Dust coats the farmer’s nostrils and a single tear wells up and overflows with grief. He remembers the words that his father said, “The sun and the rain will please or cause pain.”
© 2012 Michael Yost 3/16
This weekend’s http://www.trifecta.com challenge is to write a story entitled ‘Lost’ in exactly 33 words. The word ‘lost’ can only appear in the title, not your 33 words. Any reference to the TV show could result in another visit to see the editors in the Trifecta offices.
Michael's Lair 
we just re-watched Men of Honor, the story of Carl Brashear . . . his daddy was a farmer who fought a losing battle with the soil. Good piece, Michael
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Glad you liked it. I was prompted by Kelly Waite’s post.
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Anyone who has anything to do with farming or ranching would understand this.. . .or having to give up their life’s work.
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I was going to call it Lost Crop, but I wanted to make sure I was following the directions, so I only used Lost in the title. Thanks Natalie.
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Good job with the prompt! (I, too, considered the directions and retitled my piece, unsure if I could “get away” with my original title, “You’re only lost if you don’t know where you’re going”.)
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So very true. Thanks for the visit and the comments.
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The sun and the rain will please or cause pain.
The truth behind these words has been expressed so beautifully.
Regards,
Ruby
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Thanks very much Ruby.
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Sad and very expressive. I appreciate the impact these words have.
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Thanks Terri.
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Very expressive. I live surrounded by farmer and I can’t imagine the strength it takes to be at the whim if nature for their livelihood. Good piece.
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The small farmers take the greatest loses. That’s why most have sold out to mega farms.
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Love this so much, you have no idea. There have developed some interesting co-op ownership plans out here as land has been removed from agricultural reserves and slated for development. Some even keep the aging farmers on the land for life, if they want, and the farmers are active through mentoring younger farmers.
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Sorry about the land being swallowed up by the developers, but it’s good to see a mentoring program for the younger farmers. I’m glad you liked the piece. Thanks.
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Wow. Those are some powerful words, either way it goes. There’s really no in between. Nice job.
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Gratitude accepted and given.
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Thanks for linking up this weekend. Admitting that I have not read through your entire blog, I will say that I think these short pieces are your strong suit. Or at least one of them. I love the way you give us a few details, a snippet of dialogue, or a single action and then trust that we’ll get there on our own. Your writing here is really nice. Hope to see you back again soon.
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I’m very thankful to you for having the Trifecta challenge for us to participate in; it’s given me a new sense of exploration and helping me to develop my new found abilities.
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Lost, that was tricky but cool, you did a great job, I love the pic as well 🙂
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I really do appreciate your visits and comments.
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very moving. Oh to be a farmer and to be so dependent upon nature..
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Nicely done. My husband and I intend to become farmers as soon as we can.
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You both are very brave people. I hope you’re successful.
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