I cannot differentiate people in the sea of beards around me. The faces are lost, and they all look like clones of emptiness within. This guy is receiving an award for something, and I look at my wife for enlightenment.
“Is he a maverick interior decorator to have put those umbrellas out there?”
“No. He is a scientist who captures solar energy and provides internet connectivity with the help of umbrellas.”
I must be growing old. These guys do have brains. Yet, I can’t see the wires connecting the umbrellas. The world is networked more than ever, but no connections.
(100 words)
Creative Experiments and More 
That last line is a definite winner!
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Thank you so much, Sascha!
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Your view is very astute more ways to connect than ever but no substance. Nicely done.
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Thanks a lot!
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The proliferation of beards these days is a good observation, in some parts there are many who look alike, but some are pushing the boundaries, I used a naked umbrella for a tv Ariel at uni for a while, worked a treat until I tried my metal bed frame which was even better!
Good stuff as ever
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Thanks! Great to know your successful atempts! I remember a child in a village for getting an award for brining TV connectivity to his village with an inverted umbrella. So, it does help.
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I love the subtext – no connections.
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Thanks!
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If an umbrella would give me internet, I’d buy ten! Love the story… hmmm, One wonders when the day will come that such a contrivance will be made. I know that in Ham Radio, we can make a directional antenna out of such… If I could just find the right parts….
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This used to be the shape of dish antennae used for TV cable connectivity. Those contraptions are outdated now.
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I remember the home I was nompar at had a huge 10 satellite dish in the yard. It was awesome. I could watch my favorite show (StarTrek) in German and Japanese…they were hilarious dubbed!
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That is a brilliant line to end the story with.
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Thanks, Subroto!
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Surrounded by a sea of hipsters…There is nothing like the distrust of the younger generation by the older. The younger wonder why things were ever done that way, and the older wonder why things ever changed. You capture that perplexity well!
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Thanks!
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“The world is networked more than ever, but no connections.” Great line for people too!
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Thank you, Brenda!
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We all have wireless connections. How grounded they are remains the key.
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That’s a nice angle to see it from. Thanks so much!
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The world may go wireless but the beauty of staying wired remains.
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You are so right. Thanks, Bernadette!
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What a wise and profound lesson.
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Thanks so much!
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There’s such a fantastic voice in this piece.
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Thank you, Lisa!
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You’ve achieved a tremendous depth in so few words. Well done.
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Thanks so much!
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Some of the (genuine) plans for extending the internet sound just as far out as this fictional one! I like the way you use wires and connectivity as a metaphor in your last sentence.
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Thank you, Penny!
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I like the image of the “sea of beards.” Sets the tone for the piece. Well done.
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Thanks a lot!
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I really like the mystified voice in your story, Reena. Great.
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Thanks! The guy blames his ageing senses for that 🙂
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Well written Reena, and I too have a distrust of so many beards! 🙂
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Thanks 🙂
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A fitting comment on the times in which we live. Excellent.
Click to read my FriFic tale!
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Thanks, Keith!
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wonderful story. the last line speaks it all
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Thank you, Deepa!
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I too liked that line. So true
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Thanks, Neil!
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Love that last line. The world is networked more than ever, but no connections.
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Thank you, Diane!
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