100 words for Friday Fictioneers and an answer to a few of the comments I received on last week’s story. (Thanks for all of those.)
Thanks to Mrs. Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for continuing her cat herding duties, to Mr. Katzenjammer Voza for the photo prompt (below) for the stories this week, and to me for coming back and talking to me in 1967. (It hasn’t happened yet, but the intent is there so you never know.)
The old man scared me until I realized that only I could have known the things he told me. When he finished, I believed.
“You’re fourteen now. Work your ass off and save every cent. When Microsoft and Apple go public, buy and keep buying.”
“Is there anything else I should do?”
“The Morrisey twins,” he replied, without hesitation.
“Did you?”
“Never asked. Faint heart and all that. Don’t want you still wondering when you’re seventy.”
“Which is when you first went through the portals?”
“Exactly. Blue door first.”
He handed me an envelope.
“It’s all in here. Have fun.”
.
ironwoodwind 
Good one Doug, I thought there might be a few portal type entries, well done.
Dear Summerstommy,
Any portal in a storm, eh?
Aloha,
Doug
An interesting one!
Nice Doug 🙂
Dear Locomente,
Thank you.
Aloha,
Doug
Some sound advice here. Nice one Doug. Not sure about the Morrissey twins though…
Dear Sandra,
It is amazing to me how many people became emotionally invested in the quest for the Morrisey twins. Might not be the right move, I’ll admit, but the urge to scratch that itch is a powerful motivating force in men. And this story is about one of them.
I dearly love that you visit and read my offerings each week. Many mahalos to you for your time and keen eye.
Aloha,
Doug
great story..Pass on the twins though..could be a trap..
Dear Patricia,
A trap with velvet teeth. Thanks for reading.
Aloha,
Doug
Dear Patricia,
It’s all a trap where those decisions are concerned. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
gotta be the blue door first
great story Doug
Dear MDW,
Well, it could be the white or the red, but that changes everything.
Thanks for reading.
Aloha,
Doug
Dear MDW,
I’m partial to blue, too. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
If you have a clothespin in your bag you can trade all your Apple stocks for what’s behind door #3. Very clever and inventive story.
Dear Russell,
If wishes were horses then dreamers would ride, eh? Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Doug,
I admit, you had me right from the title. Not only am I am a huge fan of the book The Worm Ouroboros, but I also love this concept of a time-travel cycle. Specifically, how did it start, if the beginning of each cycle depends on contact with the previous one? Great story. I think I’ll go read it again. 🙂
-David
Dear David,
Your comment has made my day. i think I’ll go read IT again. Thanks for reading, my friend.
Aloha,
Doug
If only…
(not that I am interested in the Morrisey twins). J/S 😉
Dear Dawn,
They could be cute guys. I never did say. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Even less interested!
I am done!
Dedicated to singledom.
Forever and ever.
Amen.
I’m J/S 😉
Even less interested!
I am done!
Dedicated to singledom.
Forever and ever.
Amen.
A well put together piece. It strikes me as quite realistic, despite the subject matter.
Dear Misskzebra,
Thanks for reading, noticing the details and commenting. I appreciate your keen eye.
Aloha,
Doug
Liked this. Thought you might appreciate this:
Dear MOV,
Thanks for the video. That was nice of you to share. Thanks for reading.
Aloha,
Doug
Let the games begin!
Maybe Doc Brown was wrong after all about all that interfering with the future stuff.
Thanks for sharing!
Dear JK,
I never did buy into that line. Made for good drama in the movie though. Given the chance, i’d interfere all the time. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Excellent. Reminded me of Back to the Future!
Dear Steve,
Thanks for reading and commenting. Your story was a real good one this week.
Aloha,
Doug
Great idea! I just thought about what I´d had told me when I met my younger me…
but who are the Morrisey twins? google didnt tell me 🙂
The Morrisey twins are fictional. They live in my mind and are quite flexible. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Wonderful and this is the first portal story I read .. but there might be more…
Dear Bjorn,
You think? I could not resist. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
I always love a good time travel story 🙂
Dear Carrie,
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
These doors just seem to scream futuristic tale. I resisted, but similar conclusion. This makes me wonder what comes next… and the dialogue was very well done!
I’m glad someone resisted. i felt like the Borg when I saw the doors. Every now and then I fail. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Sounds like quite a journey!
Dear Patti,
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Really like this. It could be the start, middle or end of a great story but as it stands in its 100 word entirety it also works perfectly. Superb!
Dear Mr. Binks,
Thank you for phrasing your comment the way you did. i took a great deal of time making sure that all questions could be answered from within the framework of the story. That you noticed that it stood alone as it was told me the effort paid off. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
I like the time travel element, and good advice on the stock picks… not so sure about the twins, though. Maybe just date one of them to be on the safe side. I have twin daughters, and they can be competitive!
Dear ZW,
I like the tidbit about your twins being competitive. That I wrote of them as a single entity is a flaw in my story that points clearly to the author’s POV as a randy male. Nice catch. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Ah, I wouldn’t call it a flaw. As you wrote, it speaks to the randiness of the character. I’d say leave it in — some twins might not be competitive!
I think the real question here is if the younger one doesn’t listen and chooses a door other than blue first will the conversation be the same the next time he comes back or will it cause him to have never come back in the first place? The butterfly effect could be disastrous with this one.
