#06 – Colorado
Two 55-word short stories inspired by newspaper articles in the Denver, Colorado area.
The Hurling
“How could you embarrass me like that?” Trina screamed, hitting Dave while she drove.
“Come on! You always say she’s a bitchface,” Dave hated fighting and felt sick. “Pull over. I’m gonna puke.”
“Go to hell, you drunk!” Trina sped up.
Dave opened the car door to be sick and fell out onto the interstate.
Hindsight
Outside the funeral home, Helen complained, “That ain’t Iris in there.”
At Carol’s open coffin, her husband cried out, “This can’t be her.”
The funeral director assured the mourners, “People never really accept death.”
Five days later, the families insisted the police dig up the coffins. Case solved: The drunken undertaker had switched the bodies.
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To explore more 55-word short stories, try…
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REAL NEWS STORIES used as inspiration for the short short stories above
Man exits moving car on I-225
By The Denver Post
Posted: 01/26/2010
Aurora police are investigating why a man exited a moving car on Interstate 225 in Aurora tonight.
The man was seriously injured and transported to a local hospital, but his name and condition have not been released.
Detective Shannon Lucy, Aurora police spokeswoman, said the man “for whatever reason, decided to get out of a car while it was moving. It looks like it might be a domestic situation.”
The driver of the car stopped immediately in the northbound lanes of I-225 near East Mississippi Avenue at 8:55 p.m.
Lucy said the incident was under investigation. The speed of the vehicle and the nature of any possible dispute were not immediately available.
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Funeral Home Mix-Up: Family Says Funeral Home Lost Body
Pipkin Mortuary Accused Of Putting Wrong Body In Casket
POSTED: 5:32 pm MST January 30, 2010
DENVER — The family of 64-year-old Imogene Jackson is accusing Pipkin Mortuary of losing her body.
Family members told 7NEWS, when they went to the funeral home for the wake Friday night, someone else’s body was in the casket.
“My wife called me and told me the body in the casket is not Mrs. Jackson,” said Thomas Washington, a close family friend. “I said, ‘Where is the body?’ You know, they don’t know where the body is.”
The family said they spoke to the owner, Mark Pipkin, and were given several excuses about how the mix-up happened.
However, it wasn’t until Saturday morning that the funeral home notified the family that they had found Mrs. Jackson.
“It’s still shocking to me. I still can’t understand how they could do something like that,” said Washington.
When 7NEWS attempted to ask Pipkin how the apparent mix-up happened, he refused the opportunity to answer questions.
Funeral home workers wouldn’t comment either.
“The funeral home has the responsibility to provide the care, the service, and supporting the family. That’s their responsibility,” said Dianne Harrell, a family friend. “They need to answer to someone for this horrible mistake.”
Pipkin Mortuary could have to answer to D.O.R.A., the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. As of January 1, 2010, mortuaries and crematories are required to be registered with D.O.R.A. Before then, there was no state regulation of these types of businesses.
According to legislation passed last year, if D.O.R.A finds negligence in this case, Pipkin Mortuary could have to pay thousands of dollars in fines, or someone could face jail time.
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Click HERE for information about my 2010 Write America Project. Thanks for visiting martycorreia.com.
Marty, I am still working on my 55 word short story. You and Steve Moss are tooooo much. I’ve been going at it since the beginning of August and now it is nearing the end of the month. As soon as I get one that has spirit, I am going to put it on my blog. Dang Marty, gotta get a piece of your mind.