1000 Words or Less

  FIVE MINUTE EXERCISE – 5 th November 2021   At the Writing Group we were asked to write on one of three topics. I chose ‘An aggressive patient, from the nurse’s viewpoint'.   He was one of the tallest men Narelle had even seen , and his hi-vis orange outfit and enormous mud-covered boots made him even more intimidating.   Narelle was on her second day of vaccinating the miners at the Savage River Mine in the wilds of Tasmania.   All of the miners were intimidating at first but most meekly bared their arm and accepted the jab.   Some even said thanks.   This bloke, though, was almost foaming at the mouth.   “This is all a con,” he roared. “How do we know what’s in this stuff?   My grandfather fought in the war for our freedom and now we’re expected to give up our liberty for this hoax.   If this wasn’t made compulsory by the management, I wouldn’t be here.”   Narelle gulped nervously.   He...

  I like to think that I’m as well-intentioned as the next man   but I’ve learned to be careful; even the best of intentions can backfire on you.   One of my mother’s friends from the Book Club was moving house and she needed someone to dismantle her bed so the removalists could fit it into their van. It would need to be done this weekend as the van was coming on Monday morning.   My mother is like this; always prepared to offer a helping hand especially if the hand is mine.   Oh well, it’s not too much of a hardship and I had no other plans for the weekend.   I scribbled the address on a scrap of paper and promised to be on the doorstep by 9 o’clock on Sunday.   Armed with my Allan keys, I presented myself to the friend’s house at the agreed time and was shown into the bedroom where I was surprised to find that the bed was still covered with sheets and blankets, and there was an elderly man lying in it.   Mum’s friend wa...