
I look out to sea. Gentle waves stay all the way out to an empty horizon. No cruise boats.
Nobody come.
For the fourth time, I rearrange the wire bush of tourist hats, bobbing in the breeze like shrunken heads. Gaudy shirts billow and cowrie shell necklaces clack.
My feet do an anxious little dance. Maybe I’ll go tend my taro patch instead.
Jesus wen cry.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Not a good time to work in the tourist industry.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Good for the cultivation of your taro patch though
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sad reality for some. Must be terribly stressful.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Tannille
LikeLike
It’s gonna be a hard summer for many, I think.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Anthony
LikeLike
Love the voice here, Neil. Feels very real, as does the situation for the poor hat salesman. This virus will cause so much more suffering outside of the illness
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks so much, Lynn
LikeLike
Big question down here, Neil, will there be a summer?
You express the concerns so well.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thanks so much.
LikeLike
Dear Neil,
I’m wondering these days if summer will be cancelled altogether this year. You captured the desolation people who depend on the tourist trade must feel. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Rochelle. Summer will come, more vibrant than for many years. But we won’t travel as far
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh you could be writing about people I know in Fiji, Neil. Sad times.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
LikeLiked by 3 people
I hadn’t necessarily intended this to be sad, but I can see why people are reading it that way
LikeLike
I definitely feel for the tourist industry. We are all going to learn to love our own counties, provinces, states, countries, this year, methinks.
And I suspect many of us will have fine gardens, to boot!
LikeLiked by 5 people
And much much cleaner air
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is true!
LikeLike
It’s so hard for people who are scavenging a living or just making do at the best of times and the coronavirus has decimated international travel. Our place is testimony to an improved backyard with grass for the first time in years after thwarting the dogs’ digging efforts with some radical engineering by my husband. He also won several pallets of floorboards on an auction site to replace the flooring right through the house. That also meant he had to clear out the back shed and the house needs to be emptied room by room. Thank goodness he’s working from home. I’m generally cooking better meals. The biggest difference here has been having our daughter’s dance classes running at home via zoo and she does at lest 6-8 hours of dance a week. We’re all watching the clock so we can get some food.
The interesting thing is that for people who’ve kept their jobs and are working from home, they’ve probably saved money during lock down. It’s finally enabled us to get ahead. I’m sure my husband’s been wanting to keep my wallet in lockdown for some time.
Take care and stay safe.
Best wishes,
Rowena
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Rowena
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great piece, Neil. Took me there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Doug
LikeLike
Wonderful story. A sad reality for many people right now.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very well-done description of a microcosm of a macrocosm.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome.
LikeLike
That last line was powerful. Good one!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Linda
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this line, “I rearrange the wire bush of tourist hats, bobbing in the breeze like shrunken heads.” What a gruesome way to describe hats.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The tourists like shrunken heads memorabilia
LikeLiked by 2 people
Travel local and plant more veggies for me. But I do feel for the small operators in the tourism industry. You captured their desolation well, Neil.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much
LikeLike
Very well told piece. Unfortunately it’s too true in many places. We’ll never know all the pain this pandemic is causing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, David
LikeLike
i guess it’s just one of those days. he can look forward to tomorrow. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
She has her taro patch
LikeLiked by 1 person
Selfish capitalist that I am, I didn’t even think of this side of the story. My immediate thought was ‘another tourist trap on another tourist trek’. You put me to shame. Simply put.
LikeLiked by 2 people
If the tourists want drek, the locals will provide it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good, fresh voice, Neil. Really felt it for the guy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, William
LikeLiked by 1 person
The lockdown is frustrating, everyone treading water waiting fo rit to be safe again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
But there’s lots of writing time
LikeLiked by 1 person
A welcome respite, I would think, if it weren’t for the economic implications.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True, She finds the tourists vacuous and without grace
LikeLike
She sounds anxious but not overly so!
LikeLiked by 2 people
There is some pleasure to be had from another day without tourists
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice and quiet but not economically viable.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Tourism is, in any case, a fickle industry. She’s well advised to continue to cultivate her taro patch
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicely written. I particularly liked ‘bobbing in the breeze like shrunken heads’ which is both graphic and appropriate. If she has a few hens and a fishing line as well as her taro patch, she’ll probably get by.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks, Penny. She got by before the tourists, she’ll get by after
LikeLike
I love your comment to Penny. People must learn to adapt in order to survive. The human race has been doing that since the beginning of time. Nice tale, Neil.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Russell
LikeLike
Great voice you captured his concern very well. At least he has the taro field to turn to.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think only women are allowed to cultivate taro patches in the South Pacific islands. But I may be wrong
LikeLiked by 1 person
OH!!! I think you’re right! I should have remembered that. After all, I did graduate with a degree in cultural anthropology. My excuse? It was ten life-times ago.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good point raised about the disappearing tourist industy. A lot of people are doing it tough at the moment. A great take on the prompt piece.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Laurie
LikeLike
The tourist business is a tough business at the moment.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes it is
LikeLiked by 1 person
The consequence of political decisions has changed many things, tourism being curtailed is one. At least he may have an income from his Taro patch – although he may now wished it was a field.
LikeLiked by 3 people
If not an income, at least food
LikeLiked by 1 person
My prayers for those who earn their bread and butter depends from tourism sector.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for reading
LikeLike
I wonder how many traders will open in Brighton tomorrow despite the lockdown?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good question
LikeLike
Loved the tone in this one, Neil. There’s a bit of hope smeared over the feeling of disappointment. Well done.
LikeLiked by 2 people
She doesn’t have to sell hats to people who can’t really be bothered to engage with her culture
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am now wondering what can the hats be turned into? Masks for people with beards perhaps
LikeLiked by 2 people
Shovels?
LikeLike
Ah, the terrible reality of ripple effects and those who have so little and so much to lose. Well told.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much
LikeLiked by 1 person
She doesn’t seem to miss the tourists all too much. The taro patch and whatever else she’s growing will be thriving this year. Very realistic, Neil.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re right. You’ve read my intent exactly. She really doesn’t need the tourists. Thanks, Magarisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Time to tend to the taro patch. And one can see how eager she is to get back.
Hope amidst the gloom. Well, the tourists will be back if not sooner, then later.
Lovely portrayal.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much, Natasha
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the immediacy, the personal touches in describing his actions – like ‘my feet do an anxious little dance’. Makes the story so vivid and poignant. Well written Neil.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks so much
LikeLike