An out of standard response to Izy’s Out of Standard Prompt – Living in a Fallout Shelter. We had a fallout shelter when I was growing up. It was a selling feature and was designed to house comfortably, six people. By the time the house had sold when I was an adult, it had become a storage facility for apples and taters, canned foods, a groovy place to go and smoke dope. An American sentence – complete sentence with exactly 17 syllables. Created by Allen Ginsberg because for some reason, he couldn’t follow the rules for classic haiku.
Sticky Ribs
“I just love Chinese food. My favourite dish is number 27.” Clement Attlee
One year alone in a shelter, I miss Chinese sticky ribs the most.
Chinese red ribs
kanzen sakura 
Sep 16, 2019 @ 14:16:41
East West Spring Rolls for me!!
Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:10:07
I was thinking of things popular in the 50’s and 60’s Chinese food for this. I don’t know East West Spring rolls but they sound good.
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Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:40:21
Years and years ago there was a great restaurant in the town I lived in known as The East West ….. their spring rolls were like nothing I have ever tasted or most likely never will again …..
Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:42:31
I love spring rolls, the pastry like wrapper. I don’t care for egg rolls. There is an old school Chinese restaurant near me that does a mean veggie spring roll.
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Sep 16, 2019 @ 14:31:47
Oh this is PERFECT! So many things we would miss. I remember when people had fallout shelters. Though eventually one would run out of food and have to come out into the radiation…….sigh. Likely those killed instantly would be the most fortunate.
Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:12:15
I think it is ironic that being alone for a year now, what the protagonist misses is those Chinese ribs – not people, not family, not TV, not the ocean….After awhile the radiation fades. It did at Chernobyl.
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Sep 16, 2019 @ 14:32:30
p.s. I would need black tea bags. Lots of them!
Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:12:54
LOL. I would have a million cans of coke on hand. 😊
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Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:12:15
Delicious!
Sep 16, 2019 @ 15:13:26
yeppers
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Sep 16, 2019 @ 20:12:53
Oh, brilliant idea to use the form an the American sentence. Just brilliant….for so many reasons. Mostly, when situations get messy…life gets difficult….sometimes the smaller statements speak the most. Thanks for posting to the out of standard and viva la…..
Sep 16, 2019 @ 22:12:18
Thank you Izy. I am a firm believer in saying in 20 words instead of 200.
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Sep 17, 2019 @ 04:56:24
You bring the shelter into a delicious treat
Sep 17, 2019 @ 05:13:47
Short and sweet, Toni! Although I’m a veggie, I should imagine any favourite food could be substituted to convey the loss.
Sep 17, 2019 @ 12:42:05
I am not a veggie but we eat meatless 5 days out of 7. I would miss summer tomatoes snd fresh peaches!
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Sep 17, 2019 @ 12:00:51
Our mind does tend to get “stuck” on funny things. I’d probably long for the smell of my Mom’s pot roast with carrots …
Sep 17, 2019 @ 12:39:15
Me too!
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Sep 17, 2019 @ 15:51:54
I don’t know what I would miss the most… but it wouldn’t be anything canned. I have thought about becoming a prepper.
Sep 17, 2019 @ 15:53:22
Not even home canned things? Like peaches, tomatoes, and corn? I would miss those.
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Sep 17, 2019 @ 16:12:06
I think those are exempted 🙂
Sep 17, 2019 @ 16:13:37
Good. Those are the only canned Items I have on hand – canned sauces, pickles, a few soups. I am a nut about canning things. I was taught at an early age to do canning.
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Sep 17, 2019 @ 16:15:16
I am more into drying at the moment…. use it when backpacking.
Sep 17, 2019 @ 16:19:58
I bet. I dry a lot of thigs – berries, apples, peaches. I don’t backpack and if I did, I wouldn”t use the anount of food on a trip that I use during the year. I might dry a bushel of apples but can and make sauce from several bushels of tomatoes.
Sep 21, 2019 @ 07:07:30
Bravo!
I am planning a series of American sentences myself and find your style most inspiring.
Sep 21, 2019 @ 07:24:17
Thank you Kerry. I love the American sentence. I find I spend more time on this form, like classic haiku, trying to wring every nuance I can from 17 syllables. It is easy to use a longer style/form to write than just 17 syllables. The rules are simple: a complete sentence of exactly 17 syllables. But it must tell the complete story. I worked on this one for two hours and I still was not satisfied, although I felt it gave the irony of missing Chinese sticky ribs more than missing people, tv, computer, etc.
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Sep 26, 2019 @ 01:03:17
Sticky ribs also for me. Just thinking of it made me want to cook it.