Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Useful: A Six Sentence Story


"Can you tell the jury what your job description was," the judge asked, turning to the defendant.

In a small voice, the defendant replied, "To be useful."

"And can you state with certainty that you were, indeed, useful?" asked the judge.

A tear escaped and trickled down as the defendant replied, "I was, I was useful as long as I could be, and then, and then, I-I just wasn't needed anymore...."

There was a murmur in the courtroom as the judge brought his gavel down, calling out, "The court finds you useless; case dismissed!"

The slide projector slid off the chair and trudged slowly out of the courtroom, his power cord dragging sadly behind him, and he could only nod, his tear filled eyes lowered, as he passed the telephone booth that lumbered past him and settled with a groan onto the witness stand.


Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge's Blog for Six Sentence Stories with the prompt "useful"


22 comments:

  1. lol
    (and the childhood joy of running from a room where slides were shown for an hour, outside to be nearly blinded by the high contrast of eyes trying to adjust.)
    alas and sigh

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    1. I realize I messed up my own story by saying slide projector instead of filmstrip projector, which is what I was thinking and what the picture is. Doh!

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  2. I miss the slide show days with mom and dad. Still have a jillion slides! Just on the shelf. Good six.

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    1. My dad has found slides in our basement and sorted through them. The projector worked, and he even found the screen! I haven't seen them yet, but I'm looking forward to it, because i don't think I've seen those slides since I was in very early elementary school!

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  3. That was very, very funny. I really enjoyed the wit and pathos. Great six.

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  4. Brava! I love your Sixes :)
    So sad when pieces of our history/time on the planet go obsolete *sigh*

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    1. I still have a record player that I used when I taught school in the early 80s. I somehow can't give it up.

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  5. Part of me wants to laugh, and part of me is so sad for the obsolete items that used to be so commonly used!

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    1. It made me sad to write it. My husband read it and laughed. Funny how different people see this!

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  6. The slide projector, speaking and trudging, surprises me...
    I wonder what 'the judge' looks like. :-)

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    1. I wondered what the judge looked like, too, Romi! Was he someone who would become obsolete and useless some day, too?

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  7. Very nice! I sometimes feel like that slide projector.

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    1. Thanks! And yes, I totally feel that way, too, especially since I work with a lot of college students!

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  8. Creative six! I love when objects are brought to life. When little I liked cartoons where the dishes sang and danced.

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  9. What a clever and cute SSS! I can almost hear the voices of the slide projector and the telephone booth. I remember the feel of the slide projector, kind of a rough metal.

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    1. Thanks, Pat! I keep picturing that power cord dragging along behind the projector and it makes me sad!

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  10. Brilliant six :) I loved slide projectors as a kid. And home cinema viewers. That courtroom sounds super harsh, and even the fairly modern invention that is the cell phone might not escape 'justice' ... I'm thinking the Nokia 3310.
    Best, Ford, TVTA

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    1. Thank you so much! Maybe the judge was an Apple watch who will be replaced himself some day!

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  11. At least it wasn't the planned obsolescence of modern technology. I'm sure it had a relatively long and useful life.

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