Readers: first and foremost, my deepest apologies for the long lay-off between my last column and this one. I believe it has been two months… What can I say? Life—and work—just grabbed me by the ba—um, throat…and only recently unfastened its ligature grip on me. But perhaps the time off wasn’t all that bad. In that time, I was able to disconnect and detox from the overdrive of daily, even minute-by-minute “news-worthy stories…”
When I had a chance to breathe during the past two months, I caught up with old friends in California (my former home state), heard about some really shady, vindictive goings-on in local politics. Maybe one day I’ll write about them…but what I found myself doing most during those few, free moments was to take up a new challenge–a dear friend of mine has really gotten into “twiction,” otherwise known as Twitter Fiction. This, in case you can’t guess by its label, is a little piece of fiction in 140 characters or less.
For those of you who know something about fiction, this is not flash fiction or sudden fiction. This is much shorter. And it requires much more concision…and the uncanny, poetic ability to metabolize the meanings of words.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
So I tried my hand at a few short pieces of fiction, and then I began to slowly turn my attention back to the political scene. I picked up a book titled, “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich in which she goes undercover and works a bunch of low-wage, minimum-wage jobs to see if she can “live.” Or even “survive.” One of her chapters is dedicated to her experience as a Wal*Mart employee…uh, sorry, Wal*Mart Family Member, as Wal*Mart likes to say, and drill into their workers.
The book is amazing. Maybe I’ll review it one day. But for now, I’ll just let my “twiction” do the talking. Here is how to capture Wal*Mart in 140 characters or less.
Title: Shareholders’ Convention
“At Tallmart, we love our employees. We provide the # to welfare, housing and Medicaid offices. And local soup kitchens. We are family!”
Writer’s note: the “identity” of the “low-price, slave-wage, sweatshop-using mega-superstore” has been changed for its own protection…
So, what do you guys think? As I am new to this whole “twitter writing,” I’d appreciate feedback.
And, in the comments section below, feel free to try your hand at capturing Wal*Mart in 140 characters or less. I’d love to see what you all come up with!
Ciao for now, readers! Till next time.
