyone was safe! Your apartment looks so cozy Louise! Cheers to lemon drop martinis and Mai Tai's!!! ♥
ReplyDeleteCheers, Rain! Yes, I'm glad everyone was safe too. It felt surreal when it was happening. And the rooster. He drove me nuts, but then I became oddly fond of him as the nights passed. Now I'm calling him Poutine instead of Putin. Debra, brilliant lady, gave me that nickname suggestion. Crows can raise such a ruckus. Maybe you can make a scarecrow or two and drive them off! Hugs to you!
DeleteHmm missed this one it seems. Maybe I was sleeping with no fire alarms or roosters hahaha sure sounds like a memorable night and at least you only had to go down the stairs and not up. Wouldn't need a workout if you climbed that many flights of stairs.
ReplyDeleteI am very glad that I didn't have to climb back up all those stairs, Pat! Everyone was. Haha ~ With all the cats, dogs, and kids around you, it's a wonder you get any sleep!
Delete