What's So Funny?
Russell Gayer, author speaker
Moondance (reprise*)
Early August in Northwest Arkansas brings with it the annual Tontitown Grape Festival. This year is the 117th celebration of the event which culminates with the crowning of Queen Concordia. Naturally, no such festival would be complete without grape stomping.
“We look for kids who have been circling the midway barefoot for hours, “says winemaker Joseph “Moe” Zaccanti. “A healthy crust of cotton candy between the toes, some caramel apple on the ankle, and a dusting of limestone gravel enhances the flavor and adds body to the wine.”
Mr. Zaccanti, his brother Curly, and cousin Larry Bandini are well known for their line of unique wines, which include; Purple Bunion Lambrusco, Bruised Heel Chianti, and Wrenched Ankle Sauvignon.
If you’re new to Friday Flash Fiction, the sommelier of 100 word stories, and lover of all things purple (including toes) is Syrah Zinfandel Wisoff-Fields. If you’d like to participate in this exercise of madness, head over to her blog for step-by-step instructions. To view the FFF Hollywood Squares Authors Block click here.
Moonbeams danced through intermittent clouds above the scattered trees. Chad, Amy, Mark, and Veronica planned to spend the evening watching a meteor shower on the banks of Wildcat Creek. On the way, they stopped by One-Eyed Jack’s and picked up a quart of double-run moonshine.
The couples lay in the bed of Mark’s truck listening to Van Morrison and passing a mason jar. Clouds obscured any view of meteors, but the liquid corn cast its own sparkle across the celestial canvas.
When the jar ran empty Chad hopped upon the pick-up cab, pulled down his pants and shouted, “Look everybody. It’s the moon over my Amy.”
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*This story is also a summer rerun from May 2012.
43 Comments on “Moondance (reprise*)”
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What's So Funny? 
What does Chad think about what he did on that moonlit night , now that he’s 3 years older? I’m glad I don’t drink wine ! Enjoyed the names of the wines 🙂
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He’s probably wishing they’d filmed it to post on Facebook.
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I fear I would have done something far more scandalous than Chad after drinking an entire mason jar of moonshine.
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I don’t know, Jackie. How much more scandalous can you get that bad puns?
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He’s a joker, that Chad. I love that song, takes me back to when I was sixteen.
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Yes, Chad’s a character. That’s one of my favorite songs too. I’ve always been a Van Morrison fan and been humming the song all morning.
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That’s one of my favorite songs, too. And this story is a hoot! Poor Amy. The view from where she was sitting was probably … well … you get the idea.
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Go ahead and say it, Alicia.
It may have been a full moon, but I don’t think it was shining very bright.
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Dear Mr. Zaccanti,
Moon over my Amy? Cheeky devil. Oooooooh. I think I need more than an ice pack on my poor jaw.
Shalom,
She who is nameless this week.
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Dear Ms. Syrah Zinfandel,
I apologize profusely. Something happened when I highlighted your name to link it to the Purple blog. It takes longer to come up with a name for you than to write the intro and story. Oh well, it’s fixed now. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Call me Moe
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Dear Moe,
I feel better now. Que syrah, syrah.
L’chaim,
Syrah Zinfandel
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Glad I don’t drink wine. A funny tale though.
Moondance, and a Flash with full exposure – one! Quite enjoyable.
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You should still get a bottle of each flavor for entertaining guests. They can be served at room temperature and with or without a full moon.
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I love this!! You had me at Moonbeams. And watching a meteor shower is definitely something I would do! I love anything moon, the song and I once had a cat named Moonshadow. She got into sooo much trouble, Russell. I do hope that you’re keeping track of Rochelle’s names. I hope you write them down in a book somewhere. They’re precious. Great take!
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Ah, Moonshadow. I remember the Cat Stevens song by that name. “And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south,…”
As for the names, that woman has more names than a beach has grains of sand. Perhaps we should store them in a cloud.
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Yes, I know that song. I always think of it when I think of my cat. She must have had many moonlit journeys, as she was always pregnant. 🙂 This was before people had their cats spayed when they were kittens.
