[ vee-uh-muhns ]
Noun
- Great or excessive passion; eagerness or fervor of personal feeling, action, expression, etc.; passionate force, intensity, or excitement.
- An instance of this; a vehement impulse or action.
- Great physical force, violence, or vigor. Also: loudness, intensity, or violence of sound.
- Intensity or strength of heat, color, smell, etc.
- Severity or virulence of pain, disease, etc.
Let’s Create!
** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, vehemence, where does it take me? Where does it take you?
Sweat beaded upon her forehead and dripped down her cheek. Her muscles taught, and her movements precise. The goggles over her face and the gloves on her hands offered her all the protection she needed, but it was still hotter than Hell. Yet, her mind never considered the heat anymore.
Angela moved between the glowing furnaces, directing the men around, pitching in to help when she wanted. The whole process was exhilarating to follow, and she could do so from above, but she liked to be on the ground in the middle of it. Angela loved seeing the humble beginnings of the unrefined iron ore morph by the end to cool, hard, useful steel.
Metal poured from one giant container onto a flat shoot, and the yellow and orange metal flowed slowly, but directly, down into the awaiting molds below. Angela moved to the end of the line, where the molds poured earlier that day were now cooled.
The metal rail was perfect. Straight, and without flaws. She knew it before inspecting them because she was there the whole way through. Angela dreamed of where the rail would be going, what train tracks it would build… and then she came back to her present.
After that brief moment, Angela smiled and moved back to the beginning of the process. One last walk-through before heading home. Not because she needed to, but because she wanted to.
Notes/Thoughts/Ideas
This story has a little connection to another story I wrote a few weeks ago about a man in charge of a team putting the rails together. Check out Deflagrate to read it.
The idea I always feel with stories like this is the forward motion. They’re looking ahead to the future, yet they are also fully dedicated to the task. There’s something admiral about that.
I think it’s also pertinent with some cool historical events about to happen. Soon, SpaceX will be launching its first human flight to the International Space Station. It’s a feat that wouldn’t have happened without Elon Musk and his incredible forward vision, and his equally incredible focus on the tasks at hand.
Whether we’re creating rail to connect humanity, or creating rockets to reach the stars, I think the mindset and energy are the same. I think it’s something for us all to strive for as well.
What do you think of Vehemence?
What great vision do you have of the future? Yours or humanities. How are you going to take us there?
Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning/ending, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did vehemence or my story take you?
If you liked this story, check out my podcast of short stories, More Than A Story.
Today’s word is from Oxford English Dictionary.
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