Palm trees and bright lights and smiling people.
The glamour. The glitz. The full Hollywood razzmatazz.
Over-turned cars and burning fires and desperate people.
The injustice. The violence. The full social unrest.
Cameras clicking and flashbulbs sparking and the crowd cheers.
The gowns. The radiant idols. The elite on show.
Cameras clicking and flashbulbs sparking and the mob riots.
The disillusioned. The disadvantaged. The blood on the streets.
A city divided.
A country collapsing.
A world lost.
Written for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above). Come on everyone, just wear a mask.
To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
Iain Kelly 
Let’s hope your grim vision doesn’t turn out to be a prediction
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It’s already happening, and no one seems to be capable of stopping it.
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Dear Iain,
I only hope you’re not writing our epitaph. Well done in any event.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. Next week, something more positive, it’s almost become too easy to write about how bad things are…!
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It does seem to be the way we are heading.. I hope it’s stopped before the collapse is complete and the world lost.
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Who knows where we will end up, I don’t think anyone can really predict where this will stop.
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No, nobody can predict. Who would have predicted this year?!
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Great writing, Iain!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you Susan
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Brilliant Iain.
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Thank you Di
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you’re welcome
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How very true.
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Thanks Michele
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A tale of two cities and the reality of many places. Very true depiction.
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Thank you Gabriella.
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Pretty well says it all. Is this why a lot of us are depressed?
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It’s like we’ve woken up to it and can’t deal with how awful it has become.
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Iain, I really liked how you contrasted the two worlds–one of glitz and glamour and the other of disillusion and harsh reality. Dickens would be impressed 🙂
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Thank you so much – high praise indeed! 🙂
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You’re welcome. It’s well deserved 🙂
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Even Hollywood can’t build an illusion to cover up what’s going on.
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Nope, in fact it could be what finally ends the dream factory altogether.
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It always seems to be the best of times for some and the worst of times for some. Though, things do seem to be tilting toward the worst.
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The worst for the majority. Maybe it will get so bad that real change might happen?
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I hear you, though thankfully I don’t think we’re there yet (though we may be, if change in leadership does not come soon …). There is more order than disorder still, and more hope than hate. I’ll hold on to hope.
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I would like to as well, but it’s a struggle!
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We do what we can, eh? May things get better and be what they CAN be, for the GOOD.
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as long as we have leaders who thrive in fomenting division, i don’t see how we can get out of this cycle of destruction.
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I agree. We need new leaders with new ideas and better judgement and understanding.
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Things are in bad shape, indeed. Well expressed but is there no way coming out of it?
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I really hope so, but it’s hard to see at the moment.
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Love this. Hollywood is pretty on the outside, rotten on the inside.
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As we have seen in the last few years. I’m sure there are many more horrible stories that remain hidden.
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The two sides of every big city the world over. Nice one!
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Thank you
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The glamour and glitz can only hide the reality for so long. What then?
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I hate to say it, but I think we are discovering that at this moment, and it’s not very pretty.
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And I thought I went dark. Good one, Iain. And so horribly true.
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Thanks Bill, I’m aiming for a light-hearted one next week.
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Me too.
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Oh my word! This is excellent and deep.
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Thank you Liz
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Excellent comparison/contrast in response to the prompt. Two sides to every story. I find it somewhat ironic that all the Hollywood glitz-and-glamor crowd includes many voices raised in condemnation of said glitz-and-glamor.
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Yes, they do like to have an opinion these days, on everything.
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Sad commentary on life.
Ronda
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Thanks Ronda
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I’m just reading a book about the history of LA, including the notorious riots and the massive economic discrepancies in the city / county, so this piece feels really apt. It feels like such a two-faced (in all senses) city.
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Thank you, it really is a city that highlights the difference between the rich and poor.
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Ouch. I hope it doesn’t end like that. A grim hint of the future playing out.
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We’re not far off it at the moment 😦
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Paradise lost. This reminded me of Nathanel West’s The Day of the Locust and the burning of Los Angeles. Nice.
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Thanks so much Paula.
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So many injustices end in strife, it is sad.
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Afraid so. Thanks Mike
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A tale of the sign of the times, lain. Please say it isn’t so.
OK it is looking grim for the future but let’s not give up hope.
Well done … Have a wonderful weekend … Be Safe
Isadora 😎
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Thanks Isadora, hopefully we can turn the corner for better times.
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Excellent piece, Iain. I’ve been to Hollywood, and less than a block from Hollywood Boulevard it’s a whole different world. There are a lot of poor and homeless people everywhere you look. The stars donated to starving children in Africa (which is good) yet ignore those in their own backyard.
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Thanks Russell. Exactly, as with this pandemic, we in the West seem very good at lecturing others about what they should have done or should be doing, when our own response has been woeful to say the least.
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A scary, chaotic and heartwrenching climate, succintly described. Thank you, Iain.
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Thank you
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Nicely done. Great contrast between the worlds that exist side by side.
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Thank you
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It seems to be a reality not to far ahead of us.
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No, we’re living it right now.
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Scary! Excellent writing.
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Thank you
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