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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Before and After (05/14/09)
Miss Crampton turned her back on us as she wrote on the blackboard in large, bold letters the word "TIME."

After rubbing her hands together to get rid of the chalk dust, she returned to her desk and sat down. "Allright, students, I have a rather interesting writing assignment for you this evening. I want you to put on your thinking caps and write down what words you would use to describe or interpret the word 'Time'.

"An easy assignment for all you budding Journalists and Writers, right? Well, in order to make it less easy and more mind boggling, I'll give some restrictions. Limit your word description to no more than five words and your deadline is in twenty (20) minutes."

The silence was disrupted by loud groans as we begrudgingly reached for paper and pen as we rolled our eyes at one another in disbelief.



Miss Crampton quietly sat at her desk grading last week's assignment while (I assume) secretly chuckled to herself as she awaited her (obscene and asinine)deadline.

I hurriedly thought about words like clocks, alarm clocks, watches, sun dials, eras, hours, minutes, bed time, Christmas time, six o'clock dinnertime, ancient days, daylight saving time, a pendulum, sand in a bottle....but no descriptive words of Time came to mind. I was drawing nothing but blanks.

Frustrated, and seemingly stymied, fruitless and nil, I started daydreaming about my life: before and after leaving home; before and after the marriage, the breakup and divorce; before and after the flood that took everything I owned; before and after the riot I lived through in Detrot, and before and after the near death incident when.....

Suddenly it dawned on me! It was nothing like a little bulb going 'On' in my brain - but like a huge bolt of lightning had hit me! That's It. I've got it! Time is defined by three little words. "BEFORE AND AFTER."

Time is measured by what happened Before, and what happened After.. Like BC is before Christ and AD is after Christ. That perfectly describes TIME. Before TV, the family communicated with each other, talked, chatted and gathered around the radio, but After TV arrived, the world changed, families changed and violence and immorality became much more rampant.

We older folks always say "Before the war or After the war" and we instantly know the precise time we're discussing.

It was just seconds before the Timer went off that I finished my essay on the description of the word Time, and I also did it in just three words.

"Before and After."


________________________________________
PS: Miss Crampton gave me an "A", by the way.
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This article has been read 1151 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
c clemons
05/21/09
Very good!
Rachel Rudd
05/21/09
Short, sweet, and to the point...well written!
Charla Diehl
05/22/09
Creative and fun story that fit perfectly to the topic. I enjoyed every word.
Sara Harricharan
05/24/09
LOL! Glad you got an "A" on it, whether this is fictional or not! It certainly deserved it! Super creative and a truly delightful read! loved it!
Patricia Herchenroether
05/26/09
I am confused about this student's age-thought it was a kid until reading about the divorce paragraph. I can't think of a better way to describe "time" than the one you gave. Well done.
Debbie Roome
05/27/09
Very clever - well done.