I am so pleased and honored to have my drive by snapshot of Notre Dame picked for this week’s Friday Fictioneers prompt.
Thank you Rochelle for accepting it and my very good friend ceayr for suggesting that I submit it for consideration.
The Crayfish
There is never enough time in Paris, she says, as Notre-Dame slides slowly by.
We are watching it in the morning’s retreating storm, a glorious light show…
She silently checks her phone, then looks at the cathedral again.
Built in the 1200s? Amazing …
I nod. She heard me ramble on about history for days now.
Look at this, mom, she grins.
She shows me a close up of the crayfish carved on an archivolt on one of its doors.
That anonymous stone worker shared a piece of his everyday life …
Convenient fast food in plastic containers is our daily bread…
What are we leaving behind?
A drive-by picture of Notre Dame, Emm….. Silly me…, I thought you meant Notre Dame du Lac, the Golden Dome, and the “Fighting Irish”.. Hahahahahaha !!!!!!!!!!! As they would have it, that’s the only Notre Dame that exists in the world. I find the original just as beautiful. 🙂
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I’m just shaking my head here Paul! 🙂
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Thanks for the great picture that helped us create so many good stories this week, Emmy. I’ve never been to Paris so I’ve never seen Notre Dame from any viewpoint but the classic one. Good story. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thank you Suzanne. I am glad you liked them both. The cathedral was much better defined when I saw it than it looks on the photo, but that’s what we do, isn’t it? See what we want to see?
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Oh thank you so much for the picture…I wonder what our legacy will be.. The image was very poetic which why I decided not to write poetry.
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Thank you. Poetry is in the eye of the beholder 😉
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Or a poet sees poetry everywhere.
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Isn’t it?
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A mark of a good piece of fiction, in my mind, keeps you thinking once you’ve read the last line. Yours did exactly that!
Thank you for the inspiring photo too, I love the tone.
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Thank you Cheryl I really appreciate your very thoughtful comment and I am thrilled that the story/question stayed with you a while. How we want to be remembered and what we leave behind are closely related….
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I totally agree, sorry for the late reply, but it did mean I had the chance to read your story again 🙂
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I think a comment is like a thank you, never too late to say it😄
Thanks for revisiting Cheryl
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Great and unusual image – very moody – and awesome flash fiction! Love the ending – very reflective – thoughts after the storm 😉
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Glad you liked both, thank you.
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I add my thanks for the inspiring picture. And I love the story, the interaction between mother and daughter is lovely and sounds true. Good question in the end, I’m squirming too. What indeed. Nuclear waste and rubble…
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Thank you so much, you are very kind.
It doesn’t look good for us right now, but perhaps a radical shift in our thinking will bring change for the better. One can hope.
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This very much reminded me (in a good way) of the mother and daughter in Ali Smith’s How to be Both.
And great photo by the way.
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I must confess my ignorance of the work you mention:-( but thank you.
Glad the photo inspired your story, a very good read!
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Thanks for the photo. I liked your insightful thought about our generation’s legacy.
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I am glad the photo inspired you. I was really looking at the play of clouds and light behind Notre Dame when I took the snapshot. It wasn’t until later that I saw the waste bin in the foreground! .
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I totally agree with Rochelle about the juxtaposition of ancient and modern history. Thanks for a delightfully inspiring picture.
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Thank you Alicia. I am glad you found it inspiring.
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Posed an interesting questions. Nicely written.
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I think that when we don’t like what we see we have to ask questions. Sometimes a good question deserves a thoughtful answer. I don’t pretend to have the right one.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. It’s much appreciated.
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Dear Emmy,
I loved your post and the photo. I wonder what people will be eating 800 years from now? I doubt today’s architecture will withstand the test of time the way Notre Dame has.
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There was a story last week on FF about pills being ‘le plat du jour’; everything you need but nothing like fruits…or chocolate mousse for that matter!…
Dismal thought, hey?
Since concrete starts to decay after less than a hundred years, it leaves room for glass and steel? We can ponder.
Glad you liked the photo and the post. Thank you.
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Nice bit of commentary on modern times, and thanks for the great picture!
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Glad you liked both and thank you for commenting
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Great picture and very thoughtful and thought provoking piece. Thank-you
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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I am glad you enjoyed the piece.
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A beautiful photo, and a profoundly thought provoking piece to go with it. Well done, Emmy, on both counts
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Aww shucks Sandra! From the master the compliment makes me glow!
Thank you so much.
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A glorious question, what do we leave behind.
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My ever hungry muse thanks you for a very inspirational photo. I think there will be meaningful things that will witness the greatness of our times, too. We are just too overwhelmed by junk to see it. Nicely done, I love mother/daughter relationship.
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As I said below, sometimes it’s just about showing up! I point and shoot and voila!
As for our legacy, time will tell. In the meantime, it can’t hurt to lighten our foot prints and keep life simple.. I am glad you enjoyed that little bit of dialog. Thank you for your kind words.
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What indeed? Beautifully done.
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Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.
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Gentle, subtle and thought-provoking.
I suspect that most of us shudder when we answer your question, Em.
Always a delight to read your rare offerings here.
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Thank you mon ami.
It’s a short question with a broad spectrum and variable answers.
I squirm too. How do we not?
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Dear Emmy,
I like the way you set modern life against classic history. Nice juxtaposition. I hope they dispose of the plastic containers properly. 😉 Thank you for a lovely picture. It brought out my latent poet.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you Rochelle. You know, I always enjoy the plays of juxtaposition, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed your poetry this week.
Some pictures just take themselves when you point and shoot! That was a lucky shot.
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