Thursday, March 5, 2009

Theme Thursday...Glass

Shaken. Not Stirred.

On a sunny afternoon around 3 o'clock in March, my afternoon activities were interrupted by a tumultuous shaking. This must be an earthquake, I thought. The strange rolling motion took my stomach along for the ride. An electrifying combination of fear and excitement rushed through me like the wet-cold fire of a menopausal hot flash. From the tips of my toes to the top of my head, moist beads of thermodynamic reaction spread.

The violent shudders came closer and closer together with the varied and increasing intensity of pre-birth contractions. One following another followed by another. Moving was perilous. I sought to balance myself as if walking on an undulating rope bridge high above the ground. For a few minutes, the concussions came closer and closer together. Faster and faster, I rolled. Ripping horizontal slaps intermittently spaced between random twists and turns. The ordinarily horizontal skyline stood vertically, then fell sharply away. Household bric-a-brac fell, like thousands of snowflakes, from the sky.

Through the sunlit glass windows, I saw a huge, shadowy figure. Dark and distorted. And voices. Low and rumbling. Someone is out there! My pulse jumped like a frog in a race.
"Fee," I heard the muffled voice utter. "FEE!" There it was again! My first thought was to that of fee-fi-fo-fum, words from the Jack and the Bean Stalk story. Irrationally, I thought, are we being overtaken by giants?

First, the voice, barely more than a whisper, smoldered with agitation. Suddenly, the eerie quietness and pitching motion was stunned by a formidable outcry, "FIONA! I said put that snow globe down immediately and come to dinner!"
"Sorry mama. That glass with the little people in it is just so pretty."



The ground calmed. Quiet came. The serene beauty of my world, for the moment, restored.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I like this take on this tale. A very cool point of view rendering. I always wanted to know what the little folk in that globe were thinking, when the kid started shaking it!

mouse (aka kimy) said...

very clever .....what a lovely little tale for this week's tt!!

lots of glass in this house!! hope no one living there likes to throw stones.....

Mrsupole said...

It was funny, at first I thought you were really describing an earthquake up there.

I thought I had seen something on the news about some kind of shaking going on up there. That was such a great point of view. I have never thought about it, except I think they made a movie about the people who lived in a little village in a snowglobe. I cannot remember the name.

Always interesting posts.

Great pictures too.

Candie said...

Very very nice and original
:)

Leah said...

This is absolutely wonderful. Thanks for it!

e said...

I love this posting--very creative! Thanks for visiting my Blog as well.

Brian Miller said...

wow. you had me on every word. very creative take on the post!

Dakota Bear said...

Very clever take on the theme.

Colette Amelia said...

Wow that was a story! what do you have in your glass go be able to think like this?

excellent!

Tess Kincaid said...

Witty post! I've always loved the name Fiona.

Tom said...

you got me ... wasn't expecting that ! It probably wouldn't be a lot of fun living in a snow globe.

Ronda Laveen said...

Yes, it could be "shattering" to live in a snow globe. It is something I always wonder about when I look at them. What is the reality in that little glass orb like?

My sister thinks I have 60's flash backs in my glass to be able to think like that. You never know!

Baino said...

So cute! I've often got lost in snowglobes and sparkly things! Yet I don't even own one . .must rectify that!

Kelsey said...

I was lost in your poem. beautiful!

-Kelsey

Reya Mellicker said...

I could not figure it out for the longest time ... damn you're good.

Actually it feels like that during an earthquake, doesn't it?

Evening Light Writer said...

How creative Ronda, this is wonderful! Where did you ever think of such an interesting post? Not that I don't think you are incredibly witty and creative! I'm just interested about the creative process here.

I love the name Fiona.

I thought it was funny too, I laughed and I needed that today, a good chuckle.

You rock Sister-Friend!

Ronda Laveen said...

You know Baino, I don't have any snow globes either but think I'll get one now. I'm old enuf!

Reya, yes it does feel exactly like that in an earthquake. A stronger one feels like that. During a mild one, at first you think your senses are tricking you. Like, no the ground isn't rolling. And my eyes must be tired and tricking me 'cause I swear things at eye level look a foot right of center. It only lasts for seconds to minutes but seems an eternity. I tried to put myself in the globe to imagine what it would feel like if I were being shook. I thought it would probably feel like a major quake.

E.L. Ahh, the creative process. Well, I was stuck and couldn't decide which direction I wanted to go with this theme. Then I down loaded the above photos that I took last weekend and the windows came out with such a contrast that they really stood out. They just reminded me of a snow globe filled with people. So I just started out trying to write it well enough that people would know I was describing a snow globe. As it evolved, the globe wrote its own story. Don't know where it came from, just that it came.

Cuppa Jo said...

LOL. Wonderful story. I kept thinking it was really real cuz except for the fear thing and the possibility that death and destruction might ensue, I kind of like earthquakes. Very shaky. Like being on a vast rollercoaster. Wee!

Ronda Laveen said...

Yes, Cuppa Jo, WEEEEEEE!!!!!

Megan said...

Omigosh. I knew I should have come over here earlier.

Excellent!!!!

Kris McCracken said...

Crikey!

CocoDivaDog said...

Thank you for visiting me at Dog Girl.
I had to read your story twice before I understood it.
How cute!
I know some people collect snow globes.
I also see you were born in the year of the dragon...my ex-hubby was born in the same year.
Dogs & Dragons don't mix.
It's a good thing you and I live on opposite coasts!
Now we can be friends. :)

Evening Light Writer said...

I thought at first it really was an earthquake and then, maybe you just had an inner ear problem because I've had that before and its very earth-moving!

I'm always interested in the process that a person goes through to create. I have to think about it a great deal and I always change my mind but I really delight in the different ways that I do create. Thank you for sharing this!

I think it is very interesting though because as bloggers our lives are a bit like snow globes with people looking in.

Ronda Laveen said...

Yes, I have to think a great deal also. And a blogger's life is as open as a snow globe. Good analogy.

tony said...

Shaken But Not Stirred!I Raise My Glass To You!

Ronda Laveen said...

Ahh, tony...and here is my glass raised and sipped back at you!

Squirrel said...

I missed this when scampering about on theme thurzday! Well, I'm glad I popped by ~ quite creative , original and delightful.

Ronda Laveen said...

Welcome, squirrel! Would you like some nuts?

Mrsupole said...

Hi Ronda,

Tag, your it.

Yes, you have now been tagged, please visit my site to get the rules to this meme.

Have fun.

I hope you get this post. If so please let me know. I think you will like this meme.

Now I gotta work on Lemons. So just in advance, you will need to get some too.

God Bless.

Mrsupole said...

Hello,

I have just nominated you to receive the “When Life Gives You Lemons” blog award.

Visit Mrsupole her at Mrsupole's Place blog to claim your prize.

Congratulations!

I know this is so close to being tagged, but it is what happened to me. God Bless.

Ronda Laveen said...

Mrs.: Yes, I was on your site and saw my Lemonade Award and came back here and got my notice. We must have just had a near miss experience in cyberspace.

Mrsupole said...

I have noticed we do that a lot, I have seen when I have just missed you on some other sites too.

Gonna go read the b-day after I hand out the other notices.

Ronda Laveen said...

Bless u,Mrs UP.