January 8, 2006
Most Searched Words of 2005
This is from a writing prompt found on Writer’s Digest.
Merriam-Webster OnLine just released its list of top searched words of 2005: integrity, refugee, contempt, filibuster, insipid, tsunami, pandemic, conclave, levee and inept. Use all 10 in a short story or poem.
The required words are in bold. It’s terrible writing and probably unfair to the current administration, but it was kind of fun. Please keep in mind that this is a fictional writing exercise and not a political statement.
It was a time that tested a man’s integrity. Donations were pouring in from all over the world, and very little of it was being tracked. People were being extraordinarily generous in their giving, temporarily forgetting their contempt for the poverty-stricken regions that were affected by the worst tsunami disaster the modern world had ever seen.
In the face of all the tragedy, exposing myself to rebels ,viruses, dead bodies and the possibility of falling victim to a predicted bird-flu pandemic while touring the God-forsaken corner of the world, it seemed a minor infraction to skim a little of the money off and funnel it back to the US for the election fund. The public was growing weary of disasters and many blamed the state of affairs on an inept government, as if the president personally ordered the worst hurricane on record, tore the levees down piece by piece and ripped the refugee families apart and scattered them coast to coast. Half the time he didn’t know what was going on. He honestly thought that FEMA could handle the disaster. If the party were to survive in the face of such ignorance, botched Supreme Court nominations and Democratic filibusters designed to call attention the the radical conservatism of the president’s judicial nominees it would take massive amounts of money, impeccable strategy and meetings as secret and solemn as the Papal conclave. The meetings and the money would have to be kept from the public, most congressmen, but mainly from the President himself. He must not know that his influence was being bought and bartered for. After the farce of his term in office and his utterly insipid leadership his final days must be beyond reproach. We did the things we did- the stealing, the lies, the secrets- not for him, or for his reputation, but for the country and for the future of the party.
