Being Different – Six Sentence Story

Artwork by Phil Burns

This challenge is produced by GirlieOnTheEdge with the following simple rules:
Write 6 Sentences. No more. No less.
Use the current week’s prompt word – CONNECTION

Click here to hear the author read his words:

Being Different

I attended 7 different schools, in 3 countries, in 2 languages, so I was always the odd kid, the outsider.
I am a Scot and so, by default, an engineer, so when I left Glasgow University and started work it was, almost inevitably given the technological revolution, in software development, a field renowned for its job-hopping practitioners.
I married and had a family, but that scarcely curbed my nomadic tendencies; I worked for significant periods in 7 European countries, including commuting for 2 years to Milan from the French side of the border at Geneva.
Eventually, when our children spread their wings, my wonderful, patient, but long-suffering wife felt the need to settle down, and I moved on.
So now, in the nautical twilight of my life, I live once again in a foreign land, with the handful of people whom I love scattered far across the globe.
As the marvellous Don MacLean says, You know I’ve heard about people like me, but I never made the connection…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJmhD1M12Hw

This entry was posted in Sound Bite Fiction and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

38 Responses to Being Different – Six Sentence Story

  1. Lisa Tomey says:

    Well done six. I could feel the emotions between the words.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Cassa Bassa says:

    The end sentence sums it up. It was great to hear the story read out too.

    Like

  3. Liz H says:

    So you’re a man of all countries, and all times? Both bitter and sweet, like the song (One of many in a truly great album!).

    Like

  4. Frank Hubeny says:

    It seems like a life spent making disconnections with “the handful of people whom I love scattered far across the globe”.

    Like

  5. Romi says:

    It is beautiful, and I like the recording of you reading the story aloud.

    Like

  6. A sad and sweet story of a life.

    Like

  7. There’s more than one way to interpret ‘long-suffering wife felt the need to settle down, and I moved on.’ 😉 As for career choices in Scotland, you could always have become a comedian or Sean Connery. 🙂 Interesting life indeed.

    Like

    • ceayr says:

      I am happy for the reader to interpret however they choose, Doug.
      As for you other rather limited suggestions, I am neither funny nor handsome enough.

      Like

  8. P.S. What a beautiful song, “Crossroads”. Thanks!

    Like

  9. A beautiful “telling” C. E. How amazing to have traveled and lived in different parts of the world IRL. Not the same of course, but thanks to technology, we’ve all the opportunity to do a bit of travelling, if only in the virtual world 🙂

    Like

  10. It is amazing how some people need to stay planted in one spot and others need to spread their wings and fly.

    Like

  11. The final line of this wonderful Six makes it especially powerful. I won’t say poignant as I don’t sense too much regret or remorse for this rich and varied life. It seems you’re just one of those people.

    Like

  12. Chris Hall says:

    You are truly a citizen of the world. The rest of us, spread across the globe, are virtual neighbours 🙂

    Like

  13. A great Six about an adventure filled journey!

    Like

  14. UP says:

    Really good

    Like

  15. clark says:

    this virtual world, surely it is a new place… it’s a place where we tell our stories to others (friendships/relationships) and the responsibility to believe/agree/disagree is left to each of us as individuals… and so, other than the capacity to borrow five dollar, it has a lot going for it in comparison to the old world
    enjoyable Six

    Like

  16. Corine Gouy says:

    Merci pour ses moments de vie.
    Superbe! ❣

    Like

  17. jenne49 says:

    That’s simply beautiful. Simply human.

    Like

Leave your Sound Bite here

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.