Yay! It’s that time of the week again! Okay, so it’s not quite Friday, but I’m sure it’s Friday somewhere and I didn’t like being number 86 last week, so I’m posting early (ner ner di ner ner). For any of you who have been following my internet woes, my connection is still rubbish, there’s still no sign of the router, and I am wasting a lot of time on the phone to my internet provider when I could be writing stories instead. Never mind. We’re here now and it’s all good. Hope you enjoy my little story below.
For those who don’t know, Friday Fictioneers is a challenge to write a 100 word story from a picture prompt. It’s hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields, and anyone can play. Thanks for hosting, Rochelle! Check out the link at the end of my story to see what other fictioneers did with this week’s prompt.
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Gotta Go With The Flow
When Cinnamon Sky’s mother, Windsock Tambourine, said they were getting a car, she was thrilled. Finally something normal in her life.
She skipped to school in her homemade clothes, patched, darned and embroidered with CND logos. At lunch she devoured her homemade bread and homemade hummus. And when school finished, she ran to the gates, where her mother waited in flared flower-print dungarees, hair flowing in the wind, a whiff of lentils and incense in the air.
‘Where’s the car?’ Cinnamon asked.
Her mum grinned and pointed. Cinnamon’s jaw dropped.
‘For the love of patchouli, mother, a homemade car? Seriously?’
(100 words)
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Need more Friday Fiction? Click the blue frog to read more stories from other fictioneers!
EL Appleby: Brain Fragments 
😆 great build up.
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Thanks – it was fun to write 🙂
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LOL – of Woodstock age myself I can so identify!!
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Cool! Bet you never owned a car like that though 🙂
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My daughter would be sooo mad! lol
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So would mine!
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Like wow, man, I dig those names and whole, like, story, ya know?
janet
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Thanks for your fab and groovy comment, janet 😀
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‘For the love of patchouli’… gag me! Poor Cinnamon… I mean it.
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Hi Ted,
I found an old bottle of patchouli oil during my mega-declutter last week. XXX Strength. It doesn’t improve with age. It reeks!
I’m sure Cinnamon will survive – and change her name when she grows up!
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Ha ha…Great story. Love the names. 🙂
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Thanks! I love the names, too – I may have to use these two characters again some time!
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Reminds me of a similar hippie name I heard once, Starflower Moonbright. Seems it would fit right in with your story here. Also, your story vaguely reminded me of this song about hippies, most of it is in German though: Neonschwarz – Heben Ab: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRJMZAqR1VQ
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I love Starflower Moonbright, too! I’ll wait till my son gets home to listen to your song – he’s studying German at school – thanks for the link 🙂
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Oh that was funny…
“‘For the love of patchouli, mother,”
It seems the apple does not fall far from the tree after all…! (As much as she would hate to admit it…) 🙂
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Thanks Carolyn, glad you enjoyed it. Yes, poor Cinnamon has definitely been influenced by her mother – it might all change when she hits her teen years though!
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Loved the terminology in this, perfectly constructed in the ‘home made’ style.
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Thanks Sandra, glad you enjoyed it.
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Awesome. 🙂 I love the name “Cinnamon Sky”.
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Thanks David. I think Cinnamon Sky may have to come back for another story some time!
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yes, great descriptions…!
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Thanks, pirate man. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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I think it’d be awesome if my mum did that! Well done.
D x
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I’m not sure Cinnamon would agree with you, there! thanks for commenting 🙂
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Windsock Tambourine? Love it! With a name that wacky, no wonder she’d buy a car like this! Very funny story 🙂
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She was probably born Jane Smith and changed it! Glad you liked my silly story. Thanks for commenting 🙂
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excellent
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thank you 🙂
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[…] Friday Fiction – Gotta Go With The Flow (elappleby.wordpress.com) […]
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this was really nice:) and lol. would like to know the daughter’s reaction..
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I think she will leave home as soon as she can and become a shop assistant 🙂
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patchouli ~ learned a new word.
:-))
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If you look it up in the urban dictionary it gives this definition (which I think is very apt): “Hippie perfume … smells like forest, pot and snuggling.”
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Checked it and the patchouli bush grows in India …… and I did not know it.
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Very cool story and I love the character names! Plus it got me to look up “patchouli.”
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Thanks Perry. I hope I’m not going to be single-handedly responsible for bringing patchouli back into fashion though 🙂
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You had to look up patchouli, Perry? Where were you in the 60’s?????
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Wow great character names that fit perfectly with the story. Great build up and it was so believable with your other descriptions. I’ll have to print this one out for the owner of the car (once I find him in Florida!)
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P.S. I love the smell of patchouli. Guess I’m just an old hippie.
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Thanks ,Beth, for your lovely comments – I hope he likes the story too 🙂 It was a fantastic photo!
