Flash fiction…

Keith's Ramblings

for Friday Fictioneers

 

im-fell-dw-pica.italic

 

photographer

 

That fellow would have us believe a machine will one day rival the artist’s palette and brush.

He made me sit perfectly still.  He stood behind a tree legged contraption, flung a sheet over his head and bent down.  In one hand he held aloft a device on a stick.  All of a sudden the wretched thing flashed brightly and billowed smoke into the air.   I was near blinded and almost choked.  I’m to return tomorrow to view the result of his endeavour.

No, he is wrong.  Next, they’ll suggest that machines will one day replace pen and ink.

Utter balderdash!

 

sig

 

photos-ted-strutzThanks to Rochelle for hosting and Ted Strutz for the picture.

 

Click on the frog to see what others have come up with

bn

72 thoughts on “Flash fiction…”

  2. Lynn Love Oct 9, 2019 / 12:32

    Love that word – balderdash! Splendid. Imagine what the men in the photograph would think to the internet. Great story Keith

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  3. rochellewisoff Oct 9, 2019 / 12:59

    Dear Keith,

    Delightful story. I used to work as an inker-detailer for a drafting firm in the 1980’s. At that point word was that in the not too distant future my job would be done by computer. Preposterous balderdash. 😉

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 9, 2019 / 13:16

      Thanks, Rochelle. What will happen to jobs when everything in life is automated?

      Like

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  6. Na'ama Yehuda Oct 9, 2019 / 16:29

    Total balderdash! Then again, there you have Froggy, holding one of those contraptions, and calling “Watch the PEEPS!”
    And they say one day messages will appear on a screen as if typed by a ghost.
    Nonsense, that! 😉

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      • Na'ama Yehuda Oct 9, 2019 / 17:33

        Cheers (wait, how did those letters appear on the rectangle? They keep appearing as I touch something. This must be a delusion. Do you see the same thing I see?!!) 😉

        Liked by 1 person

      • Keith's Ramblings Oct 9, 2019 / 18:02

        I did actually see something like that when I got back from the pub last night!

        Like

    • pennygadd51 Oct 11, 2019 / 15:02

      Who needs a screen? Soon the thoughts will appear in our brains exactly as though we imagined them…

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  10. msjadeli Oct 9, 2019 / 20:12

    How far we’ve come in some ways. Naysayers will always exist and continue to be proven wrong.

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 10, 2019 / 09:17

      I’ll remind you that you said that in 10 years time when a device is thinking for you! Cheers Mimi

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  14. Lakshmi Bhat Oct 10, 2019 / 05:37

    My father-in-law who is 94 used to say that in his younger days no one even imagined the changes that have happened.
    Well written 😊

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 10, 2019 / 09:15

      Even 20 years ago we couldn’t have imagined things like Alexa and smart TV’s. Where will it go next? Thanks Lakshmi

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  16. Sandra Oct 10, 2019 / 10:06

    Who knows where the future will take us. I never thought there’d come the day when if I had a question to ask, or a fact to find, I would just go to my computer and voila! You’d think we’d all be a lot better informed than we are, I guess. Thought provoking.

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 11, 2019 / 10:28

      Everything we now do will seem old fashioned and out-moded in another hundred year! Cheers Sandra

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  17. draliman Oct 10, 2019 / 13:15

    Ah, the good old days…
    I wonder what things will be like a hundred years from now. Still no flying cars, I bet.

    Liked by 1 person

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  18. liz young Oct 10, 2019 / 16:47

    Ah, the well-worn phrase – ‘It’ll never catch on’. They said that about air travel – in my father’s lifetime!

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 11, 2019 / 10:22

      It wasn’t that long ago the suggestion that phones could take pictures would have seemed fanciful!

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  19. bearmkwa Oct 10, 2019 / 20:24

    Oh, wow, you captured that so very well. I remember sitting for just such an “old-timey” photo many many years ago to my Gram happy. She threatened me with bodily injury if I so much as breathed. When the photo came out, instead of a smile, I looked terrified. I’d love to know where that photo went, now, though.

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  20. Dale Oct 11, 2019 / 06:02

    Bubkis! Balderdash is one of my favourite words.
    This was a fantabulous story. Next thing you’re gonna tell me no one will go to the moving pictures…

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  21. James McEwan Oct 11, 2019 / 12:28

    I agree, what balderdash – next thing we will all have plugin memory chips implanted in our brains, least we forget.
    Then we can get lost in the past.

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  22. pennygadd51 Oct 11, 2019 / 15:06

    That’s a nice light-hearted look at technological progress, Keith, and a rather good take on the prompt.

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. Fatima Fakier Oct 12, 2019 / 13:45

    You did an excellent job of portraying their thoughts and feelings over this new invention.

    Liked by 1 person

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  24. otakuaegyochan Oct 12, 2019 / 14:59

    like I’m reading a classic book. The language is very elequent and I love the humor at the end!

    Liked by 1 person

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  27. Inside the Mind of Isadora Oct 12, 2019 / 19:58

    Progress … will it be for the good or bad? A whimsical looks at what the future
    has in store or, perhaps, the present has in store. It’s always a pleasure to read you stories.
    Isadora 😎

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  29. patriciaruthsusan Oct 13, 2019 / 13:18

    The opening of Al Capone’s vaults and Y2K were both two big disappointments. I, for one, don’t miss many of the old things like manual typewriters as I used them. Balderdash! I’ve read if you want a job in the future, become a teacher. It’s going to be a while before a computer can stand in front of a class of primary students and teach them, etc. The computer wouldn’t have the patience or personality. I love Froggie and his camera, Keith. 😀 — Suzanne

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 13, 2019 / 14:50

      You raise many good points Suzanne. Progress brings with it many highs and lows, but continue it must and continue it will. Once again I spent longer messing around with the frog than I did writing my piece but I think he’s wort a bit of my attention!

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  32. Dawn M. Miller Oct 14, 2019 / 06:24

    As a photographer I am often amazed at the skills and tenacity of those who came before me.

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    • Keith's Ramblings Oct 14, 2019 / 13:39

      There certainly was much more involved. I used to have my own darkroom and developing photos was much more fun than clicking a screen

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