Copyright Ted Strutz
I should have listened; he’d tried to tell me, his little face pale and tense.
Games were left unplayed, prizes unpresented, trampoline untrampled; pretty triangular sandwiches curled at the edges as cream curdled on the jellies.
The cake was left untouched; the solitary guest, a little girl way off the social circuit herself, sang ‘Happy Birthday’ in a reedy voice, then blew out his candle before announcing she didn’t like cake.
“You don’t network, Eric,” shouted his father afterwards. “Try harder.”
Eric’s something big at General Electric now.
Successful…? Absolutely.
Rich…? Bet your life on it.
Hard-wired for loneliness though.
Freshly back from a walk along the sea-shore, it’s now time to buckle down to Friday Fictioneers. Rochelle, belted and braced, takes the chair once again to preside over our international gathering of wordsmiths.
castelsarrasin 
Oh, so sad! I have an instant dislike of Eric’s father. Odd how the theme in yours is so similar to Rochelle’s this week, even though they’re completely different stories.
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I hate it when that happens. I don’t read any before I submit so I can avoid being influenced, but it is what it is.
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Exact;y what I do, or rather don’t do.
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Dear Sandra,
We both seem to have started with little boys who went in unexpected directions when they grew up. I love the descriptions of his lonely birthday party. So well written as always.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, sorry about that Rochelle – it had to happen sometime. Thanks for reading.
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No need to apologize. I’m in glad company.
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Can you really tell what is success these days. Can he be lonely and happy? maybe.. can he be rich and sorry? definitely. The telling of the birthday present is definitely sad, but his father’s telling of even sadder (I think part of me was that little boy actually)
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I suppose it’s the mother’s view of what constitutes a happy, well-adjusted little boy that’s the focal point in this story. I suspect he might well be ‘happy within his own skin’. Thanks for commenting Bjorn.
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So much being said here. Tough on the loneliness though.
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Very tough. Thanks for dropping by Patrick.
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Kudos to Eric. He made it on his own and not through a network.
Enjoyed this. 🙂
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Thank you!
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This one touches me deeper than you could possibly know. I fear that my success and my truly hideous lack of social graces (or a desire to be a social butterfly? who knows) are directly correlated. And yes. It’s lonely.
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I learned yesterday Helena, that my grand-daughter was the only one to turn up at a little boy’s birthday party over the weekend. This was my attempt to exorcise the image that’s plagued me since then. 😦 I’m sorry if it’s raised something painful for you.
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Poor little boy!
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Sandra-this is a sad story. What little boy could be so horrid no one came to his party!!!
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These days it seems that Mum’s try to outdo each other in the birthday party arena. They arrange trips to somewhere special, get entertainers in, have themed parties etc. Maybe the little boy’s Mum just organised a traditional party and the kids decided it wasn’t ‘off the wall’ enough. Whatever, it’s heartbreaking. I’m glad I’m not involved.
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Oh, my heart aches for that little boy. This is one of my favorites of your work yet, Sandra. Deeply touching.
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It’s a very sad image. One that I found very difficult to get out of my head. Thanks for reading Barbara.
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Dear Sandra,
I think your story and Rochelle’s are quite different despite the topic of socially misfit little boys. Misfits come in all shapes and sizes, and both of these stories bear telling. Yours brings some comfort to the hearts of parents with socially distant children while maintaining the sense of sorrow at the lack of human interaction.
I wonder if people like this find their situations sad. I don’t think so.
Thanks for yet another fine tale.
All my best,
Marie Gail
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I think every Mum wants their child to be popular, and every child wants to please their parents. A lot of the time it just happens naturally, other times the path is a little bit harder. Thanks for reading Marie-Gail.
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I loved the vagueness of this. “Something big”. Very good.
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Thank you!
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Untrampled trampolines get my thumbs up. Especially when they’re in the garden next door. Good work, as ever. Looking forward to your Writers mag story!
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I know; there’s a decidedly trampled trampoline next door to me. How can two kids make so much noise just jumping up and down…? And yes, I’m looking forward to the story appearing. 🙂
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Three of us incorporated sons and parents so far. Odd how an electrical outlet triggers that. No Freud intended, either.
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Sometimes the photo is taken literally and lots of people go along the same path; it is weird that a similar abstract theme was ascribed to the photo.
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The little girl you created, as socially awkward as she is, seems like the perfect guest for this sad party.
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Yes, I expect they were happy in each other’s company.
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Love that last line.
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Thank you 🙂
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Sandra – you get all the details in 100 words. Ruined sandwiches, uneaten cake, two lonely kids, an over bearing dad. Good work.
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Thank you!
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Hard-wired for loneliness…cuts to the bone. What is worse, to stand out alone or to melt into the crowd, while dying of loneliness? Well done, Sandra.
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That’s a puzzler, I admit. Thanks for dropping by.
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I think Eric and the little girl have their social awkwardness in common. Too bad they didn’t keep in touch. Alone doesn’t always equal lonely, though. Well done.
