OK. It’s time to give Madison Wood’s Friday Fictioneer’s 100 word fiction challenge a shot. The photo prompt this week is
The hermit who inhabited the old stone house down on the valley floor was an ornery son of a gun. All of us kids were scared of him. Mikey said that the gnarled, old man was the boogie-man! According to Mikey, the boogie man had once been a millionaire, but now had a bad conscience about how he had made his money. Jose, our elder statesman at age 11, said that the old man was “psychiatric”. We kids only knew that it was fun to hurl rocks onto his roof, and then to run like the dickens when he charged out the door. He sure was an ornery son of a gun.
An Occasional Story or Magazine 
Thanks. When I was a kid, there was an old bearded housepainter who would occasionally emerge from the basement across the street. His beard and clothes were full of paint and he was usually drunk. When I was told that he was the boogie-man I figured it was true.
I think I saw him once, too. He had long greasy hair down to his shoulders, a pock- marked face, hook nose, and long uncut dirty fingernails. We threw rocks and ran, just like you did. We could hear his ancient mother yell at him, “Howard Hughes, get away from those windows.”
I love when a story makes me want to write another story. I think it’s a great compliment to the first writer. So, nice job and thanks. Randy
Thank you Shaheen.
Wonderfully articulate – superb, dear Bumba!
You can link directly to Madison Wood’s blog. And add your entry to the other ones. Click on the link I included on my blog.
Hi Stephen,
Nice childlike voice and the old hermit seems like a perfect inhabitant of that house.
Good job. Ron
Thank you
I love this line…the old man was “psychiatric”. Just what an elder statesman of that age might say.
Thanks and thanks for visiting.
Oh Bumba – reminds me of the time, as kids, we used to toss pebbles over the fence at our neighbour. One day, a whole bunch of pebbles came flying over the fence. Boy did we learn a painful lesson 😦
Ah, childhood. Another life it was.
Would love to know more about the old man. Great visual. “Elder statesman at 11…” I like.
Thanks for the comment.
Flippin kids eh! The things you think are amusing when that age are less so when seen through your adult eyes, if they make it that far of course 🙂
True. But I do remember feeling ashamed when I did things like that.
I think we all did, but we went along with the group mind and regretted in private later, allowing it to surface as we got older and then feel even worse about it 😦
As a child I was quite moralistic, but I think I have outgrown most of it, or learned to forgive myself sometimes. Or perhaps I just idealize my childhood.
Mmmm, I find that the memories I thought I had of childhood are questionned by those who were older at the time, even to the point where they deny my understanding completely. I guess we see everything, and consequently remember everything through the limitations of understanding we have at any age 🙂
That’s very true
Nicely done. Kids being kids, hermits being ‘ornery’. 🙂
I liked the word ornery.
Reminded me of “To Kill a Mocking Bird”. Good work! 🙂
takes me back…. good one
Thanks