35 Comments
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Kate Henry's avatar

Life in a sparkly.

Yeah, the canyon is like that. Zowie.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Hello, Kate! Thanks for reading! I hope you are well, my friend.

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Sue Cauhape's avatar

While traveling down a southern Utah highway, I zoned out on a lone mountain. It has stood there, slowly eroding, yet its billion-year-existence has seen everything, from the turbulent inland sea that flooded over its head to the trains of Starlink lights crossing the sky.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

That mountain has history! Write about what it has seen, endured, created.

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Sue Cauhape's avatar

I'll put it on the rundown list. Thank you.

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Heather Brebaugh's avatar

I love both of these, Sharron. Inspiration can come in a tiny "U" or a grand canyon.

PS - I love reading your 50 (100) word stories. You so capture a moment in just a few words. That's a gift.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Thank you, Heather. Most of these vignettes are inspired by a photo. I write 50 words,but maybe the photo says 100 more? Wonder if that is cheating...

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Heather Brebaugh's avatar

There's not cheating in writing.....or is that there's no crying in baseball.....I forget...

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Wade's avatar

Uplifting! Inspiring! Namaste!🙏

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Hey! Thanks, neighbor. I think we can find our inspiration anywhere!

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T. D. Wolf's avatar

It’s a cliché, but it’s true. Pictures don’t do the Grand Canyon justice. It has to be seen in person.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Until you see it, you cannot know. I stood at that rim and cried like a baby. I could hardly breathe.

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Thomas D’Arcy O’Donnell's avatar

.. lovin them .. ‘in the eyes of the beholder’ .. said so well.. remarkable !

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Yeow! Thank you, Timber. Yes - anything can set us off in a new direction - from the tiniest treasure to the most magnificent landscape. You never know what one thing will change your pathway when least expected! Thanks for letting me borrow your unusual photo.

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Karen Kenworthy's avatar

You inspire me to look for omens today!, I never want to be so complacent as to think I always know what awaits.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Yes! Follow that advice. You are on to something, Karen. Our lives can change in an instant, can't they?

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Switter’s World's avatar

Make sure she leaves the U turned open end up. I live in a country once where they fitted horseshoes on their trucks open side down. It was a miserable little country, all because the horseshoes weren’t able to catch good luck when it rained down.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Good advice. Of course she could have turned it with the open end to the right, "C", and then be directed to observe and understand... a completely different omen.

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Switter’s World's avatar

Or C for compact, concise, and concentrated, in homage to your stories.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Hah! Thank you, sir!

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Alexander Ipfelkofer's avatar

Oh sparkly U! I am listening to Ten Sharp's "You". Wonderful words, Sharron!

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Okay... now I will have to go see what that piece of music is all about. Thank you, Alexander.

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Alexander Ipfelkofer's avatar

It's just a little Dutch one-hit wonder band from the 90s.

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Alois Ackerman's avatar

Dang, Sharron,

Those two bits worth of micro fiction are really good. Masterful. I mean Mistressful.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Ha ha ha. Mama was mid eighties when I took her to the Canyon. We were both like little kids riding that train, and we BOTH had trouble breathing and speaking at our first view. You think you know what it will look like, but you don't. Truly indescribable!

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Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Both stories...FANTASTIC. Always a little highlight in my day 😊

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Aww. Thank you, Kristi.

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Justin Deming's avatar

Two absolute gems, Sharron. “U” make Substack a wonderful place to be.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

No, it's YOU! You were the first Substack I subscribed to, back in December 2022. It was my lucky day.

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Justin Deming's avatar

I don’t know if I ever knew that! Well, that’s very kind of you to say. Thank you, Sharron. 😊 I feel just as lucky!

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Mark VanLaeys's avatar

Hopefully we'll never get so old as to lose our sense of awe when it beckons.

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Linda Cardillo's avatar

That 80 year old woman is going to be me someday. No doubt about it!

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

Breathtaking, both!

I even found myself thinking 'wow, however did Sharron find a picture to show EXACTLY what she is describing here in this story?' 🤣

The Grand Canyon sounds absolutely incredible - I've only seen it in pictures and on screen, so have very little sense of its scale. Just wow.

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Thank you, Rebecca. And I was enchanted by your marmalade story today! The art is incredible!

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

You're so kind, Sharron - how lovely! Thank you. 🍊

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