Mini Story, Photo Prompt, Writing Prompts

The Breakfast Club

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers.
This is where the prompt took me.

© Ted Strutz

Every morning, the same ritual. Coffee, fruit, juice, and Great-grandpa Ernest propped up on the iPad, presiding over the table like he always did. The old B&W photo was taken sometime in the ‘40s, brush in hand, squinting at whatever he was painting that day. Nobody remembered the painting but everyone remembered that squint.

He never owned a smartphone; wouldn’t have trusted it, anyway. But he would have had a good laugh at the idea of becoming a breakfast companion decades after his death.

Click. The photo was taken. Great-grandpa Ernest captured again, still squinting, still painting, and still there.

NAR©2026
100 Words

This is “Kodachrome” by Paul Simon

17 April 2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

43 thoughts on “The Breakfast Club”

  2. The Kodachrome song was a perfect pairing with your cool story (you do this so well)

    Also, your story really let me feel the painter that was captured – so stately – in the photo – and this line resonated: “Nobody remembered the painting but everyone remembered that squint.”

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    1. Yvette, thank you for what you said about the music; finding the right song to go with my stories is half the fun!

      I love that line in my story and I’m very glad you picked up on it. I think Great-grandpa Ernest would be happy knowing how much he’s missed and how much of an impact he’s had on his family, even the little things that came so naturally to him. Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts.

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  3. Dear Nancy,

    A poignant story. We don’t realize how much we care about someone until they’re gone, do we? I’m flooded with memories these days of my sister-in-law who passed away in January. Thank you for a l;ovely read and a great song.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

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    Reply

    1. So very true, Rochelle. We experienced the same thing when my husband’s twin brother passed away very suddenly. There was ever a time in my husband’s life when he thought about his brother not being here; from the womb, he was such a constant presence. One day he was here and the next, gone. We can’t take anyone or anything for granted. Thank you for your gracious comments; I appreciate them greatly. My condolences on the passing of your sister-in-law.

      Shalom

      🕊️

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