I apologize that I haven’t been around much these days. The good news is that I recently got a promotion, and I’m now the interim director for the Intensive English Program at our university. The bad news is that I often have to work 10-12 hour days to get everything done. I’m optimistic that it will get better but for the moment, I hope you can be understanding.
One upside of my job is that I run the blog for our program: intensiveenglishuiu.com. We are currently having a naming contest for the blog. Email me your suggestion for a new name here and if we choose your suggestion, I will send you a piece of Upper Iowa University clothing.
And now, onto the main event…
copyright Jennifer Pendergast
Breaking Wild
“Taking a leak. Be back in a minute,” Jack said.
He left the assembly line, heading to the back.
He did not go to the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, he was driving out of town, taking small roads to avoid traffic cameras.
Five hours later, he stopped for gas, paid in cash taken out in small increments over months.
Twelve hours later, he hit dirt roads until even they ended, hundreds of miles from cellphone coverage.
*
A buzzer sounded. Break time. Jack headed to the breakroom, but in his mind, the campfire was crackling and overhead, millions of stars burned.
The Green-Walled Tower 
September 12th, 2015 at 1:39 pm
Congrats!
September 12th, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Thanks Chris. Good to see you around.
September 12th, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Congrats David. Neatly done story. We all need that “break” sometime.
September 12th, 2015 at 9:32 pm
Indeed. Sometimes just imagining a break is better than nothing.
September 12th, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Congrats… your story sounds like a dream waiting to break loose.. hope he has those small installments in his wallet.
September 12th, 2015 at 9:34 pm
Thanks, Bjorn. Hopefully Jack can get a real break at some point.
September 12th, 2015 at 3:50 pm
Dear David,
A blessing on your head. Mazel tov! Mazel tov!
We’re writers. No one takes a break like we do. Those buzzers can be a harsh reality.
I used to do some of my best story spinning on the twenty-seven drive to work. I likened it to the exhilarating feeling one must have skydiving only to have my parachute malfunction at the end. (getting to work).
Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
September 12th, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Thank you so much, Rochelle. I appreciate your congratulations. This story is based on when I used to work at a factory, which was where I first decided I wanted to be a writer. I had so much time, I would make up stories while I worked on the assembly line. It was a great time, in many ways.
Take care,
David
September 12th, 2015 at 4:02 pm
Congrats on your promotion! Wow, that didn’t take long. This is a great tale and I love the title. I hope he can make his wild happen. It sounds like he deserves it.
September 12th, 2015 at 9:07 pm
Thanks, Amy! If he does get out to the woods, hopefully he doesn’t just disappear like this, however tempting it is.
September 12th, 2015 at 9:09 pm
Now I wish that’s the story I would have wrote. How tempting it would be to just paddle away and not look back. I guess I kind of wrote that…sort of.
September 12th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Congratulations on your promotion! And good luck with those long days, whew — post stories when you can, everyone will understand, I’m sure.
Nice story again! I hope the beautifully vivid fantasy of running away out to the woods isn’t an autobiographical reflection on the earlier announcement! 😉 (Although don’t we all feel that way sometimes?)
September 12th, 2015 at 9:06 pm
Thanks Joy, and no, the preface and the story aren’t related, although I was aware of how it looked when I put them side by side. Actually, I love my job (and my wife would hunt me down and clobber me if I disappeared into the woods without a trace 😉 )
September 12th, 2015 at 4:53 pm
A nice way to get a real break from work! Congratulations on your promotion!
September 12th, 2015 at 9:05 pm
This is what I used to do when I worked at a factory years ago. It gives you a lot of time to think.
September 12th, 2015 at 6:20 pm
Great story! Congratulations on your nice promotion!
September 12th, 2015 at 9:04 pm
Thanks Joy, on both counts. 🙂
September 12th, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Good to see you back, David. And congrats big time on your recent promotion. I have a sister and brother-in-law that live in Cedar Falls, Ia. during the warmer months (spring-autumn) as they have properties there, and the rest of the time (during winter) live in Liberty, Mo. My brother-in-law is an Ia. native and loves his Iowa sweet corn. 🙂 Cute story, above. Have a good week.
September 12th, 2015 at 7:13 pm
I love that it’s the break buzzer that pulls him out of his daydream. Maybe one day he can escape the daily routine. And congrats!
September 12th, 2015 at 9:03 pm
Thanks! 🙂 I’m sure we’ve all had days like this, right?
September 12th, 2015 at 7:28 pm
This is how I felt this week. Well done. ^_^v
September 12th, 2015 at 9:03 pm
You’ve got a whole outback to disappear into, although I wouldn’t try it. 🙂
September 12th, 2015 at 9:43 pm
I’d rather be out there with stuff to trade, if necessary. XD
September 13th, 2015 at 2:56 am
Congratulations on your promotion.
September 13th, 2015 at 8:41 am
I know how he feels. One day he’ll make it for real. I like your story of escape, even if it’s all imagined.
September 13th, 2015 at 6:33 pm
Thanks Margaret. I think we all have those days.
September 13th, 2015 at 1:01 pm
Great exercise in escapist day dreaming. Maybe triggered by your demanding new schedule…congratulations to you!!
September 13th, 2015 at 6:32 pm
Maybe triggered a little by how busy I am, although I really wouldn’t want to escape. 🙂
September 13th, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Congratulations on your promotion and it kust be a nice feeling.
Being a writer one has the liberty to imagine what is impossible in real life transcending barriers of time and place.
http://ideasolsi65.blogspot.in/2015/09/boat.html?m=1
September 13th, 2015 at 6:32 pm
Thanks, and yes, I think you’re right about what it is to be a writer.
September 14th, 2015 at 12:14 am
congratulations! it is a great achievement in a new country!
September 17th, 2015 at 7:53 pm
Yeah, I’m slowly making my way here.
September 14th, 2015 at 10:32 am
You’re still my very favorite, Friday Fictioneer. 🙂
September 17th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Aw, thanks so much. That means a lot me, truly.
September 17th, 2015 at 11:46 pm
It’s true. You’re a born storyteller.
September 14th, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Congratulations, David. Even a part time job, which I now have, takes up quite a lot more time, so I understand your plight. I always enjoy your stories, though, and this one was no exception. We didn’t get to go to Wyoming this year on our annual trip and I’ve taken more than one mental break. 😦
janet
September 17th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
Thanks, Janet. I think I’m slowly getting on top of the workload, so that’s good. At least I’ll try not to make a break for it. 🙂
September 14th, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Well told story of the imagination told is so few words. Well done. 🙂
September 17th, 2015 at 7:50 pm
Thanks, Susan. Glad you liked it.
September 16th, 2015 at 12:29 am
Congrats on your new post.
Good story. That Jack, he’s a heck of a guy.
September 17th, 2015 at 7:41 pm
Thanks Dawn. Glad you liked the story.
September 18th, 2015 at 6:51 am
Perfect!
September 25th, 2015 at 9:47 am
Congratulations David!…I’m really happy for you. May the Lord grant you favor, success and blessings in this new endeavor.
September 28th, 2015 at 8:14 pm
Thanks Kim. So far so good.
October 8th, 2015 at 1:27 am
Congratulations on the new job! I like going for “mind wanders” too. Although the crash back to reality can be a bitch!
October 19th, 2015 at 7:40 pm
Yeah, some jobs allow for it more than others. Not a great idea for a surgeon, for example. 🙂
Thanks for the comment and sorry it took me so long to reply, by the way. No excuse. 😦