DISCUSSION THREAD -- NOVEMBER 2022 -- 75 Word Writing Challenge

[BigJ]

Congrats @AnRoinnUltra on the victory, and commiserations to @Pyan on a close run thing.

For my own story, thanks for mentions from @AnRoinnUltra, @Phyrebrat, @The Judge and @Venusian Broon.

Evidently my knowledge of history sucks because there were a fair few stories I didn't get, and when choosing a winner I typically read through once, and then go back and read again anything that caught my attention for one reason or another, which doesn't leave any room for googling what people might be talking about. Which may not be fair given I wouldn't have gotten my story, either, without some googling.

For mine, the tricky bits may have been the term Sisyphean, which references Sisyphus of Greek mythology who was punished for eternity by forcing him to roll a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down before he reached the top, ad infinitum; Arbeit macht frei which was a slogan appearing at the entrance to Auschwitz and is German for "work sets you free;" and Himmler being Heinrich Himmler, the leading Nazi Party member who was one of the primary architects of the Holocaust. With that knowledge in hand the story should (largely) fall into place; I've recently read The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus so that was fresh in my mind, but really I can't blame anyone for tripping up on any of those bits on first read.

 

[THX1138]

Congratulations @AnRoinnUltra!
And to our second-place winner @Pyan !

 

[Parson]

Congratulations @AnRoinnUltra!
And to our second-place winner @Pyan !

@BigJ .... I did get the parts but it did take some Googling. Not the Sisyphus part but the Arbeit macht frei which was interesting to learn.

 

[Pyan]

Congratulations @AnRoinnUltra!​

A worthy winner, and a great story - so good, in fact, that it got my vote in the first place!

I'd like to thank everyone that voted for me, both in the first place, and/or in the tie-breaker. I hadn't entered for quite a few months, but this will definitely spur me on to try again, hopefully with an even better result. Thank you all again.

 

[Hugh]

Congratulations both of you!

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

it got my vote

That was a close thing! Fair play @Pyan for being so sporting, and for pushing it all the way to the line (was out last night, but had been keeping an eye on the tally ...even with minutes to go it coulda flipped).

I've a lot of respect for the writers on here so this is a proud day

Thanks all for reading, considering, and voting -for what it's worth here's the audio version

 

[Elckerlyc]

Congratulations @AnRoinnUltra! And not a bit less) @Pyan!

 

[The Judge]

Congratulations, ARU! Commiserations, Pyan! (You'll look lovely in the bridesmaid's pink taffeta!)

@BigJ .... I did get the parts but it did take some Googling. Not the Sisyphus part but the Arbeit macht frei which was interesting to learn.

That surprises me that you didn't know the despicable slogan from the death camps, as I'd expected it to be widely known, especially among our older generation. Can I ask, but from your kind review of my story, I rather suspected you didn't get my reference to Kristallnacht -- am I right about that? Or was it simply the story itself which confused you?

Actually in view of CC's comment about not getting all the background to mine, are the events of Kristallnacht not well known generally in the US?

 

[nixie]

Congratulations @AnRoinnUltra

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Hi TJ! Kristallnacht should be very well known in the States... though we do forget/come to doubt our history lessons, as generations pass (not to go into politics, but there is an awful lot of doubting going on right now with some people in the States, sadly).

I think your story makes perfect sense on re-reading. I think my not getting all of the background was just a function of my reading so many stories when voting. I understood that the rabbi was being warned to escape, but that he couldn't quite believe in such evil existing that he and his family might be in jeopardy (I've just read Elie Wiesel's Night, which tragically portrays this lack of believing, in some). I think the little bits I might not have gotten when reading to vote were the parts you explained in your after-voting post. We can explain so much more in a discussion post, than we only imply in our stories. But you implied things beautifully, in an excellent story that contained so much of importance, in only 75 words. I also thought the rabbi's Voice was excellent - his dialogue sounded just right to me.

Also congratulations AnROinnUltra on the win, and congratulations Pyan for making it so close. Fun stories, both. Looking forward to next month's Challenge... er, this month's Challenge.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I found @The Judge story about Kristallnacht almost too plausible. I could imagine it had actually happened, without us knowing about it. Perhaps a warning in a dream. There were signs and hostilities enough to make you flee, as many did.
It was not speculative enough to make my shortlist.

Much the same with Faith or Fortune by @Parson. Who knows how often such things have indeed happened?

About @BigJ's story. I got the references Sisyphus, Himmler and 'Arbeit macht frei', but didn't quite understand the story. Still don't fully.
I have visited Auschwitz and seen that gate. Sights never to forget.

