Five Lives In Lockdown - Paul’s Travels(Christopher Long) Before lockdown, or 'pre LD' as I have taken to calling it, I used to go on holiday a lot with my family. My favourite holiday I have ever been on is to Egypt. I have a Tutankhamun face mask which I have kept to remind me of the trip. I did not bring it back with me. When I returned I found instructions for it on the internet and made it myself. I have learnt and made a lot of things over lockdown.

No! I think I like to say LD better. It's like when referring to the United Nations - you don't need to say the United Nations all the time, you say the UN and people immediately know what you're talking about. So I'm hoping that LD will catch on.

Anyway, I had been making a lot of things to keep myself amused. There are a lot of craft supplies arriving on a daily basis. I made some lovely panpipes the other day using straws and rubber bands. I also built the Taj Mahal out of matchsticks and bottle caps to remind me of our trip to India. When asked: “Why don't you get some proper souvenirs?” I reply: “I can't afford that. I am a student, and besides with the current situation being what it is, it gives me something to do.”

One morning I was just putting the finishing touches on my model of the Statue of Liberty when my brother Thomas came into my room breaking my concentration. Almost sending it tumbling. He looked around at my various models and said: “Mum and dad said to stop ordering packages. It’s a very expensive thing to do. Please find them cheaper. Why don't you do something that is actually worthwhile, actually helps people, rather than making these models just for your own amusement.” He smiled and walked out very pleased with himself. Mum and Dad obviously had offered him something in return for running this errant for them. I turned back to my work. How was I going to make the flame look realistic?

Later I was just about to order another ten sheets of felt and glue. My mouse pointer was hovering over the “buy now” button. The message that my brother Thomas had delivered was going around in my head. I stopped myself and went downstairs to find my parents.

I found them at the kitchen table talking about the online classes Thomas could take. He was getting really good grades and they were not going to let the closure of our school get in the way of his full potential. He was very popular and had lots of friends, unlike me.

They looked up when they saw me and said: ''Paul, darling what is it?”. I smiled and announced: ”What if I could promise no more Internet packages and no more expensive hobbies?” Dad looked delighted: “No more internet packages, that would certainly relieve the pressure on the delivery men and women and our wallets.” “It certainly would.”- mum agreed.

I went to my bedroom and decided I wanted to use modern technology to give people the holiday experience without actually leaving home. I would call it “lockdown escapes''. I was pretty pleased with this title. I looked up online about how to set up a business but it depressed me. The first thing I needed to do, it said, was to create a business model. While I was good at arts and crafts, I was unsure what businesses were meant to look like. So how could I make a model of one?

It took a while, but eventually I emailed people from school to ask them where they would like to go on holiday and sent them a link to the webcams for that location. I also sent one of the models to make them feel like they were actually there and they can keep it afterwards as a souvenir. My lockdown escapes are quite successful and mum and dad do not seem so mad any more when I order all the craft supplies. It is helping other people and my model making is not just a selfish activity. Dad said: ”I’m sure the delivery men would be happy that you’re ordering so much if they knew what you are doing.” I am quite proud of myself for doing something nice for other people. I now have a lot of friends who are happy which makes me happy and in the end happiness is all we can hope for in LD, or lockdown, if you prefer.

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Jd

01/10/2021

This was an enjoyable short story that left me with a smile in the end, glad that Paul found a way to make his hobby useful for others. Good ending to your series of five stories about lockdown. I hope that many of those in lockdown were/are able to discover new things about themselves and find ways to be productive and useful during challenging times.
Thanks, Christopher.

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This was an enjoyable short story that left me with a smile in the end, glad that Paul found a way to make his hobby useful for others. Good ending to your series of five stories about lockdown. I hope that many of those in lockdown were/are able to discover new things about themselves and find ways to be productive and useful during challenging times.
Thanks, Christopher.

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FYI - Submission Agreement No. 7 asks writers to limit themselves to no more than one story per day. This limit is meant to prevent any one writer from monopolizing Storystar and overshadowing other writers. It is also meant to prevent reader fatigue, so that readers do not feel overwhelmed by too many stories.

In your case, the five stories you published on Storystar today are being allowed to remain because they are part of a series which you published in total, so that readers who are interested do not have to wait for you to post additional parts at a later date. Also because each part of your series is a self-contained story which is complete in and of itself, and is SHORT, so can be read in a few minutes. And because you have been a member of Storystar for many years and this is the first time you have ever published more than one story at a time, and generally it is a long wait between your stories, so this is a rare exception for you.

I am providing you this information publicly, on your story, so that other writers will understand why your submission of multiple stories on the same day has been allowed, when others are not allowed. It is a rare exception, made for you.

Thank you for the many outstanding short stories you have shared on Storystar over the years, Christopher.

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Christopher Long

01/11/2021

Hi,
I'm really glad you enjoyed my Five Lives in lockdown series. Thank you so much for making this exception for me and for your lovely comments.
Chris

Hi,
I'm really glad you enjoyed my Five Lives in lockdown series. Thank you so much for making this exception for me and for your lovely comments.
Chris

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