Today’s Music: Hayley Sales – Just Pretend
Note on Today’s Music: Once again, John Phillips turned me on to something I’m really enjoying. Hope you do too.
Days Til Spring: 51
I don’t usually post so frequently. Feel free to blame Trifecta for this one, a request for 33 words on this picture:
Battle!
I saw her nearing the arena. This time I would be ready.
Her tennis whites gave an air of nonchalance. I cleared the table, stood.
“Checkers?” I asked.
She sat.
“To the death.”
And I thank you.
51 days. Just 51 days. Until then, there is music.
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There’s always music!
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I thought this was only on weekends and the 333 word version was weekdays.
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They just do one challenge per week now, and it alternates I think. I was surprised to hear that when I found out a few weeks ago.
I think they’re averaging more entries per week, and apparently the judges have lives, or some cockamamie excuse like that.
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Well, that’s good. I haven’t done a Trifecta post in a while. I should go look at them.
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Ha! Same thing happened to me.
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There’s just so many things to do now….
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They’re pretty much the only challenge I do. I never really liked the daily prompts, though you and others do great things with them.
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You’re so diplomatic! haha
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It’s how I keep my cred with both The Socs and The Greasers!
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yeah
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Thanks for playing it forward. ™ (Both the music and the prose!)
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You’re welcome!
John is an excellent source for stuff I wouldn’t hear otherwise.
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Good song choice. Nice interpretation of the picture.
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By the end of the week, I expect all my coworkers to know her album.
And thanks!
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Sunseed is a good album too. Remember listening posts in record stores (heck, remember record stores?), that is where I first picked up on her. It was in our Jack Johnson phase and the recommend was “If you like Jack, you’ll like Hayley”. And we did. Waiting on number 3, hopefully soon.
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I’m enjoying Hayley much more than Jack. By the third album I was all Jacked out. Too repetitive.
Listening to Hayleys youtube playlist. There’s a bunch of good stuff there -slow and faster.
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What have you been listening to lately, you owe me one haha!
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Sadly, nothing has caught my ear lately. Got a bunch of bands I’ll be listening to tomorrow…
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To the Death!
No, to the Pain!
Totally dug the story Guap. Sincere, a taste of the unexpected, funny and all wrapped up in an amazingly small present.
Almost wrote small package. Too many variables on your potential reply.
Not familiar with the tune. Ooooh goody new music. Off to Youtube…to have fun storming the castle.
xxx
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I was so close to titling this “to the pain”, but didn’t think it would fit well enough.
Great minds!
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Remind me not to play chess with you… Thanks for the Hayley Sales song, hadn’t heard that before.
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Aw c’mon. It’s no fun if nobody bleeds.
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What did Sean Connery say? Never bring a knife to a checkers match?
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Oh, and thank John for the song. He also has a great travel blog.
http://joebeans2002.com/
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I will. Just popped over… his worldly travels make me angry.
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Only because the guy actually gets out there and does it, instead of reading National Geographic from his armchair.
Jerk.
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Sigh. Yeah, I know. Even worse, I read NG on-line.
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Looking forward to listening to that song on a computer that doesn’t need a flash upgrade… till then, nice 33 my friend. The picture reminded me of Sunday mornings in college, when my boyfriend and I would drink cafe mochas and play chess for a couple hrs with no worries except getting homework done later. Ah. Chess to the death would’ve been a nice variation. xx
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Nice how we used to spend free time when we had more of it.
I’ve played chess a few times on the stone tables in some NYC parks that have them. Always fun on a warm day.
Checkers to the death had that edge in silliness that I always try to brig to Trifecta.
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Wonderfully written and I cannot keep up with all your posts. You have gone mad, I tell ya…mad.
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I still have one more this week too.
(And it t has nudity!)
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Oh no!
(oh yes!)
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Gosh, Guap. Not even Calvin played Hobbes to the death in checkers. Maybe in chess, but not checkers!
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I don’t think Calvin and Hobbes had the nerve for full contact checkers.
Yeah, I said it.
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They were evolving to
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This story has the makings of a new Rocky franchise. Draughty? Perhaps. Loved it.
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Perhaps with Danny Devito as the checkers table?
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Nelly Olsson?
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Ok, now you’re just teasing me.
Whoah Nelly!
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I wish my English was better, because I don’t understand :(.
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Besides everything else in the picture, I zeroed in on the chessboard-like pattern of the tabletop. Then I saw the two women, and thought checkers match!
To the death!