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Such fun–the wonder car has found a home and (Cinnamon Sky will grow to love it when all the kids ask for a ride).
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Thank you – glad you enjoyed it. And I hope Cinnamon does grow to love the car, I think she’s lumbered with it (and the homemade bread) whether she likes it or not 🙂
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I love you stories, El. I just laughed! I’m not sure if you meant it to be funny or not, but I found it very humorous. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with homemade…all except the car, of course!
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Thanks Amy. You can generally rely on me meaning to be funny – glad you found it humorous 🙂
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I love the descriptions and names. Just wonderful, the details in this story is pure perfection.
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Thanks Bjorn – what a lovely comment! Glad you enjoyed it.
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‘For the love of patchouli, mother…’ what a fantastic line! (Can I borrow it?) And what a fantastic and inventive mother, although I’m sure she’s one you only appreciate from a distance. Poor Cinnamon. Lovely story.
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HI Sarah Ann. You can have ‘for the love of patchouli’ with my blessing 🙂 I can’t think I’ll be using it again soon!
As for Cinnamon, I’m sure she’ll grow up to be proud of her mother!
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Reminds me of the hippie-dippy weatherman (George Carlin). Those were the days!
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I had to google George Carlin – my kind of guy! Thanks for commenting 🙂
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For the love of Patchouli!
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Whatever happened to Flower Power? Maybe there should be a hippy revival!
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Aha! I love everything about this story.
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Thank you! What a fabulous comment – glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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priceless. love the names, the details, the “want” of ordinary from a child.
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I have to confess – I was that child! I got over my want of ordinary and embraced the weird, but it took a while 🙂
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ahahaha….love the names. You are so funny. 🙂 liked this one the best so far!
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Wow! Thanks Jackie. I think Windsock and Cinnamon are going to have to make another appearance in FF at some point 🙂
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Lovely. Enjoyed it.
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Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
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haha really enjoyed this. the names you picked are so cool ^^
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thanks kz – glad you liked my silly names 🙂
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For the love of patchouli, El! This one hit me where I live as I’m enjoying the scent of a patchouli candle as a write. No lie. My first car was a VW Beetle. I wore out three pairs of moccasins in HS. I’m still a bit of a hippie…but now I can just say “eccentric” right?
I really enjoyed your story. Funny stuff. I visualized the whole scene. Sorry for your internet woes. How frustrating! Glad it hasn’t kept you from Friday Fictioneers. I’d miss you terribly.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Hi Rochelle
I found an old bottle of patchouli oil during my clear up last week. Not sure I’m as keen on it as I was back then.
There’s a lot of truth in this story – the flared dungarees were my mother’s pride and joy! She drove a 2CV, similar to a VW just a bit more angular – she swapped it for a bottle of whisky when it died. I think she got the better deal 🙂 It looked a lot like the picture. Fabulous prompt this week, roll on the next FF 😀
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You’ve captured the flower child world beautifully here. Not sure what CND logos are, but the rest rings true. And this is exactly the kind of car a hippy would love. Ron
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Hi Ron
CND was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – we campaigned at Greenham Common when those pesky Americans (sorry!) wanted to stash their nuclear arms in Britain. I was 12, my mother wore flared flowerprint dungarees. I am scarred for life, but probably better off for it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenham_Common_Women%27s_Peace_Camp
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that was just right, not pieced together at all!
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Thanks bill – glad you liked it!
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perhaps set in san francisco? well done. but help me out with something. what are “CND logos”?
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Hi Rich
I’m ridiculously late replying to this – dodgy internet finally fixed! CND was the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – we campaigned against those pesky Americans (sorry!) bringing their dodgy nuclear weapons to Britain and keeping them at Greenham Common. I was 12 – my mother (in her flared dungarees) was a big CND supporter. We held hands, sang peace songs and all that jazz.
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Very sweet. You have to pity the girl, although I’m sure she will love those memories when she grows older and has her own kids. Who has a mom who builds her own car?
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Very funny. I think that the daughter might turn out to be rather like her mother however much she doesn’t want to – “For the love of patchouli”
Claire
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Windsock Tambourine – I can just see her in her patched dungarees and long frazzled hair. I think there must be other stories for Cinnamon Sky in the future.
CND – a trip back in time to Greenham Common and ‘flower power’
Loved your story
Dee
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Hi Dee
I know I’m late replying to this one (I’ve just replied to your comment on this week’s story so this is going to confuse you!) – I got so frustrated with the internet last week but it’s all fixed now so I’m back online! Had to reply to this as I’m thrilled you remember Greenham Common! I sort of assumed everyone knew what CND was, but of course they don’t. (A lot of them had never heard of patchouli either!)
thanks for commenting 🙂
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Took me back a while! It was a great story.
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Very nice! Love the sensual detail here… and what great names.
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[…] more Tambourines? Read Gotta Go With The Flow and Fly Me To The […]
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