Free Write - Life is not the only unforgerrable journey.

A cold day in Vesenaz Switzerland, but the café was warm. Because we three are in the same country, Julia, whose prompt it was, could wait to share the prompt. She even waited till we'd finished out espresso, tea and chocolat chaud and scrolled through her photos until she found this. 

Julia's Free Write: Life is not the only unforgettable journey

I am a traveler: we traveled for business; we traveled for family.

Living as we did, my husband and I, miles from our blood families – his 700 miles one way, mine several thousand the other way, we traveled a lot so that our children could know their cousins.

Then there were the business travels, sometimes pure business where we only saw the insides of hotels and conference rooms, others where we were able to mix tourism and business. It helped that our business was in tourism!

Over the years I have discovered many unforgettable journeys, that of marriage, that of having children, that of losing loved ones, that of medical journeys.

Still one and all they are all part of my life’s unforgettable journey.

Rick's Free Write

She had always wanted to take a cruise around the world. He hadn’t.

So they did.

She reveled in the four-month trip. He sulked.

They ate. They danced. They ate. They played shuffleboard on deck with strangers. They ate. They swam. They ate.

Every couple of days they got off the massive ship to explore an exotic port-of-call.

They ate. She shopped. They ate. They got back onboard.

They ate, danced, swam, played, until the next port-of-call.

North America, the Caribbean, South America, Pacific islands, Australia, Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, and finally back to Europe.

They saw every place they had ever imagined visiting – for 3 hours each. And ate every possible local dish they had ever read about.

Finally back home in their little French village, she described the cruise to their friends. He nodded and smiled.

She was happy. Their bank account was thousands of euros lighter

D-L's Free Write

Maya and Andrea were identical twins - looks were where the similarity ends.

Both did well in school with Maya being better in math and music. Andrea succeeded in history and English.

As adults they lived close to each other. They talked almost every day.

Andrea was always planning a trip, on a trip, or doing a tour talking about a trip. She'd gone on digs in the UK, saw cave painting in Tunisia, and wandered around India and Japan.

Maya, happily ensconced on hers and her husband's farm in Maine, was happy teaching at the University of Maine. Changes in her route left her stressed.

They were always together at Thanksgiving, happy and grateful for their lives the past forty years, even if their journeys were different.

Rick Adams is an aviation journalist and publisher of www.aviationvoices.com, a weekly newsletter reporting the top stories about the airline industry. He is the author of The Robot in the Simulator. AI in Aviation Training.  

Visit D-L.'s website  https://dlnelsonwriter.com, She is the author of 15 fiction and three non fiction books. Her 300 Unsung Women, bios of women who battled gender limitations, can be purchased  at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504 

Visit Julia's blog. She has written and taken photos and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/ 

 

 

Flash Nano 22 - Abundance

Flash Nano 22:
Use any part of this card/artwork/idea in a piece. I chose the word abundance

 

ABUNDANCE

Amy turned the key to her mother’s flat. The key had been given to her by the executor of her mother’s estate.

She had not been in the apartment nor to France since her parents broke up when she was seven. That was 30 years ago. Her father had taken her to the United States. Her mother stayed in Paris.

Her mother didn’t totally ignore her. There were phone calls and presents that crossed the Atlantic, but neither Amy nor her mother were willing to cross the Atlantic themselves.

Amy’s father had died at the beginning of the year. Then last month her mother died making her technically an orphan although not much sympathy is given to adult orphans.

The apartment occupied the top floor of a four-story building. It was in Puteux, a commune touching the city and nor far from La Defense.

Not knowing what to expect, Amy was still shocked. The furnishings reminded her of photos of the interiors of Versailles. She knew her mother had remarried and it was her husband’s money that had put Amy through university and grad school.

Her job now was to empty the apartment for sale. Where to start? In Boston she’d have gone to the grocery store for cartons. Could she do that in Paris?

Were there any valuables among the overcrowded rooms?Maybe contact the executor to recommend anyone who could evaluate the paintings, the tiny sculptures and jewelry, if there was jewelry.

Where to start. Maybe take off her coat. Dust, visible in the sunlight filtering through the window, caused her to cough.

“Bonjour.” The voice was followed by a woman about her age. Instead of wearing jeans like Amy, she was dressed in knife-creased pants and an obviously cashmere sweater.

“You probably want to speak English,” the woman said.

