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Gordon Lawrie

Funeral for a Friend

19/8/2022

 
Jim sighed.
 
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to say farewell to our friend..."
 
The small group of family and friends present chuckled: they knew that 'the departing friend' could be difficult. Jim's teenage son, who could hardly be called a mourner, was curious to see if excrement could burn effectively.
 
"...dust to dust, ashes to ashes, in sure and certain hope..."
 
Nobody actually wanted a resurrection. Instead, they celebrated as the flames consumed Jim's manuscript, consigning his dreadful first novel to the past for ever. As the pages slowly became charred flakes of history, everyone danced for joy.

Einstein's Breakfast-Time Thoughts

9/8/2022

 
Einstein closed his eyes and thought: he worked best on a full breakfast.

Suddenly, he understood! Newton insisted that everything must have an equal and opposite reaction. There must therefore be an inverse relativity, where if (e=mc2 divided by k1) and (-e=mc2 divided by k2), 0≤k1≤1, 0≤k2≤1 and k1+k2=1. This would allow selective time travel, so all cancers, say, could be treated by rolling back to their beginnings.

Now… how to explain that to lesser beings?

He began in the usual way: he climbed off his owner’s lap and onto the keyboard.

In the Fields

5/8/2022

 
I recall our holidays together, not so many years ago.

Wandering through the fields, I pointed out barley, maize, sunflowers, maize and, especially, wheat. We both agreed that our flag looked just like a cloudless blue sky above never-ending wheat fields. We saw wild flowers, cornflowers and dandelions – more blue and yellow – and there were poppies everywhere. You loved those red poppy patches then; you wouldn’t like them any more.

I’d visit, but I don’t know where to find you in those same fields now. Perhaps I never will.

What parent wouldn’t give their life in exchange for their son’s?

    Flash Fiction

    Flash fiction is very, very short fiction indeed - short stories of any sort of length from a Haiku to ten minutes' reading. Good for when you're in a hurry. This series is a selection of contributions to Friday Flash Fiction, where there's a limit of 100 words. I try to make all mine exactly 100 words.


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    If you enjoy these stories, why not download Gordon's first two collections of these, called '100 Not Out' and '200 Not Out'? Available for all types of e-readers including Kindle and iPad, for free. Completely free, no strings.

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