"Seriously Jack?" Tony asked incredulously as he looked to his watch. "You waited until NOW to remember your anniversary?"
"Dude, just help me out. She is going to have my ass if I don't get this together. I forgot last year and she about lost it." Jack pleaded with his brother in hopes of his help.
Tony kicked at the lanky grass blades overhanging the sidewalk as he contemplated helping Jack save his marriage. Save was not the most accurate term at the moment, but if he didn't help his brother, Tony knew it would turn to that soon enough.
"Fine. Damn it. What's the list?" Tony asked.
"It's easy. Bananas, tomatoes, white wine, Gone with the wind book, greek yogurt, coke, oranges, and a bone for Charlie." Jack rattled off the list as Tony stared blankly at him.
"Riiiiiiggght...." Tony uttered. "All that huh?"
"It's not that much and the store isn't far. You're the writer with the memory. Come on man, please do this for me? I need to get my ass home and clean up." Jack's whining and pleading pushed at Tony's buttons, and Jack knew it.
"Fine!" Tony snapped. "What's the list again?"
"Bananas, tomatoes, white wine, Gone with the wind book, greek yogurt, coke, oranges, and a bone for Charlie. Got it?" Jack looked hopefully at Tony.
"You couldn't write a list?" Jack asked as he contemplated the items.
"Yeah, sorry. You good?" Tony fidgeted and looked around him nervously. "I've got to get going."
"Fine. I got it. Go. I'll be there in a while."
"Thanks Tony. You are a life saver." Jack called over his shoulder as he hurried home.
"Again." Tony mumbled to himself.
He stood in the park and ran the list through his head. He knew he needed to remember everything but the list was not a story line like he was used to. Slowly the pieces fell into place and the rhyme grew in his mind.
Yellow, Orange, and Red fill her with dread
for Bananas, Oranges, and Tomatoes don't belong in bread
but try adding Greek Yogurt to a Coke so it won't explode
like Charlie the Dog will if he doesn't get his bone.
the offer of White Wine and the book Gone With The Wind
reminds her of the very first day when it all began
without these items the marriage will annul
and I'll be stuck with my brother living in my home
The rhyme echoing through his brain, Tony realized the truth of it and hurried out of the park on his way to the store. As much as he loves his brother, the last thing he wants is to have Jack living with him again. Space is nice, peace is nice, quiet is nice, and Jack is none of those.
Tony is a writer. He lives not far from the local Walmart. Once he was walking in the nearby park when he met his brother Jack. Jack complained that he had forgotten to buy a present for his wife and that day was their anniversary. Jacked asked his brother to go to Walmart and buy some food so that he could get back home to tidy the place and start preparing for his wife's arrival. He decided to cook dinner and the only chance for him to finish on time is to delegate the shopping to his brother. The shopping list was so huge that he had nothing else to do but to create a story so that all the items were combined all together and could be easily memorized.
The shopping list is:
Bananas
Tomatoes
White wine
Gone with the Wind - book
Greek yogurt
Coke
Oranges
A tasty bone for Charlie (the family's dog)
Your task is to help Tony create the story.
Be as much creative as possible. This is a real technique for remembering stuff called the linking method. The more enticing the story is the higher the chance is for Tony to remember all the items he has to buy. Approach it as a writer and do not write something too simple. Warm up your brain cells and surprise me and the rest of the participants with something both creative and funny. It could be a narrative in past tense for example.
It would be nice if you also put an unique title of your story. Leave Tony's List as a task title only and write your own.
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