Esther Chilton

I have to admit to having a very sweet tooth, though I’m disciplined and try to only have sweets and chocolate as a treat. One of my friends doesn’t like sweet things at all (I know! She must be completely mad!) but relishes savory foods. I like both, but sweet edges it every time. I can remember falling in love with Love Hearts, Refreshers, Tooty Frooties and Smarties. I also remember the days of the penny sweets. How about you? Which do you prefer –

SAVORY OR SWEET

You don’t have to share your personal preference; a poem might come to mind, or a short story.

I always enjoy seeing what you come up with if the prompt gives you inspiration, but there’s no obligation to share your writing. Here is the work you shared on the last prompt TEAM.

Joanne Rambling:

When I think of the word team, I do think of sports teams, even though I have zero interest in sport. Also if I had a team of any sort it would be known as, damn heard a noise out the front got up to see what it was, turned out to be the garbo collecting the recycle bin to be emptied, No I forgot what my team would be called, maybe we would be the forgetful team but my sisters are the same as me and also would forget something if distracted.

My Mind Mappings:

“I don’t think your approach will work,” Jason said. “There are too many potential pitfalls and the risks are too great.”

“You don’t think?” Carl, the team captain, said. “Who the hell do you think you are, Jason?”

“I am a member in good standing of this team,” Jason responded. “I have been a member almost as long as you have and I think we need to reconsider what you are proposing or we’re going to fail.”

“I, I, I,“ Carl said. “Don’t you know that there is no ‘i’ in team?”

“It sounds like you’re the ‘i’ in this team since you’re the one who unilaterally came up with the plan,” Jason said. “How about we put it to a vote?”

“Look, I am the team captain and I get to make the final decision,” Carl said. “If you don’t like it, you can quit the team.”

“There may not be an ‘i’ in the spelling of team, but there is a very dominating ‘e’ in the spelling of this team, and it stand for Carl’s ego,” Jason said. “Good luck, guys. I quit and I sincerely hope that Carl isn’t leading the rest of you right off a steep cliff.”

Teleportingweena:

All the people thought it would seem

That they had the winning-est team

But when down to the wire

They were proved a liar

When the other team just had more steam.

Life’s Lessons:

Poor Sport

I’ve never climbed a mountain.
I don’t dive in the sea.
Team sports are simply pastimes
that don’t agree with me.

I cannot bat or pitch or catch.
A baseball skill I lack;
and when I tried at tetherball,
it hit me in the back.

I flinched and ducked, then stood back up,
tried once more for the ball;
but when I missed, got hit again
and took another fall.

I ski a lot upon my back
and when I swim I sink.
The water I can handle well
is in my kitchen sink.

In grade school when we played those games
involving run and chase,
I was the last one chosen;
for I never won a race.

I did not shine at tennis,
nor at volleyball.
When it comes to doing sport,
I find I’ve flunked them all.

Bowling, golf and badminton,
croquet and racquetballing
are talents I just don’t possess.
They simply aren’t my calling.

I fear I lack the focus
to hit balls with stick or hand.
To me, it’s hocus-pocus.
I’d rather join the band.

In games that take sports prowess,
my teammates rave and rant
that I do not play kick-the-can,
but rather, kick-I-can’t.

Some people lacking talent,
coordination, speed—
simply choose spectator sports
to fill their sportly need.

But I don’t like watching football,
your soccer or your hockey;
and when it comes to horse racing,
I neither bet nor jockey.

I admit, at sports I am
the worst you’ve ever seen.
So stop expecting more of me.
I simply lack the gene!!

Tessa:

We had teams where I worked. We didn’t start that way. We had a supervisor who ran everything. Then, they came up with the idea of teams. They divided us into around six teams and divided all the machines into areas, and each team would be assigned to an area for a week. We would be responsible for assigning workers to a machine in our area. We had to set up our breaks and lunches. There was a different leader each day, so everyone got a chance to decide whether they wanted it or not.

My team didn’t get along, and whoever was the leader that day had to settle the fights. When it was my time, I could have assigned one of the others to work with the one girl no one liked, but instead, I assigned her to me. She was mad as all get out and went to the supervisor complaining. He came to me and asked me why I didn’t just assign her to someone else, but I told him that wasn’t fair to them and so I would take my turn whether she liked it or not. He respected my wishes as the team leader and the whole thing worked out great. We ended up friends after that. I was pretty smart, if I say so myself.

Pensitivity101:

Teamwork is paramount.
You’re either part of the team, or on your own.
Team spirit is a must.

Sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it.
I had all of these thrown at me at job interviews.
My answers?

I understand and am looking forward to doing my part.
Yep, I can work as a member of the team.
I get along well with my work colleagues.

Did it get me a job?
No, but telling a kid’s joke did.

