Week 40.
Four-Oh blind forty.
Those of you like me who regularly visit the local Bingo Hall in search of friendship, weak coffee, numbers no greater than two digits and dayglo marker pens, will undoubtedly not have the foggiest idea what the origins of ‘blind forty’ are. Blind forty, one of many colourful phrases bingo callers cry out, such as three and seven, thirty-seven.
Those of you who do know what ‘blind forty’ means will no doubt glow with pride when name-called a nerd, anorak or some other pejorative that implies they possess a vast general knowledge.
Uncertain whether or not I should round off my momentary lapse into all things numerical by declaring ‘That’s Numberwang’, or were I in Wiesbaden, ‘Das ist Nummerwang’ I opted to consult a search engine and was greatly reassured this utterance was not such a foolish notion after all.
Even the German translation of the spoof game show Numberwang yielded 160 hits in 0.57 seconds.
This week Monday took its turn as numero uno day of the week and subsequently witnessed The Executor go about her business but did not observe her oversee the distribution of a legacy. Rather the opposite could be said to be true.
Chilling stuff from Stockholm Mr. Haglund.
One of my many failings is I often spend too long considering and debating, usually with myself, what to do, who to consult, the best course of action etc. etc. Accuse Hugh Cron of Overthinking and I imagine one of his half-cut ‘potty-mouthed’ characters high on Pinot Grigio would respond ‘Youse got to be #%$£&@$ joking pal.’
You’ll find tears, laughter and something deeper meandering between the lines in this slice-of-life drama Cron-style.
Wednesday put in a surprise appearance midweek. What was never in doubt was the charm of Embe Charpentier’s Literally Stories début Paperback Summer. Those with a heart of stone turn away now. Catch a bus or a plane but do not head for Cabbagetown.
Welcome to Literally Stories, Embe.
Trees might be at a premium in Vancouver’s east side but that is not an issue for dm gillis whose There is a Forest Here saw a poet stumbling over a stanza or two. Still, she couldn’t blame it on the effects of Vodka. On the contrary, Virginia Quipp is desperately clinging onto a wagon with deadlines looming in this devilishly dichotomous dilemma driven affair.
Don works from home. He is a writer. He’s just moved with his wife to the Pacific Northwest. Getting to know their new neighbours is all part of settling in but how far do you go in revealing exactly what you do for a living? A Profession That Pays isn’t necessarily a safe bet for dinner party conversation but wife Sammy seems proud of her husband. We too are proud Matt Phillips chose Literally Stories as a new ‘home’.
Welcome Matt.
No. Make that, welcome to Literally Stories…Matt.
~
“I say waiter!”
“Yes Sir?”
“A table for four.”
“Follow me Sir.”
“Into the hall?”
“Naturally Mr. Hunter – this is the Literally Stories Hall of Fame, AKA Story of the Week.”
Congratulations go to Louis Hunter for his enigmatic main course, Table for Four.
Fine writing is what we are about here at LS so if one of the following literary dishes met with your approval then do send your compliments to the chef>>>>>
And finally…this Sunday sees LS friend and author, James McEwan choose his three favourite stories from the site in Editor Picks.
literally stories 
I would like to thank the editors, without whom I’d still only be a 50 year old squeegee kid with a Hello Kitty tattoo. To them I say, bless you.
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Bless you dm
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