Sunday, May 24, 2009

$ - Contest - you make the story - cash prize - $



This weekend is the time for Freedom Weekend Aloft, our annual hot air balloon festival. In addition to the balloons, there is live entertainment, rides for the kids, a Frisbee Dog contest and more.

This year the balloons came over our neighborhood. One landed in the street less than a block away. My wife took the photo at the right of one of the balloons that flew overheard. She didn't realize the bird was in the picture until she got home and downloaded the pics.

I was trying to decide a caption and a story to go along with the picture and decided to hold a contest. You, my faithful readers, can write your own caption and story and post it here. I'm actually going to give a cash prize! Ok, it's not great, but I figure with this being Memorial Day weekend ("first enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War" according to Wikipedia), I can spring for a crisp Abe Lincoln, a $5 bill.

So here's the challenge. Come up with a caption or headline for the picture and short story to go along with it. On Saturday, May 30, I'll review all of the entries and announce results. I'll send the winner $5 by either snail-mail or PayPal (if I can figure it out), so be sure I can get in touch with you by email if you think your story is best. I may engage the services of an additional judge. Decisions of the judges will be arbitrary and final, no whiners allowed.

3 comments:

Ashley Beth said...

"Lochness Crow Kills Tourists"

We've all heard the legend of the Lochness Crow which lives deep in the forests of Greenville County, SC. Legend tells us the crow is taller than a 2 story building and has a wingspan wider than that of a 757. The legend dates back to the 1800s. No one knows how it got started and until yesterday, no one believed it was true.

Yesterday some unlucky tourists took a hot air balloon into the air to catch a glimpse of Greenville's beauty. Out from the forest swooped the Lochness Crow. The crow ate everything including the gas that was lifting the balloon. Friends and family of the tourists are demanding the Lochness Crow be found and euthenized. PETA officials say the crow thought the balloon was a play toy and the crow should be left alone. Greenville tourism has banned all balloon trips over the Greenville forest.

Adam said...

STEROID SCANDAL ROCKS BIRD COMMUNITY

In a shocking revelation that some cynics say is becoming all to common, one of the world's most popular and powerful song birds has been indefinitely suspended after testing positive for steroids.

"Slammin'" Sonny Sparrow was notified of the decision late Saturday. Authorities were tipped of after a photo taken by a local woman showed Sonny devouring a hot air balloon at a popular festival.

"I've seen a lot of sparrows in my time, and that just ain't natural," said the woman, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution. "I've seen that Hitchcock movie. I know what they are capable of."

The suspension has a devastating effect on the songbird season, which will loses its most popular singer in the midst of the worse economic downturn in the nation's history.

"People just aren't listening to the birds anymore," Commissioner Cardinal Robinson said. "It's really sad."

Randy said...

Ashley, great story. I especially like the interjection of PETA into the story.

Adam, another great story. I'd be afraid of "Slammin'" Sonny Sparrow. You missed the deadline by about 24 hours, but even more importantly, your blogger profile doesn't identify WHICH Adam you are.

Note to all: Overall, I'd say this contest was a success, so expect another contest in the future. Just not too soon.