This story is now published as part of the anthology ‘Loyal and True’.
When Chance Kinnard went to bed it was cold; but not that cold!
Chance owned a ‘hell of a doona’ and no matter how cold it got it would always keep him warm.
He always turned off the central heating at night, partly because he was a cheapskate, and partly because he got too hot under that spectacular doona.
His two dogs had lovely thick coats but they would always end up under the doona with him as the warmth slowly oozed out through the cracks in his ancient abode.
Two dogs plus spectacular doona equalled a lot of heat so occasionally he would have to throw the doona off for a few seconds.
He slept in his birthday suit which helped a bit but it got a bit tricky on entry.
The dogs wondered why he always made strange noises when his naked flesh hit the cold sheets.
Chance lived in what used to be a temperate rainforest so although it got quite cold in the winter it rarely ever snowed.
When he got up that morning and looked out of his window what he saw was not snow but ice. Several feet thick in places, as though God had left the freezer door open.
He thought about ringing someone to report it but then he decided to go back to bed. The dogs agreed with his assessment of the situation and after taking a wee in the laundry they joined him under the doona.
“Global warming, my arse”.
These words hung in the air as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
The rescue teams found them several days later, looking peaceful but frozen solid.
Thank you for those adjectives, very much appreciated and I’m pleased that you enjoyed it. Chance certainly did have an interesting way of looking at the world.
The story was partly inspired by a comment I read on FB where a person wanted to respond to a group of demonstrators by going down to the site and demonstrating in favour of the thing they were demonstrating against. He said he thought about it and the choice was doing that or going back to bed, so he decided to go back to bed. Someone else chimed in and agreed with his decision and said they had done the same. I’m sure the comments were ‘tongue in cheek’, but it was a depiction of the Aussie character and sense of humour.
Thanks again for taking the time to post your insightful comments.
Terry
Every good story has a bit of ‘real’ I guess. We were supposed to get snow over the past couple of days and the missus kept texting me to see if it was snowing! No snow and she is seriously cheezed off! Mind you it is cold enough for me to have to wear two beanies when I walk the dogs……. I must look amazing… bank robber times two.
Terry
araneus1 
Quite a sad and almost bizarre story – but with a beauty in the subtle ways Chance sees life. I love you photograph and the cool colours.
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Thank you for those adjectives, very much appreciated and I’m pleased that you enjoyed it. Chance certainly did have an interesting way of looking at the world.
The story was partly inspired by a comment I read on FB where a person wanted to respond to a group of demonstrators by going down to the site and demonstrating in favour of the thing they were demonstrating against. He said he thought about it and the choice was doing that or going back to bed, so he decided to go back to bed. Someone else chimed in and agreed with his decision and said they had done the same. I’m sure the comments were ‘tongue in cheek’, but it was a depiction of the Aussie character and sense of humour.
Thanks again for taking the time to post your insightful comments.
Terry
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Entertaining to the end, as ever!
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As always, you are very kind to take the time to comment……… and I’m glad that you got a bit of fun out of it.
Terry
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he was certainly a minimalist
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That’s a very good way to describe him.
Terry
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😉
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Now tell me, is this autobiographical? It certainly sounds like Melbourne at the moment….
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Every good story has a bit of ‘real’ I guess. We were supposed to get snow over the past couple of days and the missus kept texting me to see if it was snowing! No snow and she is seriously cheezed off! Mind you it is cold enough for me to have to wear two beanies when I walk the dogs……. I must look amazing… bank robber times two.
Terry
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Don’t worry, I’ve been wearing a beanie with a hoody over it. Comfort over fashion I say!
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