“My French is under-wonderful.” Amy wondered who this person was.

“I’m Camille. Henri’s daughter. I’ve inherited a quarter of this flat and everything in it.”

Amy vaguely knew that her mother’s second husband had a daughter, which she didn’t want to think about. She had done enough therapy to accept what she couldn’t change.

Camille made two cups of coffee. “We need to work together to settle the estate. Paul didn’t explain the law to you?”

Paul? Paul Martin probably. The executor.

Martin took her call and explained to Amy under French law when one member of a couple died, the survivor inherited half of everything. The other half was divided among all the children equally.

Amy wondered why she hadn’t been notified when Henri died that she had a quarter of all this. Then Martin explained that Amy would have inherited all of her mother’s half since she had never been Camille’s mother.

Camille could have resented Amy because she ended up with part of her father’s inheritance. Amy could have resented Camille for having time with a mother she didn’t know.

Over the next few days as they went through everything they discovered they had a lot in common: love of classical music, art and nature. Amy didn’t know the books Camille read, and Camille didn’t know the ones Amy loved. Neither of them enjoyed reading the other one’s language but reading was of major importance to them.

The man who did the evaluations estimated that her mother had close to 100,000 Euros in jewelry. An auction house evaluated three paintings at another 200,000.

They took lunch breaks from the packing at the restaurant around the corner. It was typical of small French restaurants, 20 small linen-covered tables, a menu du jour. They chatted about their very different lives. “I suppose we’re stepsisters,” Amy said.

“Demi soeur,” Camille said.

“If we’d lived together all those years we might have fought over clothes,” Amy said.

“Now we should fight over every centime,” Camille said. “Except, I don’t want to.”

“I’ve too much on my plate.” Amy laughed as Camille glanced at her almost empty plate. “Une expression.”

“Moi aussi. Me too,” Camille said. “We’d each get less after we paid the notaires, lawyers.”

They finished their espressos. “Do you think we can work it out ourselves?” Amy said just as Camille said, “We’re intelligent women, we should be able to divide the stuff fairly.”

That had been ten years ago. They didn’t sell the flat but rented it. Camille took care of the rental issues. Somethings such as a necklace that had been her mother’s went to Camille. Earrings Amy kept.

People told Amy she was a fool. Amy knew that much of the abundance she’d fallen into had been Henri’s before his marriage to her mother. 

It was still a windfall. Not just in money. As older orphans, the two women had gained family. 

Don't do it Zelensky

  

Don't sign the peace treaty. You didn't participate in it. Most of it was written by your enemy. Remember Chamberlain's bad deal with Germany to bring "peace in our time." All it did was make way for WWII. There is no reason to trust either Putin or Trump. Both men have been proven corrupt in dealings in their own countries. 

1. Ukraine’s sovereignty will be confirmed. Ukraine is already a sovereign country. Russia attacked on a false pretense. 

2. A non-aggression agreement will be concluded between Russia, Ukraine and Europe.  What does concluded mean? How can this treaty speak for Europe? No other country was involved in the writing of this agreement, so how can this be considered binding? 

3. It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and NATO will not expand further. 

Expected? That's a strange way to put it. Why should NATO agree not to expand further since they won't be part of the signers? 

4. A dialogue will be held between Russia and NATO, mediated by the United States, to resolve all security issues and create conditions for de-escalation in order to ensure global security and increase opportunities for cooperation and future economic development. 

NATO has no part in agreeing or disagreeing to this. Global security would be wonderful, but that is over reach. Economic development ... for whom? 

 5. Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees.

Reliable? One of the two major participants in the agreement is man who lied over 34,000 times and is regularly breaking international law with his unproven attacks on boats allegedly carrying drug dealers. A man who threatened to take over Greenland, Canada, Venezuela. We witnessed an alleged cease fire in Gaza where Israel continues to attack Gaza.   

 6. The size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be limited to 600,000 personnel. 

That is a guarantee that WHEN Russia attacks again, the Ukraine will be less able to defend itself.

7. and 8. Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to include in its statutes a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future. NATO agrees not to station troops in Ukraine. 

Unless NATO signs the agreement, it has no meaning that it will abide by this. Meanwhile the Ukraine has given up its right to act in its own best interest.

