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Share Your World — 05/18/ 2026

Fandango1 Comment
Share Your World

Di, at Pensitivity101, is once again our host for Share Your World. Here are her questions for this week.

1. Do you celebrate anniversaries for family members?

My wife and I do celebrate our anniversaries by going out to a nice restaurant for dinner, but we no longer buy gifts for each other. For other people’s anniversaries, we will sometimes buy them gifts, or call them on the phone, or send them an anniversary card, or text them, depending upon how close we are — both physically and relationship wise — with them.

Birthdays are generally bigger celebrations. Our grandkids (ages 6 and 4) always have parties for their friends and family and we buy them cards (often with music and pop-ups) and presents. For our adult children and their spouses, we will give them gifts or money and celebrate by going with them to dinner or special places. For my wife and me, we no longer get each other gifts, But we usually have birthday gatherings at our house, like the backyard cookout we had for my birthday last month.

2. Do you prefer to receive a card for your special day or a social media message?

I have no particular preference. I think we tend to get more text messages and phone calls than actual cards anymore.

3. Do you think the cost of greetings cards are value for money?

Greetings cards have gotten pretty expensive lately, but we do spring for elaborabe cards with music and pop-ups for our grandkids just to see the delight in their eyes when they open them up.

4. Do you look forward to mail deliveries on a day to day basis, not just a celebration?

Not really. Probably 90 to 95% of the “snail mail” I receive is junk mail or bills.

OMIMM — No Expectations

Fandango17 Comments

The smartphone lay face-up on the bedside table, its screen black in slumber. Beyond the window, a bluish dawn started to seep into the room, carrying the hush of a world not quite awake yet. The nightlight threw a faint orange glow across the metal edges of the device.

It hadn’t rung all night.

Marcie had set it there deliberately, silenced, its screen dark. No alerts. No vibrations. No excuses to break the stillness. She told herself she was done waiting for messages that never came, for apologies she no longer believed in. But as the hours stretched thin, her eyes kept sliding toward it.

Outside, the world breathed frost onto the glass. Inside, the air smelled faintly of old furniture polish. She reached out once, but then quickly drew her hand back. Some decisions, she knew, could only be made in the space between impulse and restraint.

When the first sunlight spilled across the table, it caught on the phone’s edge, turning its outline into a blade of gold light. Marcie closed her eyes, trying to delay the inevitable reality. By the time she opened them again, she had already decided she wouldn’t look to see if he had called. Or texted.

Not yet, anyway.

Written for Mike Jackson’s Only Murders In My Mind Weekly Writing Prompt. Photo credit: no attribution.

The New Job

Fandango8 Comments

“It’s so far away,” Jerry’s mother lamented.

“I know, Ma, but it’s a great opportunity,” Jerry said, giving his mother a hug and wiping away her tears. “I figure I can get there in four days without pushing it too hard.”

“But surely you could have found a job right here in Buffalo instead of on the complete other side of the country.”

“San Antonio is not on the complete other side of the country,” Jerry said. “Here, let me show you.” He pulled out a map of the United States, pointed to the top right and said, “Here’s Buffalo, Ma.” Then he moved his finger down and to the lower left and stopped at San Antonio. “See, Ma, there are only five states between New York and Texas: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and then Texas.”

“Well you be sure to write to me when you get there,” his mother said.

“Don’t worry, Ma, I’ll email and text you on the way and every day when I’m there.”

“No emails and text messages,” his mother said. “I don’t know how they work. Just write me letters and call me on the phone, like regular people do.”

“Fine,” Jerry said, “I’ll text you…I mean call you…when I get to the motel tonight.”

“I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Ma.”

Written for the Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner prompt from Roger Shipp. Photo credit: Hans Isaacson from Unsplash.

As It Turns Out…

Fandango22 Comments

Well, this is a little embarrassing. You may recall, in this post the other day, I complained that my cat caused my iPhone to fly off of our dining room table onto our hardwood floor. When I first picked up my phone, everything seemed fine. But then I discovered that, while I could make phone calls and send text messages, I could neither receive phone calls nor text messages.

And so I immediately did what any red-blooded American male addicted to and dependent upon his iPhone would do. I ordered a new one from Amazon. Well, actually not a new one, but an unlocked, refurbished iPhone 8 Plus, because it’s a whole lot cheaper than a brand new iPhone 11 Pro Max. My new, refurbished iPhone has been shipped and is being delivered tomorrow.

Great news, right?

Well hold on there buckaroo. Suddenly, at around 8 pm Monday night, my “broken” iPhone started pinging. Three text messages suddenly appeared as well as notifications of five missed phone calls. Huh? I asked my wife to text me. It instantly showed up. I asked her to call me. And my iPhone rang. WTF? My broken iPhone suddenly healed itself?

Well, as it turns out, there was nothing wrong with iPhone and no reason for me to be pissed off at my cat for disrupting my life. Because the actual culprit was a major cellular service outage.0D6DDDC0-5FE4-4A3C-998F-F7AEF7BA1C0CSo it seems that, while I could still make calls and send text messages, that cellular outage, not my cat, was responsible for my iPhone’s inability to receive calls or text messages. Don’t ask me why the outage would be a one way street because I have no clue.

So first, let me apologize to my cat. “I’m so sorry, cat.”

Second, I hope I can return the now unneeded replacement iPhone to Amazon for a full credit.

Dear So and So

Fandango18 Comments

B9557CA2-C92C-4671-B919-AB003E2964BFDear Reader,

Do you still write letters? Or are you like me? I rarely write letters anymore — even business letters. I mostly communicate via email or text messages.

When you do write a letter or send an email, do you start it off with the word “Dear” in front of the addressee’s name at the beginning? How about “Sincerely yours” (or just “Sincerely”) at the end?

I’m not talking about letters to your close — or even extended — family members, where you might start it out with “Dear Aunt Barbara,” and end it with “Love, your nephew Jim.” After all, you do want dear Aunt Barbara to remember that you’re her loving nephew when she’s preparing her last will and testament, right?

No, I’m talking about letters (and even emails) to businesses, co-workers, friends, or acquaintances.

Terms of endearment

I was taught that opening a letter with the word “Dear” in front of the addressee’s name — even if you’re sending it to a total stranger — is the proper letter writing convention. It’s not necessarily intended to be a term of endearment.

So even if you’re writing a letter to a customer, a business associate, or virtually anyone else, you should, according to letter-writing etiquette, always start your letter with “Dear” followed by the person’s first name.

If you don’t know the recipient’s first name, you should use his or her last name, such as “Dear Mr. Smith” or “Dear Ms. Jones.” And if you know neither the first nor the last name of the addressee, you should use “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam.”

“Dear Madam”? Seriously, who does that anymore?

And you should, they say, end the letter with “Sincerely yours.” Even a business letter. Because you want your sincerity in your business correspondence to shine through, right?

Dear Electric Company,

Thank you for sending me the latest monthly bill. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you.

Sincerely yours,

Me

I never use “Dear” for a salutation or “Sincerely yours” at the close of a letter or an email. I may sometimes end an email with “Regards,” but that is about as sincere as I get.

So, what about you? Do you still use “Dear” and “Sincerely yours” in your letters and/or emails? Or do you consider them to be old-fashioned letter-writing conventions whose time has passed?

Have we, as a modern society, lost something by no longer using them?

Sincerely yours,

Fandango