I signed up for a fabric designing tutorial recently and the woman who authors the website and videos (Bonnie Christine) offered her readers a free gift – a printable pdf of daily art prompts for the entire year. This morning I decided to mull through it and I thought it would be fun to combine a few of the prompts to create something fun.
In the meantime, I realized that today’s #bloganuary prompt fit in well with my humorous theme: What brings you joy in life?
There are many things that bring me joy, but laughter wins the prize because it’s like a secret weapon. When I was struggling – feeling down and out and completely lost – my friend Gil would always be there, ready to respond to my text messages, and somehow he always managed to make me smile and laugh.
It wasn’t that the laughter removed any hardships that I was experiencing, and it wasn’t like I was trying to pretend that the difficulties weren’t real, it was more about the valuable lesson that I was learning… that hard times and laughter can coexist. And that laughter helps us keep plowing through.
Of course, we also need friends like Gil who take the time to be there for us – and actually make us laugh – so I’d have to say that friendship is right up there as well… tied for first place.
So, the art prompts I chose today were Unicorn, Storefront, and Sale Banner. I thought they made for a funny combo. I’ll tell you one thing though, illustrating a unicorn is no walk in the park. And by the look of things… he better skedaddle quickly before someone snatches his horn!
That’s about all for now. Thanks for reading or checking out my illustration!
We were spinning our wheels – getting absolutely nowhere in the case – when some startling information came to light. It appeared that Ms. Maddie had, in fact, had some unsavory relationships with younger men.
It wasn’t any of the underage boys at the high school, mind you, but Ms. Maddie had a habit of maintaining contact with certain students, similar to how she had with Bodhi, and now and then – and some years later – these interactions would lead to romantic interludes. When the boys were of age, of course.
The validity of the rumor was discovered, quite accidentally, when I ran into one of Ms. Maddie’s former students at the local university – a girl named Livia. I dare say, I’d never met a girl quite like her, either.
She introduced herself to me as the captain of the gymnastics team. It struck me, hours after our encounter, as to how appropriate the term “captain” was for Livia – she had the mouth of a sailor.
I had no intention of interviewing Livia. I was at the university to talk to a friend of Ms. Maddie’s, and had simply ducked into the college gymnasium to eat my bagged lunch in the coolness of the air conditioning.
I’m not certain how she knew who I was, but as she practiced gymnastics and contorted her body, Livia started talking.
“So, did you find out what happened to that S:#@?”
“Excuse me?” I said, taken by surprise.
“I said… did you find out what happened to that S:#@?”
I had heard her the first time, apparently she didn’t get that. I just stared at Livia, with her elbows on the wood floor, and her legs high in the air. How she managed to stay motionless I have no idea.
“She F*$!@# my boyfriend, you know.”
“Oh?” I said.
“Yeah. I knew something was going on! But he kept denying it so I got into his phone a couple weeks ago and saw their texts. Oh. My. God.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“I couldn’t F*$!@# believe it!” she said. “I took screenshots and then I told him to go to Hell. Then I texted that B:#@ and told her what a S:#@ she was.”
Livia came down from her odd pose and walked to where I was sitting. A small drop of sweat dropped from the end of her nose and she grabbed a bag that was near my feet. She threw it around her shoulder and turned, swaying her hips – rather dramatically – as she made her way to the locker room.
My lunch was finished, and I had two new suspects on a platter.
TO BE CONTINUED (PERHAPS)
First of all, I really entertained myself writing this one. I just told my dear friend “Z” the other day that I thought about starting a second blog so that I didn’t feel guilty cussing in my stories.
I know that sounds lame, but I’ve spent almost 6 years here and that’s never been my style on this particular blog – so it just feels weird.
I thought it was more fun to use the symbols anyway, because it’s easy to fill in the blanks. Plus… I’m imagining that the somewhat inept detective wrote the story… and I think that he would censor or redact the tale. Ha-ha! Poor guy.
Anyway, I’m not sure how long this one will go on. It’s starting to wear on me. That being said, if I’m unable to come up with the perfect ending soon I may just move to next and let this one stew.
I also forgot the word of the day, but Oh Well. The image was pretty simple since it’s all lines and curves, so it was enjoyable and relaxing to make. I’m going to make more like this in the near future… with fancy effects perhaps.
The search of Ms. Maddie’s studio gave the investigative team little to go on, other than the identity of her jealous ex-boyfriend; Mr. Vito Cappelletti. Photographs of the couple were found on the credenza, and a small box of unopened letters from Mr. Cappelletti sat in the entryway.
The letters that he had written to Ms. Maddie displayed emotional inconsistencies – from “You’re the only one I’ll ever love my darling,” with pleas for their reconciliation, to anger and threats, such as “You’ll be sorry you witch.” There were certainly signs of narcissism – and motive.
Vito owned Mamma Mia’s, a newer restaurant on the east side, and that’s where we met for my investigative interview. The large dining area had a romantic atmosphere – the only lighting in the room appeared to be the candles on each table, and soft Italian music played from small speakers that were hung high on the walls.
It was early in the day, long before opening time, and Vito sat alone at one of the tables near the bar. My body grew tense as I approached him. The Cappelletti name was well known in Jersey – for their involvement in ‘wise guy’ activity – and I’d never had dealings with these types in my small coastal town.
Vito smiled warmly and waved me over in a welcoming fashion, making me feel much more at ease. As soon as I sat down, a large older woman appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. Vito introduced her as “Mrs. Cappelletti,” – Vito’s mother.
“You want to eat?” She asked.
I told her no thank you, and turned to talk to Vito.
“You look hungry,” Mrs. Cappelletti interrupted. “Let me get you some macaroni and gravy.”
“No thank you. I just ate this morning.” I said reassuringly.
She vanished into the kitchen, and Vito and I talked for several minutes. He seemed shocked to hear of Ms. Maddie’s disappearance, and he had been out of the country on the day she’d gone missing. He showed me his stamped passport, and travel itinerary that was on his phone.
I was about to bring up the letters when Mrs. Cappelletti came rushing back from the kitchen – a bowl of hot food in her hands.
“Here! Eat!” she smiled. “I made you macaroni and gravy.”
“No, no, I already ate.” I insisted.
Vito smiled and gave me a gentle nod. “Eat your macaroni.”
So… I ate my macaroni.
Suspect number two had an alibi, and by the time I arrived back at the station – I was ready for a nap.
TO BE CONTINUED
This was fun because I used to be married to an Italian, and was surprised when my ex-mother-in-law called her spaghetti “macaroni and gravy.” It sounded so southern to me.
The illustration was fun too. I wanted to try lighting, making parts of the man hidden by shadows – but I haven’t been able to figure that out in Illustrator yet.
Anyway, that’s all for now. We still don’t have any good leads, but who knows what tomorrow might bring!?
A Sprinkle of Faith 