THE GRASS IS GREENER
As Bob stood waiting for his fiancée and her parents to arrive for dinner, he thought of his old friend Paul. He missed his childhood buddy, but he was glad he hadn’t gone with him to Chicago.
Ugh, Chi-town, cold, windy and bleak. Route 66, indeed. New York City was the center of the universe. He’d done well enough in advertising to afford this fine apartment in a prestigious building on Central Park. Too bad he couldn’t get one with a view of the Park.
He had added mums to his end of ‘the courtyard’, but somebody kept stealing them.
Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple website and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.
Archon's Den 
Good story, Archon. Looks like there are both good and bad things about living in New York City. Well done. 🙂 Suzanne
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There’s good and bad things about living anywhere. I was just trying to point out the realities vs. the unthinking assumptions of some of life’s decisions. 😦
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That guy standing in the picture must really look like a ‘Bob’, as we both named him ‘Bob’. A rather bleak photo has allowed the writers to write ‘bleak’ storylines and get away with it. This was a nice piece, at least your ‘Bob’ had some hope of eating with his family.
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Actually, with that hair, he looks more like a Jewish guy named Aaron, or Lev. ‘Bob’ just seems to be my go-to name, like Dude, or Buddy. At the auto-parts plant, I’d be about halfway into a joke about a ‘Bob’, and remember that the work partner I was telling it to, was Bob. 😯
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Actually he’s a Jewish guy named Shannon. 😉 His grandfather’s name was Bob.
Shalom,
Shannon’s mother.
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On this side of the Torah, Shannons tend to be female. 😕
Was grandfather ‘Bob’ like the Canadian-born/Greek-heritage kid I once worked with? I was amazed to see on his driver’s licence, the first name Constantinopolus. Apparently the Greeks shorten that to ‘Bob’. 😯
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If I were him, I would have gone for a less prestigious apartment with a better view, I think!
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Me too, but other people’s needs and wants create choices which carry different consequences. 🙄
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The dude needs a hot tub under a pergola.
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Probably – but not in that neighborhood. 😯
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Sounds like maybe he chose prestige and status over friendship. Hmm… Well done!
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Money can buy happiness, but he doesn’t look happy. 😦
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If I had to choose a large city in which to live, I’d probably choose Chicago over NYC, but living in the Chicago metropolitan area is better. 🙂 Sort of a wistful story, at least to me.
janet
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Knowing very little about either, I’ll accept your judgement. I know that the suburban sections of Detroit, or even Flint, that I’ve visited, are a lot prettier and nicer than the bombed-out downtowns.
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Downtown Chicago is quite nice, at least a lot of it. Not sure what all is considered “downtown”, but it’s a good city. Thankfully, we live in the ‘burbs.
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The flowers ending caused me to shake my head … but with a smile.
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I got a ‘lipstick-on-a-pig’ feeling. Desperately trying to remind himself of his grandma’s gardens, back in Iowa.
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Dear Archon,
A finely crafted tale of two cities…and flowers..and the mystery who is taking them. Well done.
Aloha,
Doug
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Thanx Doug. The flower mystery may not be worth investigating. This is the big city. My Father’s rather irreverent, but probably accurate accusation was, “They’d steal Christ off the cross, and come back the next day for the nails.” 😯
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Reminds me of when we lived in an urban condo once, for about a year. It was in Framingham, Massachusetts during my last tour in the Navy – I was eligible for quarters but they weren’t initially available, so the condo seemed the reasonable option.
We didn’t like it. The walls were reasonably thick, but occasional strange noises were hard to ignore. As a military family we had little in common with our neighbors. Hallways, elevators and the parking garage could be creepy, especially at night. There were occasional rumors of petty crimes and vandalism.
If a man’s home is his castle, what is his condo? More like a cell in a hive, I think.
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Despite beliefs and expectations, nothing is perfect. Everyone has to make compromises, and live with the results. Some folks like to live in a hive. It gives the impression of social/emotional support – much like religion. 🙄
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I enjoyed the tie in to last week’s prompt. It made for a more interesting take for this week’s.
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I’m glad you saw the connection, and liked it. 🙂
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Oh dear – he made a few bad choices there. But at least he’s trying to brighten things up, and it’s never too late to head off down that highway. Good story.
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They may not be bad choices for him. We can’t have Everything – I mean, where would we put it, but I felt a small-town boy, trying to sand some of the corners off the cold hard city. 🙂
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I think that was me who was stealing them.
I thought Ma Kettle put them out there.
Sorry. I’ll put them back immediately.
Randy
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Now there’s a name I haven’t heard, or thought about for a long time. Thanx for the read – and the memories. 🙂
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Dear Archon,
As irony would have it, the picture was taken in upstate New York.
That’s how friendships often go. Everyone’s dreams are different. I enjoyed your story. Mum’s the word.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Every Good Boy Deserves….airshafts – even in Utica. 🙂
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Love the twist…
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😀
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