It’s time for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s photo was provided by Sandra Crook.
Join in the fun. Here are instructions. The objective is to write a 100-word story based on the photo prompt below. All are welcome.

Genre: Memoir (100 words)
Time Capsulated
Time left no marks on our faces. It was measured with popsicle sticks and with pruny fingers from too much pool time. Our eyes blurred with chlorine as we watched double-features on repeat. We walked home with recycled tubs of popcorn in our bellies. No one told us to hurry. We kept no watches.
What we didn’t know was that this time we could never get back.
Do we have enough hands for all the candy at the store? Who would go? One more. Walk the dirt path. We traveled them all, shortcuts to save time that needed no saving.
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For more stories from the Fictioneers, click here.
Ahhh to go back in time to when we were kids! I miss those days. Great piece
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There’s no time like it. Thanks, Laurie.
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Oh yes, if we could only get back that feeling of time being endless. Great piece, Amy.
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Right, and endless in a good way. Thanks, Carrie. Glad you liked it.
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Love this. Always a luscious slather of the familiar everyday-ness and then, a glimpse of the underbelly. “…we could never go back…”
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What an insightful comment, Jen. I love your comment. Thanks so much.
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Beautiful, Amy. Read like a melancholic poem about life. Brought back memories of playing outside, barefoot, from sunrise to sunset it seemed. 🙂
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Thank you, Kelly. Glad I could stir up some memories for you. Those were the days. I used to spend so much more time outside, shoes optional. Barefoot was best. 🙂
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Weren’t they? It’s so much more dangerous these days it seems. I could never take my eyes off my kids when they were younger. But when I grew up, I just said see you later to my mom and left for the day! I would get cuts and scrapes and bee stings and stuff, too! And it’s funny, but I never let my own kids go barefoot! Too worried about them getting hurt like me I guess!
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Oh, the things we used to do as kids! Wander around after midnight. Yes, we did this. It’s unheard of today. I lived through it somehow, Kelly. I worry about my kids getting cuts and bee stings, too. Not to mention poison oak because my son is allergic.
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Oh yes, remember cases of poison ivy as well. Were we just tougher or did our parents not care as much?! I think it really is just a matter of safety. 🙂
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And we drove with no seat belts! At least for a while. Now, we’re ultra safe, but it is a safer world?
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Isn’t that the truth! And my mom smoked in the car! In the winter with the windows rolled up! OMG – I’m probably going to get cancer someday!
No, it isn’t a safer world. People are more violent now – definitely more guns around. School shootings were unheard of. My son just had an officer come into his school (again) to talk about being prepared in case of a shooting. They put baseballs in bags in each classroom as part of the plan because I guess throwing them at the shooter is supposed to be an effective deterrent, if a lot of balls are coming at them. What a thing to have to learn about!
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My mom smoked when she was pregnant. A different time.
What a thing to have to think about! Baseballs, huh? I haven’t heard that one. All we had to worry about were earthquakes. The school shootings really make me want to weep.
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I know – it’s unbelievable. I worry about that stuff with both of my kids every day. Apparently after studies were done on the Virginia Tech shooting, they found the “get on the floor” protocol didn’t work – you think?? So that’s where the baseballs come in. Good to know the procedures are improving – what a strange thought. 🙂
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I wish I could say with certainty it’ll never happen again. Of course, I hope they never have to implement them! That would be the best scenario.
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We can only hope and pray! 🙂
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That’s right, Kelly.
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Times as a kid were priceless with so few worries and a lot of living in the moment. Well done Amy … and that image can go in so many directions!
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Lots more of living in the moment. I’d return to those days in a heartbeat. I don’t know about reliving the whole thing though. Yes, it’s a great prompt that can go many different ways for sure. Thanks, Frank.
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Time as kids can go slow because we anxiously wait … while as adults, time flies because we’re pushing toward deadlines … yet, time is constant.
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There is something to do that, isn’t there? As adults time really does seem to run away from us. Time really flies. As kids, time seems to stand still. It’s lovely.
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Yep … the effect of anticipation vs deadlines … the time is the same, but the perspective is different.
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The perspective definitely changes. No doubt about that.
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Unquestionably because that’s growing up.
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Most people have to do that. Some never do and get away with it.
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That was a great snippet of childhood! So true time seemed endless as kids!
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Thanks, Dale. We all the time in the world, at least during the summer.
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Such a fabulous time in life!
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Many good times. I feel lucky.
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Me too. I had a great childhood
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them were the days… glad we have memories to remember them by.
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We always have our memories, I guess, since we can’t go back. Thanks, Plaridel.
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I’m in the middle of writing a longer story set in childhood and then at a mother’s bedside and have slowly realised the story is about that feeling of time stopping, if only for a while. You’ve captured it so well here.
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I love that about the feeling of time stopping or time being absent. I’d love to read your story. It’s sounds lovely. Thank you, MJ.
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I (vaguely!) remember those days… indeed we can never go back.