Peter Bouchier:

Thursday afternoon
with three ladies and a man
very nice

stuffy heat
fan finds its turn
cool merriment

*

Thursday afternoon
with three ladies and a man
having a good time

in the steaming heat
the wind fan does a great job
blowing cares away

*

Three ladies, a man’s
donnerstay on the afternoon
with fun and froh

It is much more warm
than the fan
cools the heat

*

Three women and a man
who plays après-midi
are very comfortable

It fait bien trop chaud
vive le ventilateur
tourne-sol moderne

*

Tongues in the middle of
three women and a man
that is very necessary

It’s proud to be able to do it
with the fan

Wilfred Leahy:

She lay in the long grass waiting for her team to fly into the compound. Hearing the chopper getting closer she took aim with the sniper’s rifle. She fired the first shot at the lookout. He fell dead off the wall. The team were soon inside fighting their way to the hostages. It only took a few seconds to withdraw with the hostages. When she saw the chopper fly out of the compound she slipped away unseen. When she was clear she thought that’s my team.

Lisa A Paul:

Making the Team

Eliza was a small girl at eleven years old. Her peers were as tall or taller than their mothers, while she felt barely tall enough to get on the fun rides at the amusement parks. She was also a little shy and not very confident, had plain brown hair and average features. Eliza was an B student even though she always studied. She was easy to overlook and was always underestimated.

Eliza did have some friends, and she was grateful for them. Her friends lived on the other side of town from her, and she rarely got to see them outside of school. But Annie, Gale, Cooper and Eliza were good friends and had a lot of fun together when they could.

Walking down the hall at school, Cooper stopped and faced their little group. “Who is going to be at basketball tryouts tonight?” she asked, tossing her red hair back. Everyone responded at once in the affirmative. Eliza smiled and shook her head up and down. Her friends smiled back at her, but they were all a head or more taller than Eliza, and weren’t sure if she would make the cut to be on the team with them this year.

Annie said what they were all thinking, “I really hope we can play together again this year. We had a blast last year! And I want us to annihilate those East-siders.” They all shouted and laughed and made their way out to the locker room to get ready for try-outs.

Gale, who was the best player in their school, was boisterous and excited. She gave each girl a high five and spoke words of encouragement. Before they went out onto the gym, they gave each other a hug. Eliza was nervous but ready.

In Indiana, basketball is everything. Watching the professional teams, the local college teams on television and in person and going to the high school basketball games was sacred; second only to going to church. The best players were heroes and champions, revered and respected by everyone.

The coach got the girls out and into the warm ups. They formed two lines, one line approached the goal to make a basket, while the other line caught the rebound and bounced the ball to the next person in the first line. After a girl took her turn, she went into the opposite line. Eliza was happy with her performance. She made 3 goals out of 4 attempts. Next, they lined up at the free throw line and tried to make a free throw basket. Eliza was at a disadvantage because of her stature, but she did make one free throw. She was happy. The girls dribbled down the court, tried for a lay up, got the rebound and dribbled back down to the next girl. Eliza was holding her own.

Then the coach divided them into two teams so they could play a game. Eliza’s friends, Annie, Cooper and Gale were all on one team and Eliza was on another. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She was going to show them all.

No one knew that Eliza had been on a mission. She knew that while she may be small, she was strong and fast. She had a concrete driveway with a basketball goal over her garage. Every day, in every spare moment, she had been practicing. She practiced shooting, lay ups, dribbling and doing some elaborate moves with the ball. Every day, over and over, she worked. She was so obsessed that when her parents wanted to punish her for some small infraction, they would tell her she couldn’t practice that day. That wounded her more than anything else could.

Now the moment had come that she had been working so hard towards. The coach put one girl from each team in the center of the court and tossed the ball up. Gale tipped the ball and sent it over to Annie, who was pounding down the court toward the goal. Eliza knew Annie would throw the ball back to Gale, who would go for a basket. As the ball sailed from Annie’s hands, Eliza made a steal and grabbed the ball, heading down the court in the opposite direction. When she got to the other half of the court, Eliza slowed down. The other team was around her, and the girl guarding Eliza had her arms up and all around, making it impossible for Eliza to pass the ball safely. Eliza smiled to herself and got to work, dribbling the ball through her legs and doing behind the back dribble, then switched to a Euro-step, tricking the guard into thinking she was going one way when she really went another way. Eliza was able to pass the ball to a teammate and they scored. Eliza watched her friend’s faces, first looking shocked, then whooping in happiness for her. The power and control she had exhibited was like nothing any of them had been able to master yet.

Eliza made the team. She and her friends had a wonderful season, and went on to play together for many years. She never let up on her practices and used the drive and success she achieved to inspire her in many areas of her life.

Roberta Writes:

I am not much of a team player. I have had some very bad experiences where my hard work and creative solutions have been accredited to more senior people on my so called team. I’ve also had situations where the team doesn’t listen and a crisis results. These situations have left a bad taste in my mouth and now I prefer to run my own processes with as little involvement from other people as possible.

No Team

There is no I in teamwork, so they say

My experience defies this simplistic view

There is always an I who leads the way

The one who takes control

Does most of the hard work

Burns the midnight oil

This is the same one who gets

To share the recognition and rewards

With the rest of the team

There is no team in

Taking the initiative

Or getting things done

But there are numerous I’s

***