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Poetry Magnum Opus

SAFARI


Frank E Gibbard

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Frank E Gibbard

Back in time in another era, before the magic of satellite communications an ancient missive called a telegram is delivered into the sweaty hands of a fiercely perspiring white man at a hotel front-desk in Kenya. He read through bleary eyes the urgent message from London on the paper strips: “Smith. What EH safari up to now? Ed.”

 

“Any reply Mr Smith?” He wrote on the proffered form and gave it back to the African clerk. Smith handed over the pittance of pence in payment for his curt reply to be transmitted.

 

He had answered his boss in the traditional journalist clipped, and more importantly, cheap style. An old familiar pun had popped by a hack’s reflex into his otherwise befuddled head. “Ed. safari so good. Smith.”

 

His brevity and he hoped what passed for wit on a bad day, might just at a push find approbation at the desk of his hard-bitten editor back in Fleet Street, and buy him some much needed time. An old joke he knew, but what the hell? For now he reckoned the job done, and at least he had cash to buy enough booze to placate his monumental hangover on the dusty trip to catch up the famed author’s safari party. Smith resolved though never to try and out drink Hemingway again.

 

The End.

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What a fantastic, entertaining snippet, Frank. I love how you tell the "story within the story." I can't imagine that this type of creativity can be possible without intimate knowledge or prior research of the subject. Very well done.

 

Tony

 

 

PS -- I'm sorry I haven't gotten to your other prose piece yet. I hope to get to that one, too, soon. Happy B-day, btw.

Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic

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Frank E Gibbard
What a fantastic, entertaining snippet, Frank. I love how you tell the "story within the story." I can't imagine that this type of creativity can be possible without intimate knowledge or prior research of the subject. Very well done.

 

Tony

 

 

PS -- I'm sorry I haven't gotten to your other prose piece yet. I hope to get to that one, too, soon. Happy B-day, btw.

Thanks for the birthday greeting and comment Tony. I am jolly glad you read my story. Frank

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