By Joseph Yenkavitch
Cliff proudly placed his completed model ship in the nursing home window. A breeze filled the white cloth sails. He smiled at the quiet onlookers hoping they might marvel that such a stately ship had once sailed free and unbound. That they might imagine the steady wind that powered it to Zanzibar, Calcutta, and Dakar, ports like nets to catch youthful dreams.
A man in a wheelchair remembered his childhood fantasy of being a swashbuckling Errol Flynn. A widow in a housecoat remembered a long ago sail with her husband. Another man dropped his final solitaire card and started another game.
Your wonderful descriptions bring to mind the individuals recalling their hopes and dreams. Final sentence returns us to the monotonous day at the nursing home.Well done.
A brilliant story Joseph. One of the best I have read on this site.
Joseph, what sweet observations. Your story is a well described concrete event that places me in the room to experience with Cliff the results of his hard work and each personal response of the onlookers.You put a breeze in my imagination’s sails.
You caught me in your sail of dreams. Well done!
Wow, You sent me sailing, then…BANG…back to the reality and hopelessness of aging.
You netted a boat load of a moment. 😉 Well done.
Great story.
excellent……loved the iamgery
All the othe comments have pre empted mine … well done.