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So true. Thank you.
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Hard-wired for loneliness though….the saddest most poignant line of your story.
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Thanks Dawn. 🙂
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I enjoyed this as well, but I think Eric knew the party would be a bust. I hope he meets that little girl again. Maybe he could take her out for, for… well, not cake, but something sweet. 😉
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His mother should have listened. Thanks for reading Lisa.
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Dear Sandra, Wonderful story and all children are different with different personalities, strengths and weaknesses. The little girl was wonderful and I’m so glad that she attended the birthday party. I dislike the father! Well done! Nan 🙂
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Thank you Nan! 🙂
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like bill gates, he probably need his mother to make the match for her. mothers know best.
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🙂 Thanks for reading.
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Very sad but so true in so many instances. I think your story makes people think about what is really important in life. It did me! 🙂
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Thank you!
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Its so sad.. the loneliness. I wish he could overcome his social challenges.
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He’s overcome his father, for sure. 🙂
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Sandra,
what a wonderful, painful description of the scene. Sounds like the father is clueless about kids. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had business cards made up for his son. Great story. I look forward to yours every week.
-David
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Thank you David. And I yours. 🙂
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Brilliant story as always to which I can totally relate. I think the Dad is trying his best in the way he knows to help his son. The sadness is that even though the son is able to find a way to successfully go through the motions, the lonely little boy inside hasn’t changed at all. And that kind of change is the toughest of all.
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Thanks Perry. And I guess the mother knows it too.
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Wow, this one hit hard for some reason, So successful, but so sad, that little boy didn’t have a chance, did he? Love the last line, you always bring it home.
I’m hoping to eventually do some FF – I just can’t seem to get any ideas from the past few pictures. But I may try one eventually. Meanwhile I enjoy reading yours, especially. 🙂
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Dear Sandra,
For the record, when I read your story fresh off the press just now, not for a second did I think of Rochelle’s.
What most struck me about yours is the way I was enveloped by your words and carried along by the flow. Your imagination is like The Big Rock Candy Mountain. I love to visit whenever I can and hate to leave whenever I have to.
Aloha,
Doug
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That’s such a sad story. I wonder if he’s happy in himself or if he’d trade it all in for a chance at a family and good friends?
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Good, but heartbreaking story, Sandra. The sad thing is, children might not have come because the parents were unliked by other parents. It may not have had a thing to do with the children. I remember when I taught Grade 1 one year, a mother came to me almost in tears saying her child wasn’t invited to a party some of the other children in the room were. She was a sweet person, but I could do nothing about it. These things happen. Children should never be blamed. Well done as always. — Suzanne
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It’s interesting how something a parent can say to a child can accidentally or otherwise, shape the child’s future. Did Eric ‘become’ the network (electricity) because his father accused him of not ‘networking’? Is that why he’s a ‘powerful’ man? Did he grow up to loneliness because his father said he would? Your tale is food for thought. 🙂
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Very moving story, Sandra. I hope he finds happiness one day. 🙂
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“Games were left unplayed, prizes unpresented, trampoline untrampled; pretty triangular sandwiches curled at the edges as cream curdled on the jellies.”
I loved this description of his lonely birthday party, sets up the tone beautifully. Hopefully when he turned 18 and started serving alcohol there were a lot more people attending. Or maybe not.
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Nicely told, I like a melancholic tale.
Cheers
KT
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Great story. Like you I don’t read anyone else’s before doing my piece but it is funny how one picture may prompt a similar response by a few people. Sounds like an introverted child with an extroverted father. It didn’t stop him from achieving but he is still introverted. Probably gave him the necessary focus. You got it across well.
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Oh so sad. I take it Eric’s mother is telling the story? I pity she and Eric the husband/ father they ended up with.
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Poor child. The father’s lack of comprehension of his son’s obviously shy nature is quite heart-wrenching. I hope grown up Eric finds someone who can to truly understand him. Having few people close to you does not have to lead to loneliness… Good story. 🙂
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What a sad little story. Your last line – that despite other successes as a man, Eric was hard-wired for loneliness – is understandable after being brought up by such an unfeeling parent. Beautifully written.
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Such a sad description of a party, but brilliant take on the prompt. The other side to this is the party where there are tons of kids and the birthday boy feels overwhelmed or doesn’t know his guests. I’ve been to those, too. It’s nice when these things are more organic (for lack of a better word). Well done, Sandra!
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Sadly sad, I hope Eric has found some way to fill the void. Nicely done, as always!
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For some of us, it doesn’t help to try to tell our parents who we are or who we hope to grow into one day. And that’s the sad part – not to be heard.
Even though your last line makes it seem unlikely, I hope this little boy will find a mentor, later in life, who will build him up.
Ellespeth
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I felt lonely just reading the story! 😦
Lily
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Well done Sandra, a great deal said in such few words. Birthday parties can be an ordeal for young children sometimes. Well written as always.
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