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    • My Neighbor

      • A car door at midnight,
        A dog bark at passing strangers,
        I wake up to the gentle sound of water
        and whistling.
        Always awake and active in
        the depths of the motionless
        street night.
        The helpmate of a boring, sleepy neighborhood.
        The memories of sleepovers past
        before college came.

      • answered by laurenrobbins on 07/31/2010
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    • Nice and Toast-y

      • french toast ♥

        Well, this is hard to answer since, naturally, our taste buds are constantly changing and I find that the comfort food that I loved a while ago doesn't apply today. (But I must say that when times are particularly tough, mashed potatoes and gravy always does the trick).

        However, I would have to say that the combination of tea and toast just can't be beat. While I was in the UK, I listened to a whole radio show devoted to toast where people could call in and discuss it(this was a joke, of course...I think). But there is nothing like a nice cup of milky tea--preferably chai or a nice cup of Oolong--and some nice crispy toast with apricot or rasberry jam. And the crisper the toast, the more comforting the food.

      • answered by laurenrobbins on 07/28/2010
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    • A Chase in Alaska

      • Svalbard, tundra landscape

        The tundra was cold and desolate. As the cops looked across the barren field, they noticed that there were no houses or buildings in sight. Nothing but snow and the occasional shrub. The endless sky was already beginning to darken.
        "I think we lost him," one of the cops remarked dryly. She brushed some snow off of her special issue uniform. As an animal rights activist, nothing but synthetic fur would do. Her partner looked at her incredulously.
        "How'd we lose him? There's nothing here for miles!"
        "Beats me. I wasn't the one who fled the scene. Now I guess we're lost, thanks to your clever pursuit." The sarcasm was lost on the second cop, however. He went back to the squad car and looked around. There was, indeed, no sign of the road they had left nearly a half hour ago. He started to miserably hunch back into the driver's seat.
        "Oh no," the other cop started for the car, "I'm driving this time. Back to the station."
        "But he couldn't have gotten far," he protested.
        "In a white car? At dusk? In the middle of the tundra?"
        The car was white, he had to admit. And not a grungy white either, like the car had been around the block a couple of times. No, it was a white as pure as the driven snow, like it had just been driven out of the dealers'. Probably hot, he thought to himself. He couldn't remember seeing the license plate. But, he reflected as he grudgingly scooted over to the passenger's side, even combining the two crimes it wasn't worth pursuit at night. It had been ages since they had seen a gas station. In fact, when was the last time he had filled the tank up?
        The car gave a few grumbles as she tried to start the engine.
        "Not working?" he asked.
        "No..." the other cop answered absently. Then she caught a glance at the fuel gauge. "We're out of gas! I thought you were going to fill this up."
        "I thought you were. You said you were going to the convenience store so I just thought..."
        "Not the store at the gas station!"
        "Phone the station. They could send over a truck."
        The other cop nodded as she picked up the handset. "This is car 14 requesting assistance. We're out of gas, over."
        A static-filled voice answered on the other side. "What's your position?"
        The cop in the passenger side turned on the gps, scrutinizing the small, glowing screen carefully "Uh..." The other cop leaned over his shoulder.
        "We're in Canada?! We just crossed the boarder! He's way out of our jurisdiction now!"
        "Assistance might take a while," the static voice at the station replied. "If you see a polar bear, try to keep a low profile, over."
        The cop in the driver's seat pulled on her heavier jacket, "That's not funny."

      • answered by laurenrobbins on 07/17/2010
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    • Lunchtime disaster

      • Sure, she remembered that you weren't supposed to put metal in a microwave. That was easy to remember. Yet, as she sat with her head cradled in her hand the last class before lunch, she debated about tin foil. Tin foil was technically a metal, yes, but she thought that if she watched it very carefully, it might be okay. It wasn't like she was putting a metal bowl in. And there was no more saran wrap left in the house while she was packing her lunch that morning. She had had to use tin foil instead.

        When she got down to the school kitchen, the usual crowd was there, the people who brought food that needed to be microwaved. It was a pleasant industrial kitchen with a foggy window that just barely looked out onto the street a floor above. And through the bustling of the students crowding around, trying to get to the appliances first, there would be the occasional textbook, notebook, or (better yet) non-school book that she could gaze at while waiting for her lunch.

        And that day was no exception. While her eagle eye followed the food dimly outlined in the microwave, her attention wandered for just a moment to gaze at a student's copy of Charles Dickens' ghost story. The next moment, her attention was back on the microwave. Her eyes widened. Was that a spark? And there was another one! Quickly, she pressed the off button hoping that it wasn't too late and (more importantly) that no one else saw.

      • answered by laurenrobbins on 07/11/2010
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    • Dreaming of the Arctic

      • Aurora Borealis, the colored lights seen in the skies around the North Pole, the Northern Lights, from Bear Lake, Alaska, Beautiful Christmas Scene, Winter Star Filled Skies, Scenic Nature

        While I would usually answer this question with "any warm place" I am less inclined to do so during this tremendous heat wave we're having right now. So, to think cool thoughts, my dream vacation would be northern canada or Alaska--To trek through the snow all bundled up, see the gigantic polar bears, the clever penguins, the seals with liquid black eyes, and especially the aurora borealis.

        I have always wanted to see the northern lights and (to anyone wanting to make it a real vacation as opposed to a dream vacation) this is a good year to take the trip. According to Discover magazine, the solar rays are more active this year causing your chances of seeing the northern lights to increase.

        And there would be something magical about standing in the middle of a frozen lake looking up at the sky with no sound except for the mysterious crackling and whistling of the aurora borealis.

      • answered by laurenrobbins on 07/08/2010
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