Flash

Punch Drunk

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host Rochelle
has asked us to use the photo below as inspiration
and get creative in 100 words or less, making
every word count. Here’s my flash.

Photo Prompt © Sandra Crook

Punch – that misogynistic bastard – was out cold, spent from guzzling booze and pounding Judy like a side of beef. She slipped him Valium to keep him zonked and shackled his wrists.

Policeman Jack, Judy’s lover, stood guard outside; Punch would never escape before the tide washed him away.

Judy’s long gone now on a slow boat to a podunk beach town called Atlantic City.

A year went by; nobody asked about Punch or Judy. How quickly they forgot.

When Policeman Jack received a letter from the States, inside was a ticket to Atlantic City. Judy was true to her word.

NAR©2024
100 Words

For more info about Punch and Judy click HERE.

27 September 2024

This is “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)” by John Fred and His Playboy Band

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

55 thoughts on “Punch Drunk”

    1. Dear Rochelle – Thanks so much! I truly appreciate your comments.

      This was one of two prompts in two days which threw me for a loop and for a couple of hours I had no idea what to write. When I looked at it again, this happened. Lots of fun! 😊

      Shalom,

      Nancy

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  5. That’s a great version of the P&J theme. I also read up on it because these are so very similar to our German Kasperletheater. Ours are doing just as much slapping around, but with a slightly less brutal weapon. I learned that these types of theaters were indeed for adults, and very political. They were all over Europe, with similar characters but different names.

    I used to perform with these puppets for our Dungeon and Dragon games when I was young and game master. We did cosplay before we ever heard the word.

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    1. Thanks for the great comment, GH! I think it’s safe to say there have been anti-government/establishment protests in various forms since governments first began. Puppet shows such as P&J are a widely accepted form of protest as they fly just below the radar and people seem to love them.

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  8. Punch and Judy were a little before my time but in my research (for my own story) I was struck by (no pun intended) how violent a puppet show for children was. I took a moment to reflect on how much things have change regarding what we do and do not find as acceptable entertainment. I prefer to think of it as evolving, but of course one could look at many other atrocities and shoot that theory down (again not pun intended).

    In any event, your story was certainly thought provoking to illicit such comments.
    Enjoyed it.

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    1. Very deep-thinking, Dawn! I could be mistaken but I’m pretty sure these shows were not intended for children. I knew very little about Punch & Judy myself. I knew Punch wasn’t the nicest of puppets but I had no idea how abusive he really was. My guess is these puppets started out many years ago as anti-government parodies. I remember in my research reading about these puppet shows going back to 17th century Italian commedia dell’arte. The figure of Punch is derived from the Neopolitan character of Pulcinella. They typically defied authority, much like our political cartoons today. These puppets even made an appearance in the Godfather performing a Mafia-type show while the chief neighborhood mobster watches and laughs. The irony is wonderful. Thanks for your comments, Dawn.

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    1. Puppet shows such a these are as old as the hills, going back hundreds of years. I can’t say for sure but I would imagine some of the characters represented those in power, rulers at the time, and people always enjoyed when they got pummeled. I think there are very mixed emotions regarding P&J. I don’t ever remember seeing them on TV. Thanks, Anon!

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