Copyright C. Hase
The Family Chain
The gaping hole in our backyard was my father’s retirement fund. There was gold down there somewhere; his father and grandfather had sworn on it.
It started with ten grand pirated from my college savings for digging equipment and from then on yielded a steady -20% return on investment until his bankrupt deathbed.
“I failed,” he told me. “Finish the work. Find my gold.” And I felt the heavy chain being passed to me.
I waited until after his final breath to put down that chain forever. I couldn’t let him see me do it. It would have killed him.
The Green-Walled Tower 
June 3rd, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Great take, David. It’s a good thing he waited if it was going to kill him. Well done.
June 4th, 2015 at 1:13 am
Some people chase false goals all their lives. (Sounds a little too close for comfort actually!) Good thing our protagonist knew when to stop. Very well done story.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:58 pm
That’s very true, Perry. It’s good to live an introspective life for that reason.
June 4th, 2015 at 2:21 am
The contest is not always to the strong, nor to the swift, the race….but that’s the way smart money bets. Ya gotta know when to cut your losses. Sad, yet funny. 🙂
June 6th, 2015 at 12:58 pm
Too true. It’s easy to keep pursuing a dead end, just because you’ve already spent so much time and money on it. It takes wisdom.
June 4th, 2015 at 4:20 am
A clever last line, since he’s just died. Nice story.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Thanks, Claire. Yeah, I was going for that “wait, what?” reaction, since it would have killed him emotionally and in terms of his legacy.
June 4th, 2015 at 4:50 am
Dear David,
Brilliant use of metaphor. I loved the -20% return and the money pirated from the college fund. Great use of the prompt. Loved it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
June 6th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Thanks, Rochelle. Glad you liked it. I always appreciate your comments.
-David
June 4th, 2015 at 5:57 am
There was a large hole like that over the hill from my house. It was dug my a dentist looking for gold supposedly buried by the Spanish when exploring this country centuries ago. How he chose where to dig baffled all of us. The people who own the property now used the hole as a landfill. It took years to fill it back up.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:44 pm
I guess as a dentist he felt qualified knowing where to drill. Still, I’m surprised people actually did that, outside of Oak Island. Imagination and greed are powerful things.
June 4th, 2015 at 8:44 am
Some family chains need to be broken…like this one. Good story.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:33 pm
Thanks. 🙂
June 4th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Feels like they could make a dreadful Nick Cage movie out of it. Or maybe two of them.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:33 pm
Glad you picked up on that. Those were partially the inspiration for this, imagining if those movies were a little more realistic and didn’t end in a fantastically huge payoff.
June 4th, 2015 at 1:23 pm
Interesting. I love how some of the stories are about the physical chain and others, like yours are about the metaphorical chain. Great story!
June 6th, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Thanks, Lorna. Glad you liked it.
June 4th, 2015 at 8:23 pm
I can’t believe he quit when he was so close! 😉
June 6th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
You’ve summed up the mentality perfectly Dawn. 🙂 Almost there, just a little more and it will all be worth it.
June 6th, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Yup! 🙂
😉
June 4th, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Sounds like he learned from his father’s mistakes. Good for him to learn the lesson his dad couldn’t. Great story!
June 6th, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Thanks. You wonder why the father didn’t learn that lesson as well, watching his father.
June 4th, 2015 at 10:36 pm
Great take on the prompt, David. That last line sings.
All my best,
MG
June 6th, 2015 at 12:17 pm
Thanks, MG. I liked the last line too, since even though he was dying, it would have killed him in other ways.
Take care,
David
June 5th, 2015 at 12:03 am
it reminds me of the song “John Sutter’s mill” a haunting song about gold rush!
June 5th, 2015 at 6:06 am
Great story. I like how the sun is realistic enough to cut that particular chain, but I also like how the love and understanding for each other in that family shines through, despite losing money. There are links in that family that aren’t broken.
June 5th, 2015 at 6:06 am
The son, the son… sorry!
June 6th, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Good point. There are many different types of chains, some good, some bad.
June 5th, 2015 at 8:16 am
Just think of the money you’ll save on grave-diggers!
June 6th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
🙂
June 5th, 2015 at 9:38 am
It’s a good thing that some chains are broken! History repeats itself…but not in every case.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
Yes, chains can connect but they can also encumber. This is one best broken.
June 5th, 2015 at 10:59 am
I like people who can see reality and still not crush the dreams of others. That sensitivity and good judgment is a rare find.
Randy.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:12 pm
It’s a fine balance between how life is normally and the fantastic, fairy-tale endings we grow up with. We want to believe that wealth and fame are just around the corner. Thanks for the comment.
June 6th, 2015 at 1:28 pm
Holy cow. You mean that they’re not right around the corner?
And i drove all this way!
June 5th, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Delightfully different take on the prompt. Well done.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
Thanks, Alicia!
June 6th, 2015 at 12:00 am
It’s a hard thing to be asked to keep a parent’s dream alive. Those chains aren’t always connected to gold mines. Well told.
June 6th, 2015 at 12:06 pm
Yeah really, especially with something like that. These days it’s more common with a child being asked to stay and work a farm that’s been in the family for generations, when they don’t want to be a farmer.
June 6th, 2015 at 8:47 am
I enjoyed this; the idea that a son has the love to tolerate a father’s obsession, and the sense not to fall prey to it, is really quite refreshing. Well done David.
June 6th, 2015 at 11:51 am
Thank you Sandra. I wanted to delve more into the father knowing it was a waste but feeling like he’d spent so much time/money on it already, he had to keep going. But we do what we can with 100 words. 🙂
June 7th, 2015 at 10:56 am
David, each of your stories takes me somewhere new; this was just perfect. I think so many carry other people’s chains– guilt, love, whatever the reason; it’s a burden. You tell this so well, such a rich story in so few words!
June 9th, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Thank you so much, Dawn. 🙂