(They take their checkers very seriously.)
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Aaaahhh… Now I understand. And that’s actually very original!
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People just don’t associate checkers with high stakes.
Well, normal people… 😉
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Hahaha :D.
I would too, but unfortunately my knowledge of English makes stuff like this just a bunch of words… Dammit.
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Spring is coming!
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Not soon enough….
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Nice tune … .so you played checkers with Maria Sharapova?
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I was inspired bu the Billie Jean King/Arthur Ashe closed cage checkers matches of the 70s.
I’d never seen so much blood at a piece crowning, before or after!
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Beautiful 33, my friend.
And yes, spring. Looms near.
Can we agree to disagree on Hayley Sales? And I love all music. Just. Not. This. sorry.
But I still love you!!
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I enter the trifectas wehn something gloriously ridiculous comes to mind.
Checkers to the death? Yeah, that qualifies.
If you prefer, I have some lovely Pink Floyd covers by bluegrass legends Luther Wright and the Wrongs.
(I kid you not.)
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Please kid me.
Because bluegrass might be the ONLY music I don’t love.
And I adore Pink Floyd. As you know.
I love most music. Music = Life. I can tell you feel the same way.
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I kid you not. Because the world is a strange, strange place.
Trust me though, it’s not near as bad as Pat Boone’s cover album, In A Metal Mood. (Which I am NOT linking.)
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Ooh, I did like that those 33 words. Plus, who could say no to checkers…
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Checkers seemed like such an innocent game when I was a kid…
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Haha…..I love when I can help inspire your genius!! Full contact checkers, anyone??
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That’s twice you dragged me into these.
I also love the other entries, and I’m glad there’s room for my style of odd in them.
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There will always be room for your style of odd!! 🙂
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I could hear the twang of guitar, smell the dust.
Love it, Guapo!
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Ha! That’s how I imagine the old west, with checker-slingers on every corner!
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Always learning something from you, El G….good things, good things.
Contact board games….who knew?
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I wonder how Twister Checkers would be… 😉
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I’m on it….stay tuned.
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You just upped the ante Mr G. Now we will have to find a burger joint that has checker boards.
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Actually, I know bars in both Vermont and Oregon that fit the bill!
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Road trip!
Or I’ll just check around the LES 😉
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Option B might be a better idea.
But road trip is always a choice!
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Death checkers!!
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Maybe with Jason Statham and Angelina Jolie.
(With Vin Diesel as Jason’s lover who he’s willing to give it all up for!)
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As long as there’s no real acting for the part, Diesel will be perfect for it.
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You’re so wonderfully sweet and eloquent. We both have our own gladiator battle story this week, don’t we? 😉
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I can’t imagine the carnage if all our gladiators collided!
hehehe…
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😉
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Love the 33-word story! Note to self: I really have to learn to be less verbose.
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I just wish I had more space. I could’ve made this story great in 46 words!!!
(nah, probably not.)
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🙂
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Nice writing, Guapo! Creative and tantalizing. I was thinking, Spin the Bottle Checkers! This would make the match that more interesting. 🙂
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Oh, but think of the casting potential for the miniseries!
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Excellent! “To the death” sounds rather ominous. 😯
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How else will else know that checkers is a serious business? 😉
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Is there any other way to play checkers?
I guess we could play “To the pain…”
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Nah, those are just the warmup rounds.
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“To The Pain” is the warmup rounds?
But… but… I was quoting “The Princess Bride.”
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That jerk Trent threw in Princes Bride earlier.
I was fumbling for a reply.
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Oh. I’m sorry. I missed it. Dang… I suck. *hangs head in shame*
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I do not that that word means what you think it means…
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That truly would be inconceivable.
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short and sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
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Well, short anyway. 😉
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ha
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What a beautiful song!
‘Cause I can always just pretend – Pain the picture and just jump in’
I just read a post by a young man who was explaining how music affects our state of mind, how we feel, think behave and perceive things.
This song makes me feel GREAT!
#EarthIsCrammedWithHeaven
ML
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*Paint
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I’m really getting a kick out of her album too.
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“tennis whites gave an air of nonchalance” sharp contrast to the “to the death” Nicely done
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The fans insists death-checkers competitors be impeccably dressed.
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Just purchased her album, When the bird became a book. $16.99 here 🙂
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Probably the same after the exchange rate.
Enjoy!
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🙂 Listening now!
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Excellent, indeed it is Trifecta with a capita; ‘T’ 🙂
Andro
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Thanks!
