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101 Word Short Stories

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The Dig

September 8, 2024 6 Comments

By Bud Pharo

“Is this made out of genuine plastic?” the excited student asked, holding up a translucent air bladder he had found during their ancient distribution warehouse dig.

“Indeed, back then, they used petrochemicals in packaging and nearly everything else,” the environmental paleontologist said. “Of course, that was long before the trillionaires abandoned our poisoned planet.”

Taking the bladder from his student, he removed his respirator, pierced the bladder, and inhaled deeply. “Ah, vintage 21st century air, a delicate balance of ozone with some smoky hydrocarbon overtones,” he sighed. “Here, take a hit; this is some good shit,” he winked his middle eye.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Haley says

    September 11, 2024 at 11:58 am

    Nice, made me laugh out loud, while also being so poignant!

    Reply
  2. Bud says

    September 11, 2024 at 2:07 pm

    Thank you for your reading my story and your nice comments. I’m glad it made you laugh.

    Reply
  3. Sue D says

    September 11, 2024 at 6:28 pm

    Creative. Old middle eye inhales our ancient polluted air like sipping a fine wine.

    Reply
    • Bud says

      September 12, 2024 at 11:40 am

      Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  4. Geraint J says

    September 14, 2024 at 2:17 pm

    Slyly funny, & as timely as it gets.

    Reply
    • Bud says

      September 14, 2024 at 9:18 pm

      Thank you. I tried to make it funny with a serious underlying theme.

      Reply

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