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Great intro and funny story, Russell. I also loved the names of the wines. They must have a really distinctive taste. I think I’ll just take tea thank you. Hilarious. 😀 — Suzanne
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I’m sure they do, Suzanne. Some even have texture. Not exactly what I’m looking for in a wine.
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Russell,
Thanks for the preamble about Tontitown Grape Festival. I remember those good old days, having grew up in near there. By the way, powerful picture you painted in your story. That also brings back memories, ha.
Mike
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Glad it worked for you, Mike. We used to go to the Grape Festival every year and buy tickets to try and win the car. When they drew the name it was always someone like Zaccanti, Bandini, or some other Tontitown resident. I don’t ever recall a Smith, Jones, or definitely Gayer winning the car.
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Whomp…the chicken has landed. 😉
This is so cool. We both picked title and video independently. I’ve been thinking about hopping on the moonshadow as well but I had written the story first, chose the title after.
I love how he moons Amy in the moonshine after the Moonshine. This is such a fun tale. I’m not sure I’d want to try that wine, though.
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Aw, come on, live a little. You’ve gotta admit the Bruised Heel Chianti sound intriguing.
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Entertaining stuff, Russell, raised a smile again this week.
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Thanks, ceayr. Smiles is what I’m after.
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Ah those were the days; we didn’t have moonshine in the UK, but Carlsberg Specials had pretty much the same liberating effect. Especially by the bucketful. Which came in handy later. Good one, cheers!
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Glad you were able to repurpose the bucket–HA! That made me laugh.
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I don’t drink wine, but I know lots of people who do. I’ll steer them clear of Arkansas vineyards. Thanks for the heads up (or would that be foots up?).
And leave it to you to take this awesome photo and do a pull-your-pants-down moon theme story…Someone had to, right? 🙂
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The fermentation process takes care of everything except the gravel, so remember to leave a little sludge at the bottom of the glass.
Yes, the mooning was an obvious punch line for writers like you and I. I’m surprised you didn’t use it too.
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I’m just generous. Don’t you know that about me by now? 😉
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A very interesting turn of events that only a bit of vino can provide. A moon – ing can be fun as it was a long, long time ago when my friends and I rode in a car and mooned nuns in the vehicle next to us. YES … vino not the moon did us in.
WOW … that’s revealing. 😳 My reputation has been diminished. 😁
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I would like to hear more of that story, Isadora. It gave those nuns something to talk about for a long time. 🙂
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You can imagine the nuns shocked faces when they turned our way. It was when nuns wore the habits that covered
their heads so their eyes, nose and mouth were the only thing showing. It’s one of those bad things you do in
your youth that you don’t forget. I went to catholic school so, for me, I had committed a mortal sin. I did confess it to
the priest the following Saturday. Shock is an understatement for his reactions. Phew … I’m glad I’m not catholic anymore. 😎
Do you think they would talk about that incident to anyone? Maybe, not. LOL Glad you enjoyed that little tidbit of my past. : )
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I think you should work that scene into a longer story. You could make up names for the characters and go on and on about the nun’s expression. I bet they nearly wrecked their car.
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That was the worst pun I’ve read in a long time – how long did it take you to work up to that?
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You mean work down to this level? It takes practice to sink this low.
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Great take on this picture prompt! I like this song and hadn’t heard it for ages. I still think his best song he ever sang was “Brown Eyed Girl.” You are funny Russell! It sounds like Isadora had a great night mooning the nuns and drinking the vino! Super. Nan
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Thanks, Nan. I like “Brown-Eyed Girl” too, but “Into the Mystic” is probably my favorite Van Morrison song. Yes, I loved Isadora’s story. That was hilarious.
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They started off so well – a romantic evening in the moonlight watching a meteor shower. Shame about the moonshine. Funny story.
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They are teenagers. I’d say the behavior is pretty normal for this group.
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You know I love wine,,or I used too! lol
This was a good one Russell, from beginning to end.
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Thanks, Dawn. Wine is good. Just be careful of what brand you pick.
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Great atmosphere here (apart from the pun!). Pass the bottle.
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Oh, come on Patrick. There’s no telling what kind of witty remark you would have made if you’d been there.
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