@mosaix. I must confess I totally failed to make the Titanic connection. A titanic failure. Perhaps the mention of ice may have helped. Or the name of the shipping-company the letter was addressed to? (Yeah, just trying to put the blame on someone else.)

 

[BT Jones]

Sound work, @AnRoinnUltra. Top, top story, with a knockout audio version to boot.
Thanks @TheEndIsNigh, @johnnyjet for the mentions.

I think I got most of the stories. I was certainly moved by @The Judge's poignant Kristallnacht reference; my dear late grandmother on my father's side escaped Germany on the Kindertransport not long after this horrific event. Had she not, I would not be here today.

As for my story, I'm not sure if many people know the D.B. Cooper legend. Quite curious. Any Marvel fans out there may have seen it cheekily referenced in the recent Loki series.

The irony of my closing line - “In the end, when you’ve given up trying to change the world for the better, if the only answer isn’t to hijack a plane, steal $ 200,000, bail out over Oregon, and live your life in anonymity, then my name’s not D.B. Cooper!” - was that, of course, D.B. Cooper was NOT his real name, just a John Doe-style alias.

His seems to be one of the very few unsolved mysteries left in the world.

 

[Vince W]

Congrats @AnRoinnUltra. Well done.

 

[Venusian Broon]

As for my story, I'm not sure if many people know the D.B. Cooper legend. Quite curious. Any Marvel fans out there may have seen it cheekily referenced in the recent Loki series.

The irony of my closing line - “In the end, when you’ve given up trying to change the world for the better, if the only answer isn’t to hijack a plane, steal $ 200,000, bail out over Oregon, and live your life in anonymity, then my name’s not D.B. Cooper!” - was that, of course, D.B. Cooper was NOT his real name, just a John Doe-style alias.

His seems to be one of the very few unsolved mysteries left in the world.

I am very familiar with DB Cooper (The mystery, not the person!) There was a big article on it in the Fortean Times I read a couple of months ago . It's mentioned in that publication quite a lot!

It may be unsolved, but I personally think it is very likely he died that night and his remains are scattered/were consumed by denizens of the forest. They did find some badly decayed notes of the ransom in the general area of where he jumped. Of course quite a few people have claimed to be him, and there have been others said to be him. It was a fascinating article, btw, although I can't point you to it, as Fortean Times remains generally paperbound and digital, but not online.

There are plenty of unsolved mysteries and weirdness, believe me!

 

[Phyrebrat]

Congratulations Arooooooo. Another win for the Chrons Podcast staff which I can appropriate as a win for me

 

[Hugh]

I am very familiar with DB Cooper (The mystery, not the person!) There was a big article on it in the Fortean Times I read a couple of months ago . It's mentioned in that publication quite a lot!

It may be unsolved, but I personally think it is very likely he died that night and his remains are scattered/were consumed by denizens of the forest. They did find some badly decayed notes of the ransom in the general area of where he jumped. Of course quite a few people have claimed to be him, and there have been others said to be him. It was a fascinating article, btw, although I can't point you to it, as Fortean Times remains generally paperbound and digital, but not online.

There are plenty of unsolved mysteries and weirdness, believe me!

Is it right that none of the notes have made it back into circulation?

 

[Venusian Broon]

Is it right that none of the notes have made it back into circulation?

From memory I believe so.

So either the rest of them are slowly decomposing or have berm destroyed in the North-West of US or...

...actually can't rhink why they might have been actually used, but never have been flagged. (Why hoard them, say? Is there a country out there where dollars are used but never get in contact with the regular banking system?)

 

[Hugh]

From memory I believe so.

So either the rest of them are slowly decomposing or have berm destroyed in the North-West of US or...

...actually can't rhink why they might have been actually used, but never have been flagged. (Why hoard them, say? Is there a country out there where dollars are used but never get in contact with the regular banking system?)

From memory I believe so.
That's what I thought

So why go to all that trouble if you end up hoarding them?

Must have landed badly - or, as you suggest, had already planned to creatively launder somewhere under the radar (which seems unlikely).

 

[Venusian Broon]

Must have landed badly - or, as you suggest, had already planned to creatively launder somewhere under the radar (which seems unlikely).

yeah, any process of laundering should have had the notes turning up in the hands of people who had no clue about their origins and therefore used in good faith. Yet apparently not one has appeared in circulation.

One might concoct some scheme with some nefarious organisation: KGB, mafia, drug cartel etc. But what criminal or espionage organisation would accept or take essentially marked money. The authorities would be alert to their use. It would be equally as useless for them.

 

[Pyan]

We seem to be drifting away from the subject of this thread, folks - can we get back on track, please?