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He Had Nothing Of His Own - @Studio30Plus Writing Prompt


He thought long and hard about the best way to handle things. The impersonal stuff would be simple enough to deal with. A garage sale, perhaps. He could list the larger items on eBay,

But the items that meant the most to him he wanted to leave to family and friends. His car he'd leave to his son. His record collection to his music-loving brother. His books to a good friend who loved to read almost as much as he did.

The list was long but that was okay. In his hospital bed he really wasn't pressed by other things to do.

After he'd gotten over his initial shock of the news from his specialist he was now actually happy to know roughly how long he'd have to put his affairs in order.

Just like his life. He was what some would call a neat freak. His wife would jokingly say he had OCD. His view, however, was order in his life resulted in order in his mind. And so his motto had been 'a place for everything and everything in its place'. And now it had come to the point where new places must be found for everything...before it was too late.

A week later he passed on. His tearful wife confided in friends "He knew he couldn't take it with him. He was a neat freak to the end. When he slipped this mortal coil, he had nothing of his own to hold him back".

Comments

Cheryl said…
This is a stunning piece of writing, John.
nonamedufus said…
Well, thanks. Cheryl. I found this prompt difficult to get into. Glad you liked it.
Jayne said…
Wonderful, John.
Katy B. said…
"When he slipped this mortal coil" sounds so much better than the dreaded "passed away." Thanks for that one!
nonamedufus said…
It was Shakespeare who said shuffle off this mortal coil in To Be or Not To Be from Hamlet.
nonamedufus said…
Gee, I guess I'm better at this than I thought.
ReformingGeek said…
Nice job! When my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law did not want to use the term "passed away" when she called the rest of the family. She just wanted to say "he died" which to most people is a bit blunt. Anyway, if only she had thought of mortal coil, those phone calls would have been so much more entertaining.
nonamedufus said…
Then your relatives would have loved Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch:
'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies!
'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig!
'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!

THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
Katy B. said…
Very cool!
Kir said…
even in death he found freedom, what a wonderful way to go.
Loved every word. (and the Hamlet reference, because Hamlet is a favorite of mine)
ReformingGeek said…
Hee Hee. Good ol' Monty Python!
nonamedufus said…
Yeah, I guess modern day writers lean heavily upon what past writers have created.
nonamedufus said…
They certainly had a way with words!
nonamedufus said…
Thinks, Kir. It was rough going getting started but once I did this story kind of fell together.
Tara R. said…
I really like how you used this prompt, very positive and uplifting.
nonamedufus said…
Well, thank you and to think I struggled at the outset of this piece.
Tessa said…
Very well-written!
nonamedufus said…
Thank you Tessa.
Joe said…
"Everyone should be so organized." - [Maris], admiringly

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