You just like the “to the death” part. 😉
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Yes how did you know? 🙂 lol
Andro
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Excellent story! I loved the idea of the battle. ♥
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Thanks so much! Oddly, that was the first thing that occurred to me.
(Sorry for the late response – you got hung up in spam.)
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I loved ‘to the death’. Checkers is not to be taken lightly. LM x
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Sometimes they play in the hot sun – for that extra layer of challenge!
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Can’t wait to see the ultimate checkers death-match in Sochi next week. Or is that a summer games sport?
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I think it’s an event at the Dade County Harley festival.
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Checkers to the death! I would be so screwed.
Love that song, it has been too long since I played “Pretend”.
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I hope you get a chance to play soon, SPP!
(Pretend, not Death Checkers.)
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A beautiful song by Ms. Sayles! Hadn’t heard it before, but the youtube link also took me to a sweet Elvis song of the same name which I hadn’t before heard, so that was nice.
Loved the flash fiction. The only thing I have to add here is a non-sequiter of sorts: checkers pre-dates chess. It’s obvious when you think about it, but for some reason checkers always seems newer to me.
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I’m surprised. I always thought checkers had a devious dignity that chess lacked.
Especially when performing a series of jumps that touch all four directions of the compass!
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This is a nice direction on this – I might have been more tempted to go with something along the lines of her studying for her big chess match later in the day!
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My mind went to chess first.
But since it’s my mind, it quickly veered to checkers.
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I love the tempo and humor in this flash. I didn’t expect the ending,
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Thanks! That’s the magic of checkers – it looks so innocent til it strikes.
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It inspired me to start writing flash again!
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That’s great! Looking forward to it!
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Oodles of posts and dozens of comments; how on earth do you keep up! Rachael (and several other witty folk) stole my response: To the pain! Really love this story El Guapo. In 33 words you really give us a lovely story to dream about. Nice job!
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The comments are where most PhD the fun happens!
(Please don’t dream about death checkers.) 😉
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Love how you interpreted the photo!
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I need to get some tennis whites. I could use an air of nonchalance — especially when playing Candyland! 😀
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Hilarious–a checkers death match definitely should’ve been included in the Hunger Games. Major oversight.
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I’m not sure even that could have brought me into the Hunger Games…
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haha great work
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Thanks so much!
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Checkers, huh? That’ not what I was thinking. ❤
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I bet your mind jumped to full contact Monopoly.
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Combat checkers! I am sure, if those tables could talk, the battlefield stories they could share. As for tennis whites……I am wearing tennis whites right now……..in the snow! It is what we do in Canada in winter. 🙂 Btw, I think this is a record of some sort for the farthest down a comment list I have had to go to find the comment box for this scintillating comment of mine. Well done, all around. Now, off I go to check out your music list. Always on the lookout for a good tune or two. 🙂
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Thanks Cobbie.
I’d love to know what you’re listening to also.
And I really need to update that page.
I’m writing this in Canada! Because nyc snow stopped my flight.
Meh.
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I love your MacBeth version of checkers. It’s a new appreciation kinda thing you spring. And speaking of . . . 51 days till? Normally, that wouldn’t seem so bad. But with the way things have been going, it feels more like years. Dog years.
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I’m in the middle of a snowfall in Montreal, and no one here seems to care that it’s freezing.
Crazy Canucks.
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Well then, it’s settled. The Canadians inherit the earth. At least until spring decides to get its lazy ass out of bed.
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48 days to go now, but I’m hoping it show up early.
Like next week.
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I don’t watch the Weather Channel for my 10 day forecast. Not when “The Day After Tomorrow” is way more accurate.
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I have played many a game of checkers to the death.
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Is there any other kind?
(I like to make my pieces from the spinal discs of my erstwhile opponents). 😉
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It’s like a modern-day duel. Were they playing for their reputations as well as their lives? (Wait, of course they were…) Love seeing you at Trifecta, Guapo!
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Wow, now I’m wondering if it was some sort of light vs dark battle for control of teh universe.
Checkers is apparently some serious stuff… 😉
Thanks!
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I loved the way you brought the reflection into the battle. Clever, as usual.
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Thanks so much. Once again, it was reading some great entries (especially polysyllabic profundities) that brought me into it.
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Wow! Great use of such few words! I really liked this!
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This was one of their challenges where I’d have killed someone for eight more words.
Maybe at a checkers match? 😉
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Haha! 33 words really isn’t very much. I don’t know if I could do it. I loved this though, truly.
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