9. and 10. European fighter jets will be stationed in Poland. 10. US guarantee: The US will receive compensation for the guarantee. Why should the US get compensation for this?  If Ukraine invades Russia, it will lose the guarantee. If Russia invades Ukraine, in addition to a decisive coordinated military response, all global sanctions will be reinstated, recognition of the new territory and all other benefits of this deal will be revoked. At last, something negative against Russie. If Ukraine launches a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg without cause, the security guarantee will be deemed invalid. What is a cause? Too wishy washy. 

11. Ukraine is eligible for EU membership and will receive short-term preferential access to the European market while this issue is being considered. Again, although the EU might be interested, they are not bound by an agreement they had no part in negotiating or signing. 

 12. A powerful global package of measures to rebuild Ukraine, including but not limited to: a. The creation of a Ukraine Development Fund to invest in fast-growing industries, including technology, data centres, and artificial intelligence.  b. The United States will cooperate with Ukraine to jointly rebuild, develop, modernise, and operate Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, including pipelines and storage facilities. The US is not to be trusted considering its own political instability at the moment. c. Joint efforts to rehabilitate war-affected areas for the restoration, reconstruction and modernisation of cities and residential areas. d. Infrastructure development. e. Extraction of minerals and natural resources. This is what the US wants. f. The World Bank will develop a special financing package to accelerate these efforts.The World Bank is not a participant in the agreement, and although they may agree, there is no guarantee. 

13. Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy: a. The lifting of sanctions will be discussed and agreed upon in stages and on a case-by-case basis. b. The United States will enter into a long-term economic cooperation agreement for mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centres, rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic, and other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities. Is this to benefit the Ukraine or the US or both? c. Russia will be invited to rejoin the G8. What has that got to do with the peace between Ukraine and Russia? What if the G7 doesn't want to do this? 

14. Frozen funds will be used as follows: $100 billion in frozen Russian assets will be invested in US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine. The US will receive 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe will add $100 billion to increase the amount of investment available for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The remainder of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle that will implement joint projects in specific areas. This fund will be aimed at strengthening relations and increasing common interests to create a strong incentive not to return to conflict. It looks like the US wants to profit. What are the safe guards the money will go where it should go? Europe hasn't been consulted and at this point and has not agreed. 

15. A joint American-Russian working group on security issues will be established to promote and ensure compliance with all provisions of this agreement. Shouldn't the Ukraine be involved in this?

16. Russia will enshrine in law its policy of non-aggression towards Europe and Ukraine. 17. The United States and Russia will agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty. Considering their histories, should either the US or Russia be trusted? One needs to remember how unstable the US President is.

18. Ukraine agrees to be a non-nuclear state in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. 

Thirty years ago the Ukraine was number 3 in nuclear weapons and they gave them up. The UK, US and Russia in 1994 signed the Budapest Memorandum guaranteeing Ukraine's security. That seems to be worthless and an example of why not to trust this new agreement.

19. The IAEA will supervise the relaunch of The Zaporizhzhya [Nuclear Power Plant will be launched under the supervision of the IAEA, Russia and Ukraine will share the electricity produced. Why should Russia benefit from the rebuilding of what it destroyed. 

20. Both countries undertake to implement educational schools and society programs to promote understanding and tolerance of different cultures and eliminating racism and prejudice: a. Ukraine will adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.Why only Ukraine?  b. Both countries will agree to abolish all discriminatory measures and guarantee the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education. c. All Nazi ideology and activities must be rejected and prohibited. How would this be monitored?

21. Territories: a. Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognised as de facto Russian, including by the United States. b. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be frozen along the line of contact, which will mean de facto recognition along the line of contact. c. Russia will relinquish other agreed territories it controls outside the five regions. d. Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the part of Donetsk Oblast that they currently control, and this withdrawal zone will be considered a neutral demilitarised buffer zone, internationally recognised as territory belonging to the Russian Federation. Russian forces will not enter this demilitarised zone. I do not know the geography well enough to know what the Ukraine may be giving up. My personal feeling is that whatever Russia took by force, should be returned to the Ukraine. The idea of a demilitarize zone are too unclear. 

22. After agreeing on future territorial arrangements, both the Russian Federation and Ukraine undertake not to change these arrangements by force. Any security guarantees will not apply in the event of a breach of this commitment. In this world of propaganda and lies, is Russia to be trusted not to falsify a breach?

