"Do you have a mantra, Alf?" asked Jim.
"A flamin' what?" said Alf. He turned from looking at the girls playing pool in the corner of the bar, to face his mate.
"A mantra. Something you repeat, to give you strength. To direct your life, and concentrate your energy."
Alf thought about this for a moment, then held up his glass. "Beer," he said, then drained the glass.
"Flamin' what?"
"Beer," said Alf wiping his mouth. "That's what I say, when I'm tired, and need to concentrate, to get through the day."
"Beer isn't a mantra, Alf."
"Why not?"
"It's just a word. It's a drink. It's a beautiful thing, for sure, but it ain't a mantra. A mantra is a phrase that you repeat again, and again. And again."
"But I do."
"You do what?"
"I repeat it," said Alf. "again, and again. I say to myself, 'Beer, beer, beer, beer.' Just quietly, right, but it's fantastic. It really helps me... concentrate my energy."
"You're a Philistine, Alf."
"Thanks Jim. You're a good bloke too. Now, I think it's your shout."
This has been a Sunday Scribblings response to No. 217 (Mantra).
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All content on this blog is copyright (c) Bernard S. Jansen. If you want to use something, ask (surgebin@gmail.com).
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Surge Bin is filled up mostly with my writing, and partly with my writing about my writing.
My writing is fiction, mostly. I believe fiction should be truthful. Not factual: that's non-fiction. Truthful fiction has true themes, true descriptions, and true characters. When you read it, you say, "Wow: that's true." I'm not saying I achieve this, but I do try.
My writing is fiction, mostly. I believe fiction should be truthful. Not factual: that's non-fiction. Truthful fiction has true themes, true descriptions, and true characters. When you read it, you say, "Wow: that's true." I'm not saying I achieve this, but I do try.
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All content on this blog is copyright (c) Bernard S. Jansen. If you want to use something, ask (surgebin@gmail.com).
3 comments:
You are so good with dialogue. I felt like I was sitting in the next booth grinning into my own beer.
Very good. This can surely be a mantra.
:)
It just goes to show that to each his own. Now "beer" may not be everyone's mantra but if it works, why not? Let's hope the Alfs in this world are not let down in the end with their false gods!
P.S. However I did have a good laugh!
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