Flash Fiction Challenge: Sign.

Remember this shot? Doesn’t matter, I will explain soon enough. You see, I am taking part in a fun “flash fiction” project thanks to the terrific website “The Carrot Ranch Literary Community”. You can see them here:

https://carrotranch.com

Their latest challenge is to write 99 words, with your prompt being the word :sign.” The rest is up to you.

My blogging friend Ritu Bhathal shared this on her blog, and she wrote a terrific 99 words which you can see here, at her great blog “Where I Smile Anyway”:

https://butismileanyway.com

I figured I would give it a try, and will explain why afterward.

Here you go: 99 words.

Story Title: The Thing.

He noticed the sign for the first time just a few miles from “The Thing.” The billboard was gaudy; it showed a diminutive character with a large top hat and a shocked expression and asked “can you handle the shocking surprise of “The Thing?” He was hooked. When he saw the roadside attraction, he pulled over and fished in his pocket for the $1 entrance fee. As he entered the musty building, his final destination was the last thing on his mind. Perhaps the money would be there, perhaps not. It was only $1-million, so it almost didn’t matter.

Let me know what you think. For those who follow this blog, you know what inspired me – this sign:

Yes, when I drove from Los Angeles to Atlanta with my son last summer, we saw this sign along Interstate 10 in Arizona for hours on end – almost taunting us to dare to drive by without stopping:

Naturally, we had to stop! Click here to see the “shocking surprise” of “The Thing”:

https://johnrieber.com/2018/07/12/what-is-the-thing-the-shocking-mystery-of-arizonas-desert-is-revealed-here-my-road-trip-across-america-pt-2/

Of course, we had to buy a souvenir mug and T-shirt as well:

Let me know what you think of “The Thing!”

Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Uncategorized

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