Thanks to Rochelle @ Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple for another midweek, Friday Fictioneers photo prompt. Her weekly challenge is for us to write a story of 100 words or less based on a photo prompt (this week, hers).
***
Genre: Memoir
Title: When I Met Sparky
Word Count: 100
Old Sparky was its name. A useless device, except for taking out life 695 times.
I could have been seeing any old gallows, a chopping block, a guillotine, but it was an ugly wooden chair with dried up leather straps and old wires. It was a creative invention to kill in a kinder, gentler way.
I felt a willfulness choke me.
I kept my emotions hidden. When the warden asked if I would like to sit in the chair (against the rules), without moving my eye from what must have been a sight for thousands, I mumbled a muffled, “Nope.”
***
Look both ways when you kill.
Mind the gaps death cannot be undone.
Our Literary Journey 
‘Old Sparky’ came to life for me in your telling of this tale. Well done, Bill 🙂
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Thank you, Sue.
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Grim 🙄
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It was.
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What an absolutely macabre naming
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Dear Bill,
My mind suddenly flashed to “The Green Mile.” That must’ve been quite an experience. And I love how you used the one word from the prompt. Brilliant usage. You never disappoint.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You make me blush, Rochelle.
It took place about 1970ish, but it was the Texas chair. The number I used was for the New York executions using that method.
Peace,
Bill
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My mind went there, too!
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i don’t blame him. it’s a kind of uneasy chair that makes one uncomfortable in a death or life situation. 🙂
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Nope, don’t need to sit in Old Sparky…
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Chilling how “creative” men and women are at killing devices. And then to proudly display them . . . . Twisted.
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Oh, and then there are all the creations for torture.
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That’s another story . . . .
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Chilling Bill, I could sense those ghosts. Excellent writing.
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An evocative story. I wouldn’t want to sit there either.
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I don’t know if it’s true, but I thought I read Thomas Edison promoted the invention of the electric chair partly in order to sell his competitor’s AC electric current as dangerous in the public’s minds.
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I’d definitely not want to sit in a chair which had seen so much pain and death. Chilling.
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Excellent write. And I know there are weirdos out there who would love to sit in it, just to say they have. *Shudder*
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Well written. You evoked the emotion of the experience very well. It must have made a big impact on you. I like the use of the prompt!
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It did.
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A creepy device indeed. He seems to be particularly struck by it… nicely told. The uncomfortable emotion seeps into this nicely. Well written.
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Thank you, Laurie.
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Excellent telling, Bill. I’m ambivalent about Old Sparky. One part of me wants it burned to ashes in a crematorium and another part wants it stand as a testament to the barbarity humans love to visit upon each other.
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Very well told, you just let the scene do the talking. Loved how you incorporated the sign into your story.
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Thank you.
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Yes, amazing how museums keep such morbid items perhaps to remind us that there are dark sinister motives that need cleansing.
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At the time I was there, the chair was still located in the room where executions were carried out, so the whole death row environment could be seen and felt. Now, there is a Texas Prison Museum and Sparky has been relocated.
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No matter how weary I was I would not plant my butt on that chair – I’d end up having nightmares for months and my storytelling would turn dark. Nope!
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Yep and nope. 🙂
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Yeah, you don’t want to meet Old Sparky. I like this line: “It was a creative invention to kill in a kinder, gentler way.”
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What a frightening prospect, sitting in that chair imbued with the souls of hundreds, guilty or otherwise. Good take.
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Thank you, Sandra.
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Dark and dismal. Humanity’s underbelly is not very pretty, is it?
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Human inhumanity to man is old story. Not pretty at all.
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Kinder and gentler? I don’t think so. Harsh, terrifying, yes. Of course, you could always point to the fact that crime was even more horrendous than the punishment, in many cases.
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P.S. I couldn’t “like” your post–computer wouldn’t let me. Don’t know if it’s my problem or yours, but anyway, just wanted you to know I did like it, very much. Descriptions were perfect.
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Thanks, Linda. I will look into it. WP can be finicky.
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It’s weird–the notifications show up on my stats page, but not on my main page. My “like” button doesn’t work for me, though, and no one else’s does, either. I’ve done a little searching, but I get so impatient trying to weed through things I don’t understand!
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Hey Linda,
The post has 31 likes, which is about normal. When we interact with WP sites, we need to be sure that we are in the “blog.” I can’t tell you exactly how to do that.
Sometimes, when I hit like I get a flash but nothing really changes (most likely did not take). Also, some folks comment and do not like. Or, maybe it is not working for them either.
But I thank you for caring enough to tell me. 🙂
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I have no understanding of any way of killing … old sparky was not so kind if I have understood it right… but maybe less severe for the executioner.
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I think the electric chair was a pain to use for everyone. Botched executions were not uncommon.
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A powerful story and a chilling memory for you knowing so many had died in that chair. I find it sad that an instrument of death, any death, should be on display. Good decision to just say “nope.” Excellent writing.
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Thank you, Branda.
Back when I saw Sparky, it was not “on display” but still in room just off of Death Row. I was being given a private tour with a friend. Now, it is on display in a Prison Museum.
I think it should be on display. When I saw that chair that day, my view of capital punishment was firmly fixed in my memory. I think we need to know and to face the truth.
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Thank you for clarifying, Bill. I suppose you are right, facing the truth is always best. =)
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