Dear Adam,
It is for the reason you mentioned that I am a proponent of the parallel universe theory of time travel. My feeling is that the visitor will never know the outcome of his input in that once he makes it in that timeline, everything changes for it and a new world/universe is created in which the younger version has a chance to ask the Morrisey Twins and buy Apple, but no one knows what will really happen. In this case the reason is revealed by the older version’s stated desire that the boy not be ‘still wondering’ when he was seventy.
The possibilities are mind boggling.
Thank you for reading, Adam.
Aloha,
Doug
Have to ask, Doug–what’s in the envelope? The explanation? The next step? More stock tips (we’re waiting to share those)? Good story.
Dear VB,
In the envelope is the address of the thrift store in the previous story, the location of the doors in this story and the date that he finds them, which one he goes through first and what happens to him along the way, plus instructions to the younger version of himself in the thrift store re betting on the Kentucky Derby then returning to tell himself.
It is a tangled web he’s weaving and all he’s trying to do is give his former selves the advantage that he was given late. A sure thing on a race, a nest egg hedge fund against the depredations of time, and, most importantly of all, time itself.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Oh what fun! I want to go through that blue door!! What a wonderful adventure you’ve got set up for us!!
Dear Linda,
Thanks for reading and commenting. I’m partial to blue, i guess.
Aloha,
Doug
I love that and I wish I could do it for myself! Go, Perry No. 27, get those Morrisey twins and everyone else I wimped away too! Yep, love to mentor the little tyke. Great concept!
Dear Perry,
We all have those times we wish we’d done something (or someone) but didn’t. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Great continuation, which also nicely stands alone – that’s cleverly done. Many of the continued stories on FF are frustrating in that you have to read previous ones to know what’s happening.
Claire
Dear Claire,
Thanks for reading and noticing that I subjected no one to the onerous task of re-reading older stories to figure things out. We’ve seen the last of these guys, in any case because all the permutations are contained in the two stories, or each singly.
You are a discerning reader and a patient one, too.
Aloha,
Doug
We always make better decisions in retrospect.
The story doesn’t just speak to you at 17, it speaks to us now too, who can still make the time count. So, for that, I say Thank you!
It’s always a pleasure to come here and see what you’ve served up for us, Doug.
“Today, madam, the ironwoodwind restaurant offers a main course of time travel through portals,” (I kind of like them, did you guess by the name?!) “with a side dish of humour. Wine’s on the house – 1967 vintage. Enjoy your meal.”
As always, a very good read, Doug. 🙂
PS please excuse the silliness. Not sure I can carry it off when I’m this tired! 😉
wish i could do that. very cool idea 🙂
Hi Kz,
Very late getting here. Sorry. Still want to thank you for visiting.
My portal is broken.
Aloha,
Doug
Oh for one of those envelopes! Good stuff, Doug.
Hi Pete,
Sorry for being so late with this reply. I appreciate you commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
I went along the same theme of portals. Your story results in possible good fortune, so long as he doesn’t screw it up and remembers the blue door. I enjoyed this a lot!
Dear Amy,
My portal made me late to this reply…yeah, that’s the ticket. (Sorry) Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Nice one! Good take on the picture. I almost went with portal and I guess in a way I did. Blue first huh? Good to know. 😉
Dear Jackie,
Thanks for visiting. Sorry I’m so late with this response. Time portals are tricky..
Aloha,
Doug
Doug
Great story, thank you. Wish I done the twins, if they had been male. I have a few regrets about who I did not do when I was younger.
Dear Callipatti,
I know exactly what you mean, hence their inclusion in my story. Oh, to have gone there…
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
I personally love the concept of time travel and having it off with the Morrisey twins. The doors as portals is quite wonderful. I think the only thing I would tell myself if I returned through a portal – besides the purchase of Apple (which I sold in 1985, like an idiot) and Microsoft, would be to be harder, be tougher, but that is probably something that can’t be changed.
BTW, I am writing this from a little green island off the coast of Athens – called Agistri. It is the end of the season and we have it almost all to ourselves.
Dear Lindaura,
You can always start now, right? I am so glad you are in the flow with us all. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Aloha,
Doug
Intriguing, intriguing, SUPER intriguing, Doug. This is, for me, what it’s all about — mystery and a good story to boot! Actually, I’d like to hear the rest of it, if you have any ideas. VERY cool!
Dear Kent,
You’ve been on a bit of a portal trip yourself, haven’t you? How many times to Israel does this make for you. That must be like traveling back in time.
Aloha,
Doug
Love this. it’s just begging to be more. Where’s the rest? Is there more? If not, there should be. :)x
Dear Scottishmomus,
This 100 word story has it beginning in the story of the week before, but they’re designed to stand alone.
Thank you for visiting and exploring.
Doing the same in your blog tonight.
Aloha,
Doug
Welcome then. I’m doing a spot of wandering myself. So rarely take the reading route for taking the writing one. 😉 But have leisure to do both at the moment. And enjoying it.x
Welcome then. I’m doing a spot of wandering myself. So rarely take the reading route for taking the writing one. 😉 But have leisure to do both at the moment. And enjoying it.x