A writing prompt

I woke up early (4:45 AM) and sat at my computer waiting for inspiration to strike.

It hasn't.

What's a writer to do? Write, of course! Here lies the value of writing prompts. These exercises limber up your mind by providing a no-pressure idea for you to write about. By no-pressure, I mean that you're not writing on your manuscript, you're not going to screw up your manuscript if you do poorly -- it's pure writing without motive.

So, my prompt for this morning: talk about a missed opportunity:

This is a true story. I learned this story when I was growing up. Children being what they are, my classmates started calling me "garbage truck" because my last name -- Leach -- was emblazoned on the front of the hopper of all the garbage trucks in town. I lamented to Dad, "I'm not related to the garbage trucks, am I?" He laughed and told me this story:

My grandfather, when he was fifteen, was sent off to work that summer. His father gave him two choices: work with his one uncle on the farm, or work with his other uncle, a bachelor who owned a factory. Grandpa chose the farm.

Had he chosen the factory, he may well have been taken in by the bachelor uncle to succeed him in the firm. As it was, the bachelor uncle died with no successor. However, you can find his name on garbage trucks everywhere -- the factory now makes hoppers for garbage trucks. This, my father said, is why we're not rich.

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I already had this story, sure, but it popped up because of the prompt and not vice versa, Prompts might provoke an old story to tell, or might lead you to the kind of impromptu writing that becomes a story.

Happy writing!