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We can’t go back. Not to that time, especially since it doesn’t exist anymore! It does seem like a long time ago. Thanks, Ali.
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Dear Amy,
This brought back memories to the time when the high point of the day was the ice cream man ringing his bell down our little street. I remember spoon malts and playing all day. Chlorine in the eyes…I was a swimmer then, too. Very nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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The ice cream man was a definite high point. Not the same as popsicles from home. 🙂 Those sound like wonderful memories, Rochelle. Once a swimmer, always a swimmer. I bet you still are. Thank you.
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I’m a lapper until I can lap no more. Hard to be landlocked when you’re a mermaid.
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Yay!! I knew you were a mermaid. I had a feeling. 🙂
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You did a great job of making us all feel nostalgic, Amy. What fun times we had. There was a swimming hole at the creek. Who need watches? This one made me feel warm and fuzzy all over.
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Thanks, Russell. Remember those days when we didn’t need to care about the time. The sun told us the time and that was good enough. A swimming hole in the creek sounds perfect.
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Happy days! Days when nothing mattered – except candy.
‘About Harry’, my 100 words!
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The candy was at the top of the list! Thank you, Keith. Thanks for your link.
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Lovely memories. The commentary on time is excellent. The ending : “shortcuts to save time that needed no saving.” is perfect.
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Thanks for your lovely comments, Ansumani. I’m glad you liked my ending. We knew all the shortcuts, but really didn’t need them, but I guess we had the time to find them all.
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This story had a luscious, timeless feel that makes us yearn for a simpler life: greater joy, fewer burdens. Lovely!
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Thanks so much for those nice comment, Jan. I’m glad it made you feel this way.
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The pruned and popsicle stained fingers… I remember those days well.
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The popsicle stained fingers, yes! And the stained tongues, too. Thank you.
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The happiest of times.
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It feels good to think of happy times. Thanks, Louise.
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Ah. Reflective, Amy. Nice.
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Thank you, Tom.
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Actually it felt a little sinister to me.. Like I was wrapped in too much cottoncandy… A sugary Groundhog Day where you always stuff your mouth with candy and there are only clowns to guide you right… But I can understand the nostalgia too.
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I was thinking much later after I wrote this how I sure did write about a lot of junk food. But, that’s how it was. Luckily, now I don’t need it all and rarely eat a candy bar. I don’t know about the clowns guiding us though. That sounds a bit on the creepy side. 🙂
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Hello, youth. I’ve missed you terribly. Where have you been hiding? This is the last place I thought I’d find you but here you are.
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Ta da! Here it is. It was just waiting for you. Glad I could find it for you, Mark. Aww, precious youth. We didn’t know how good we had it.
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Lovely story, Amy. Childhood nicely captured in a series of images that rang familiar to me.
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Thank you, Sandra. Thanks for the lovely photo. It inspired a lot of great stories this week.
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Lovely tribute to youth and unstructured time. Those were the days.
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Unstructured time was so key. Those were the days. I don’t think kids get enough of that now. Thanks, Erin.
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Isn’t it amazing how we all know exactly what you’re writing about, different ages, differen backgrounds? This is great. I don’t want to go back, but the endlessness of time, the ‘are we there yet’, and ‘soon’ being an eternity–I could need a few of those back. Oh, and excellent story, too. 😀 (What are recycled tubs of popcorn? the foreigner asks.)
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I feel the same way, Gah. I don’t necessarily want to go back, back…but maybe for just a little bit. I’m not sure you really want to know what recycled tubs of popcorn are! It’s a bit disgusting. But, hey, this proves we were kids. If you had an empty tub of popcorn, they would re-fill it for you, so…we kind of found them lying around. I know! I can’t believe we did that! Thank you.
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Now, that cracks me up. Thanks for the explanation.
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You’re welcome! I’m glad you’re not too disgusted.
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Send me back and keep me there! Lovely memories and reminiscenes
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I wish I could, Perry. I’d be right there with you. Thank you!
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I remember it well.
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Thanks, Dawn.
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I love the last line. “Shortcuts to save time that needed no saving” really hits the nail on the head.
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Thanks so much, Adam. I was proud of that line. 🙂
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A wonderful picture of childhood. That sense of all of time stretching before you – just amazing. Took me back.
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Thanks so much for your kind remarks, Margaret. That’s wonderful that you had that sense of time stretching out before you. Glad I could take you back.
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I enjoyed the story, Amy. I still have happy memories of childhood. I’m blessed to have a couple of friends who can share those memories. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks, Suzanne. Memories are best shared with friends. I’m glad you have some happy memories of your childhood. You don’t realize until you’re an adult just how short and special that time really is.
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Beautiful, reflective write, Amy… I remember feeling like I had all the time in the world as a child… such wonderful times 🙂
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Thanks so much, Lori. Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad I could stir up some good memories. That was a great feeling, wasn’t it?
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My pleasure, Amy… and yes, wonderful memories.. thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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Very poignant 🙂
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Thank you, kindly.
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