Portrait of Words – #31 ~ The Architect
Welcome to the August installment of Portrait of Words. First and foremost I would like to thank Alice at Alice Audrey. She supplied the pictures for this month writing exercise. Mahalo Alice. I really do appreciate your kindness. If anyone else would like to supply pictures for future installments, please feel free to send them to me. The instructions for this month’s exercise can be found HERE. You can find the Writing Guidelines for Portrait of Words by clicking here. Also, please don’t forget to sign Mr. Linky below so that everyone can read your creation. Mahalo! I will have the instructions for September’s story posted on Thursday. I do appreciate all of you that have written a story. It means a great deal to me. Here is my story.
THE ARCHITECT
Curtis O’Shenanigan was a man of many talents.
His IQ went off the charts. He was so smart that most people thought him stupid. He had taught himself to play the bag pipes, could calculate within seconds any mathematical equation that was put before him and could recite The United States Constitution verbatim. And those were just some of his talents. Mr. O’Shenanigan never married and devoted his life to being a Professor at the University of HiFu in the great state of South Dakota. He loved teaching. All of his students adored him and everyone that went through his class graduated with more information on architecture than anyone thought humanly possible. Most of them went on to world class firms. And that is where things changed for Mr. O’Shenanigan.
One of his students, at the bequest of The State of South Dakota, designed a bridge to go over the only river in the State that was so futuristic looking, so huge and so costly for the residents of the State that Mr. O’Shenanigan vowed revenge.
The day that the bridge opened the State had a huge party. Old Man Wally even got into the celebration. 
He couldn’t read one note of music but was a walking one man band. He continually was playing some type of instrument wherever he went so the State decided to let him play at the opening. It was his grandson that was the architect of said bridge so it just seemed fitting to let him play at it’s opening. Everyone from around the state attended the event. Everything was state of the art on the bridge. It could handle 20 times the traffic that would be using it but the State wanted to be prepared for the future. Everyone that was anyone was there, except for Curtis O’Shenanigan. He couldn’t believe that one of his former students would design that monster and forgo the project that he was working on that would save millions of taxpayer’s dollars.
It was such a hush hush project that Mr. O’Shenanigan had a seven foot tall man stand guard to the entrance of the site. In pure O’Shenanigan fashion, it was just a plastic doll, but it did the job and no one ever entered. Mr. O’Shenanigan extended invites for the project to three of his former students, two of which accepted, the third, well designed a new bridge. Mr. O’Shenanigan was so strict about the confidentiality of the project that he threatened his assistances that he would cut their heads off and serve them up on a silver platter if they dare said one word to anyone about it. They both agreed to keep their mouths shut. Working diligently along side each other the project was completed 
and it was to be presented the same day as the bridge opening.
Climbing into the car with this two assistants Mr. O’Shenanigan drove the car to the other side of the island and took off and went right down into the water. The jet engines on the car started up and the car moved flawlessly across the river. 
The car was totally automatic and could cross the river in 8.9 seconds flat. And the price of the car was dirt cheap compared to the bridge. The crowds started to ooh and ahh as they saw Curtis O’Shenanigan and his two assistants make their way across the river and up the shore line.. The new car started to shake violently, sparks started to fly and the car began to sink. Mr. O’Shenanigan and his assistants swam to safety but their beloved project was at the bottom of the river. What could have possibly went wrong?
“Serve our heads upon a silver platter. I’ll show that old fool” one of the
assistants told the architect of the new bridge. With those words being said between friends the day of the opening of the new bridge was also the day there was a bridge over troubled waters. No one was the wiser to the sabotage. Mr. O’Shenanigan was never seen or heard from again and the bridge opened with all the fan fare the State had promised.
Have a great Wednesday and may your Portrait of Words always be creative.
Hey, it’s only my opinion.
A Hui Hou
alas, this is how the world spins… no genious can fight the evil on their own…
Isn’t that the truth
CHEEEEEEAATER
You said Wednesday. Is this Wednesday? No it is not.
Pfffft.
(loved the story, LOL x9!)
Okay sister…bite me!!! I have to have it up early for the link. I’m at work when the few that play start posting and so I figure I have to have the link up for maybe the none to 1 that are in that time zone. How nice of me.
MWAH!!! x9!
Oh. Yeah… good point. You win.
LOL
Also, mine’s up.
Every time F sees a Mountain Dew anywhere, btw, he still shouts “I MISS UNCLE THOM!” I’m afraid you’ve created a serious fan there.
LOl…don’t I always? Well at least in my mind I do.
LOL. You can tell F that I aint going anywhere EVER!!!!
Great story. I am so out of step. I got nothing this time.
Thanks!!!
Nicely Done Thom, Mine also has a Bridge Over Troubled Waters as well. Hmmmm, I wasn’t going to publish until Wednesday 0001 Hrs on 11 August, but where you have already published, mine is now published.
Oops for some reason I have two linky thingys for my entyr, you may want to fix that if you can.
Thank you Bill. Much appreciated. I didn’t see two links. It must have fixed it self. I published early to have the link up for You and Susan, as you are my only two that play every month. Which I do appreciate
Poor Mr. Curtis. Unfortunately, that’s how the world goes these days. Great Portrait of Words. I hope I’ll be able to play, too.
Isn’t that the truth. I do hope you get to play but if not no worries. Thank you my friend. xoxoxo
I managed to play along. Thanks for hosting this meme again, and thanks to Alice for the images
. xoxoxo
Most welcome and thanks for the beautiful story.
Wonderful!
I still remember when you first started blogging and ‘complained’ you couldn’t write – you can!
Love the Bridge Over Troubled Waters – I hear Simon and Garfunkel in the background.
Well thank you my dear sweet Carletta. That is much appreciated. I’m not much of a writer. I write how I talk unfortunately but oh well. I enjoy it. Yup I hear S&G as well. I’ve had it in my head since this was written
Mahalo my friend 
Argggh a pun story – surely a bridge too far? Hi this is John from Random Twitter Stories posting from my fiction and poetry blog. This was a timely excuse to avoid doing a tax return. Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling is my take on the pictures.
Thank you so much my friend for playing along and indeed a pun story
I do hope you get your taxes done 
Have a great Wednesday and thanks for playing 
This is great, Thom. I’m all embarrassed now, since mine is so short.
Don’t be. Yours was magnificent. I loved how Patrick O’Leary got the last laugh. Was brilliant. Thanks again for playing. And thanks for the compliment.
Bad assistant. Bad. Bad boss to threaten his assistants rather then promise them fame and glory — oh, and a cut of the profits!
Bad everyone all the way around.
No, not bad everyone. Good storytelling.
No everyone was bad is what I mean