Saturday Wordzzle Challenge: Week 71

This is week 71 of the Saturday Wordzzle challenge. Anyone new to the process can refer back here to find out how it works. I thought this was a really tough set of words and I'm not too thrilled with what my brained spewed out for next week either, but... Looking forward to reading what you all have come up with. I just love the variety and creativity of everyone who plays and what a wide range of directions the words take us to.

The words for this week's ten word challenge were: sober, spoilage, knight, laugh and the world laughs with you, peak, blueberries, owl, drugstore, lampshade, keyboard For the mini challenge: economy, Michael Jackson, ladder, clue, structure

My offering for the 10-word challenge:

Sometimes I think life would be easier if I wasn't sober, but I know that's not true. The spoilage of alcoholism runs deep and wide and destroys not only your own life but hurts everyone around you. I was lucky that I found my knight in shining armor who swooped me up and helped me heal before I came a lampshade on the head drunk. He was - well he still is - a pharmacist at the local drugstore. His name's Powell and for some reason I started calling him Powell the Owl... I think because he always said "who's next?" in a way that made me smile. My drinking was moving towards that peak - or maybe chasm - from which it's hard to return, but my wise owl - maybe it was his wisdom that made me call him Owl - helped me to see myself as worthy of better. He gave me his love but better than that, he taught me to love who I am. "Laugh and the world laughs with you," he always says, "but better yet, laugh and you lift your own heart. That and a box of blueberry tarts are the key to happiness." He plays a mean keyboard too... and he got me to sing... which is how I make my living now. How can you not love a man like that?

For the mini:

It's a strange commentary on our society that poor Michael Jackson dies and becomes the only news. Forget the economy, forget the goings on in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan... Dozens of people who haven't a clue, really, sit and gossip, try to create a structure of truth out of speculation and rumor and pure nonsense. It's sad really, the alternation between meanness and adulation, the hyperbole. A death called "mysterious," when it was really just unexpected. They build a ladder out of all the ugly half truths, lies, facts and opinions and pretend or convince themselves they have climbed somewhere. For me - whether I'm right or wrong - my instincts say that Mr. Jackson was an eccentric genius and a profound and wounded innocent who was easy prey for the more heartless and manipulative souls in our society. One thing that makes me think I'm right is just how very much those who really knew him loved him. Whatever the truth of who he was, hopefully he is at peace now. Poor Farrah Fawcett (this is for Mommy Wizdom), another eccentric often tormented by the media... was either unfortunate or lucky enough to die in the shadow of Mr. Jackson. Probably she was lucky not to be given our media's idea of a eulogy. May she too rest in peace.

My maxi:

"Laugh and the world laughs with you," my knight in shining armor always says with such sober seriousness that he makes me laugh in spite of myself. George is a physicist by profession, studying the structure of the atom., but an expert on everything from the economy, to decorating (his specialty is lampshades), to comparative pricing at all the local drugstores, the comparative virtues of different computer keyboards based on their structure and ergonomic virtues... The list goes on and on. There is nothing that George doesn't know. Really. The range of his expertise is phenomenal. He can quote the lyrics from every Michael Jackson song, everything that Joni Mitchell ever penned and... well, that list goes on and on too. He's like a living encyclopedia. But with charm. He's also a birder. He can name any bird he sees and not just in general. He knows every species and sub-species of owl and hawk and he can tell you their habits, habitats, mating habits, and calls. He's a genius on every subject. But amazingly, he's not a bore. He's fun and full of the joy of love and living. He makes time for me and the kids and even though he always wins at Clue and Trivial Pursuit, he does so with such good grace that I can't really be as annoyed as I'd like to be about losing. The only game I ever saw him lose was Chutes and Ladders and I'm not sure he didn't do that on purpose because he wanted the kids to feel good about themselves. Oddly, the only thing that makes my George cranky is grocery stores. He gets livid when there's what he considers unnecessary or unacceptable spoilage. This irritation peaks for some reason on the subject of spoiled blueberries, his favorite food in the whole world. This year, we are growing our own. Given George's penchant for excellence, I'm sure they will be the size of grapes and sweet perfection... just like my sweet, loveable husband.

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Next Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: corn pone, delegation, nectarines, happiness, 12 going on 13, prancing horses, magenta, butterflies, fragmentary, arthritis

For the mini challenge: lavender cowboy, over the moon, preparation, zebra, area rug

Thanks for playing. For those who are new, here are some guidelines to make the process more fun.

Enjoy! See you next week.

DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR NAME TO MR. LINKY!!!!!