Whatnot Wednesday & #TDWC

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Doors windows light shadow collage by Kerfe TDWC 2026
Image credit Kerfe

Welcome, all. This post is part of  Dan Antion‘s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge.   To join the fun, pick one of the doors that were submitted as inspiration for the challenge and write.  It doesn’t have to be a story — write anything that door image inspires in you.

The inspiration door I chose for today was submitted by, poet and collage artist, Kerfe.   Today, my story is true.  Kerfe’s collage is a brilliant use off lights and shadows, of bits of doors and windows through which one might — or might not find answers.  It’s also a perfect illustration of the strange way I felt when the following happened.  (Cue the Twilight Zone theme music.)

The Reminder

Amazon Echo on nightstand by Teagan via Night Cafe
Image by Teagan via Night Cafe

It entertains me to use my Amazon Echo device to set reminders for myself for all sorts of timing things, like laundry, birthdays, or “to do” tasks that don’t need to be done on a regular basis.  Or even to “move around” since I sometimes spend hours and hours working at the computer.  Once in a while I set a reminder several weeks in advance.  It works out just fine.  Except that… Well, sometimes Echo and I have a language gap.  This morning (as I write this) Echo gave me a strange reminder.

Echo:  Aires kyon ro rahaa hoon.

Please repeat that, Echo…

Echo:  Aires kyon ro rahaa hoon.

Now, if any of my devices, or the television up and says “Klaatu barada nikto” — I’m going to hide under the bed.

The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(1951_poster)

Update:  I should have thought of this earlier — here’s a link to the full movie on YouTube. 

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For more strange goings on, meet Birdie Devovo, Doug Armstrong, and Jinx the magpie in Brother Love: a Crossroad.  Links to that book are below. 

Friendly comments are welcome.  Thanks for opening this door.  Hugs!

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Brother Love: a Crossroad

Strange things abound in 1950s Parliament, Mississippi.  Jinx the magpie can fill you in on the details.

Jinx on rotary phone next to "Brother Love - a Crossroad" on my Kindle.
Jinx on rotary phone next to “Brother Love – a Crossroad” on my Kindle. Photograph by Teagan

Universal Purchase Links

Kindle:  relinks.me/B07V25SXFR

Paperback:  relinks.me/107952309X

Also available for $1.99 in virtual voice audiobook.

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This post is part of Dan Antion 6th Annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge (TDWC). Click the blue link for more information about the challenge and how to showcase your stories.)  Fortunately for me, Dan’s rules for the writing challenge are wonderfully flexible and include any sort of creativity. 

 

This blog is entirely human-written.  Furthermore, the author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training AI technologies to generate text.  No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author, or used with permission, or from free sources.

Copyright © 2026 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved.

45 thoughts on “Whatnot Wednesday & #TDWC”

    1. Haha — great minds. Noelle’s comment caused me to Google it too. I got “Why is Aries crying?” (in Hindi)
      Anyhow I found the answer/question rather disturbing, because there’s a rental house next door to me and years ago the tenants had a little boy named Aries. Strange coincidence. And I’m back to the Twilight Zone once again. LOL. Hugs.

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  6. So, apparently I need to watch this movie. Can’t believe I haven’t seen it before, but I had to look up the meaning of the phrase. When I sit for too long, Bond lets me know it by telling me it’s time to leash him on the patio, open the door to the screened porch, get his treat, etc, lol.

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    1. Haha, that’s a good idea, Kerfe. Actually, I Googled it later, and the response was that it’s Hindi for “Why is Aries crying?” Then I checked, and Aries is not a common name in India. Add one more degree of weirdness — my first neighbors here (in the rental house next door, years ago) had a cute little boy named Aries… Yep, I’m still in the Twilight Zone. 👽 Hugs.

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      1. Well that makes it even stranger. Maybe Aries is crying because the planets have moved into Gemini? (I bet there’s a child named Gemini somewhere…) The Hindi script is very beautiful.

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    1. Huh! Now that was interesting. I didn’t expect Google to do anything with it, but… It’s Hindi, for “Why is Aries crying?” Which basically makes even less sense. So I asked Echo, “Why is Aries crying?” but she didn’t know. Figured I might as well ask. LOL. Hugs.

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