Sunday, June 20, 2010

Microfiction Monday: Jumping the Shark

Welcome to Microfiction Monday, at Stony River: a writing life, where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.

[Hate counting letters and spaces? Try Design 215's character counter, which will count for you as you type. Microsoft Word will count for you too, of course, as part of its word count feature under the 'Review' tab.] Here's this week's picture, and my story to go with it.



Dad was a character actor. When the kids gingerly suggested he might be jumping the shark, he took it literally. It wasn't a happy landing.

(From Wikipedia: Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful enterprise. The phrase was originally used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd story lines or unlikely characterizations.)

Hope all Dads had a happier Father's Day than the one in my story! Have a great week everyone.

19 comments:

  1. Oh, I love it, Michael! What a hoot! And how clever you are! Hope you had a great weekend!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love character actors!
    fine job

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for the definition, I have heard the phrase before but didn't really know the meaning.
    Took me a bit to figure out "low hanging fruit"
    Loved your MM, and your take was a perfect fit with the picture.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. God God, Dad's name wasn't Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli, was it?! LOL!

    Your microfiction was BIG on laughs! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. My Life is jumping the shark...but just remembered that still have my father's day chocolate so misery on hold. Mine is a homage to On the Waterfront this week and is here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey - I learned a new phrase. Entertaining AND educational!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Never heard that phrase before but I like it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. So funny. I could visualize it happpening!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never heard of that phrase and I'm a native English speaker. This is why English is so difficult for ESL students! Ha ha - what's the difference between jumping the broom and jumping the shark? Ai-yi-yi!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've never heard that phrase before so thanks for the definition. Love your take on the picture. :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the early morning laugh, Michael! Witty story and very creative.

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's a new expression for me - I shall store it away for use sometime in the future! Great take - poor kids, unlucky Dad ;-/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dad sounds like he might now be in pain. Interesting trivia bit. I love trivia.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hmmm, velly interesting! Really enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Now that's one time the kids should have made sure dad knew exactly what they were talking about!

    ReplyDelete
  17. That is hysterical! Nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Poor Dad, I hope he has a happy ending. I never heard this saying before. We learn with Susan's Pictures

    ReplyDelete

If comments be the food of love, comment on. Give me excess of them... (With apologies to The Bard)