23. Russia will not prevent Ukraine from using the Dnieper River for commercial activities, and agreements will be reached on the free transport of grain across the Black Sea. 

24. A humanitarian committee Who will serve on the committee and under what conditions? will be established to resolve outstanding issues: a. All remaining prisoners and bodies will be exchanged on an ‘all for all’ basis. b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children. c. A family reunification programme will be implemented. d. Measures will be taken to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the conflict. 

25. Ukraine will hold elections in 100 days. Why? As a sovereign country what right does the US and Russia insist on elections. 26. All parties involved in this conflict will receive full amnesty for their actions during the war and agree not to make any claims or consider any complaints in the future. This is not a Monopoly game with a get out jail free card. 

27. This agreement will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored and guaranteed by the Peace Council, headed by President Donald J. Trump. Under no circumstances should Trump with his mental question ability, his flip flopping on other major issues, and series of businesses head a Peace Council.

Sanctions will be imposed for violations. 28. Once all parties agree to this memorandum, the ceasefire will take effect immediately after both sides retreat to agreed points to begin implementation of the agreement.

For President Zelensky to continue to subject his people to war is a horrible thing to have to do, but to stop the war under the conditions in this agreement is worse in the long run. In refusing to sign, help from the US will probably be withheld. Hopefully Europe, will fill the void.

Flash Nano 21 Longing

 Flash Nano 21 Prompt We are Longing …

 

Homesick

She felt guilty at how homesick she was for Edinburgh: Irn Bru, gray stone buildings, the red-bearded-kilt-wearing-bagpipe player on the bridge playing Amazing Grace, mac and cheese pub lunches, The Fringe, the story-telling festival, the castle on the hill and her cubby hole office at the university.

It was her own fault. Her rushed marriage to a Swiss Businessman 15 years her senior was why she’d moved to Geneva. If she hadn’t learned that her ex Malcolm has married six months after their breakup, she probably never would have said yes.

Jean-Pierre was a widower, who said he never did anything so rash, anything without careful study, but when he saw her it was like he’d been struck by lightning.

His marriage gift to her was a life of leisure, which after years of days with a too long to-do list, was almost a curse.

How could she complain about living in a beautiful three-bedroom flat overlooking the Rhone River. Maria, one of the Portuguese mafia or so the residents called the concierges, cleaners and handymen who kept families comfortable and free of physical labor, meant she had no household responsibilities.

She hadn’t worked so hard to get her doctorate and cement her position at the university to have nothing worthwhile to do all day long.

The wives of Jean-Pierre’s colleagues had welcomed her on the surface. She had heard them describe her as a trophy wife. Although she spoke fluent French grammatically and with a good vocabulary, her Scottish accent mangled many of the words.

His daughter had moved into the family home when the memories of his wife made moving the sensible thing to do. The daughter said she was a gold-digger.

Although she and Jean-Pierre were as similar as a dog and a field of corn, they liked each other. She was determined to make the marriage work.

Today she headed for Lake Léman to see its color. When the bloody bise blew, the water turned brown, but most of the time it was a variety of blues and even once it was teal. 

The city looked different that day. Children were in Halloween costumes although it was December. The chocolate shops had chocolate marmites filled with marzipan vegetables. 

As she went into the Vieille Ville two men in armor rode horses over the cobbled stone streets. Women were dressed in 1600-style long dresses, capes and bonnets. There were stands selling vin chaud and vegetable soup.

She asked one of the women what was happening. The woman explained it was the Escalade, the festival celebrating the overthrow of French invaders in 1602.

She walked down the hill to the big park. 

Two men played chess with life sized pieces. 

The university was to her right. She would love to teach there, but she lacked a work permit to work anywhere. Jean-Pierre said it wouldn’t look right if she did work.

She came to the statues of Feret, Calvin, Beza and Knox, the Protestant reformers. They look angry, she thought. It wasn’t a surprise. John Knox was a sour biggie in Edinburgh, his former home part of the tourist attractions.

She walked back up the hill to the Vieille Ville and bought a mug of soup and sat on a bench to watch the people. If Knox was such an important person in Geneva and Edinburgh, maybe she could write a book on his influence on the two places. Her research would allow her to go back and forth.

Maybe she could even make it a work of fiction. Maybe, just maybe, she found something worthwhile to do. 

Maybe the longing could be replaced.