"SANTA BARBARA DISASTER OF THE MONTH" CONTEST - ROUND TWO

Dear friends,

the second part of the SB contest has ended. I have received your stories. I thank you because all your stories are really funny and well written. Your ideas are very original and they reflect the irreverent style of SB. I have a lot of fun to read them all. But this is a "contest" and only a story can win. Actually it was not very difficult because I only got a story. But I decided to proclaim it as the winner because it is really superb! Its author is Matt Crider. In my opinion, a true genius! Theme was: BIRDS ATTACK SANTA BARBARA.

Contest will be temporarily suspended (despite being a big hit) because I am preparing in a big way Santa Barbara – The Sequel  and I want this to be spectacular. This takes a long time to me, so it is necessary to make a choice.

Enjoy your reading.

BIRDS ATTACK SANTA BARBARA

For weeks, Santa Barbara had been quiet.  In a town where children played, car horns blared, birds sang...

But wait a minute, Ted thought. He hadn't heard a bird in weeks. Ever since Laken left town, the birds had stopped singing. 

He walked down the lane to get the mail.  The Capwells had a long winding driveway to reach their luxurious mansion.  Every day after school, Ted would stop and get the mail, hoping for a letter that he knew in his heart would never come.  Laken would NEVER come back. 

Little did Ted know that he was being watched. 

Every day he did the same thing.  Everyday there was no letter.  Every day more and more eyes gathered to watch him.

But he wasn't the only one being watched. And today was the day...

In the adjoining property Augusta Lockridge was sunning herself as she did every day in her back yard. It was the perfect way to get an eyeful of whatever lovely specimen she had hired.  Joe Perkins... Brick Wallace.  No hunk was beyond her notice.  And sometimes, when she got lucky, they noticed her back.

But on this day, Augusta was about to pay for a sin already forgotten.

The attack happened quickly. It started with a single, almost warlike sound. 

<SQUAK>!

This was the day the birds attacked. Gina and Keith were among the first victims, the birds tearing at Gina's dress as she tried to run.  Keith too soon found his clothes ripped by sharp talons.  They ran naked, covered in bird droppings until they found shelter inside a nearby shop.

Julia and Mason were luckier.  They could only find one place to hide.  A single phone booth.  They started to argue about who found it first and both rushed in at the same time, the door jamming shut behind them.  Leaving them safe but trapped inside the close quarters.

All around Santa Barbara it was the same.  Augusta tried to make it into the house but the way was blocked.  Finally she jumped into the pool , quickly turning over an inflatable raft for cover.  The birds continued pecking until it deflated.  Soon it was ripped apart and Augusta had no choice but to take refuge underwater.  She would only return to the surface for brief moments to replenish air in her lungs.

Only one person was spared.  Ted.  Ashe watched what was going on a large bird seemed to be calling him. But that was impossible.  Wasn't it.  It was almost as if it wanted Ted to follow it.  But the bird was transparent, as if it wasn't really there. 

He was led to a tree where he soon found a nest.  Inside there was a cracked egg and a baby bird trapped under some twigs.  Without thinking twice, he knew that the egg belonged to a carrier pigeon.  His and Laken's.  The one the Augusta had...

Augusta was terrified.  In that moment, she remembered what she had done to Ted and Laken's pigeon.  She had cooked it and served it to her family as an appetizer!

Ted freed the baby bird and the larger bird, the one that led him there faded away.

“I'm sorry!” Augusta shrieked once as she quickly came up for air.  “I'm soooooo sorry!”

Unfortunately several birds gathered and she panicked, and in trying to evade the birds she lurched and hit her head at the side of the pool, not moving.

When Ted freed the bird, the rest of them stopped their attack.  Eventually, everything was back to normal.  Augusta survived, just sustaining a mild concussion.  But she was different now.  And she knew she had a lot to make up for.

Ted was also changed.  He realized that Laken wouldn't be coming back.  Freeing the bird and letting it flyaway, he realized he had to let Laken fly too, if only symbolically.

The next day, Gina's niece Hayley came to town.

THE END (?)

"SB DISASTER OF THE MONTH" CONTEST: AND THE WINNER IS...

Dear friends,

the first part of the SB contest has ended. I have received your stories and I sent them to Lynda Myles (SB script writer). I thank you because all your stories are really funny and well written. Your ideas are very original and they reflect the irreverent style of SB. We have a lot of fun to read them all. But this is a "contest" and only a story can win. And now I’ll hand over to Miss Myles to crown the winner with the garland of thorns and sunflowers, grown under the California’s sun. This is a metaphor of life: joy and pain. I hope the winner does not consider this a too “new age” gift.

 Ms. Lynda Myles: “All the entries captured the zany qualities of Santa Barbara, which made them a lot of fun to read. I LOL'd many times! Here are some of my favorite lines -- Amy: "As they wait, Julia and Mason get locked in the wine cellar. As they argue about the law firm and the company, they succumb to passion and make love. Just then Gina walks in... "; Enzo: "A portion of the church yields and Sophia ends up under the rubble.  Gina was arguing with her before Sophia was buried by the collapse of the chapel and now she manages to save her," and Gabriele: "The flame of the lighter lights up the face of the mysterious Mr. Lew who turns out to be Eden Capwell, leaving everyone baffled… " (I should think so!) I chose Matt's because I thought his had the best qualities of the other submissions, plus a few more of its own. It flows smoothly from crazy event to even crazier event while keeping an impossibly "sane" tone. My favorite line is: "The wind is getting worse, a hurricane has shifted its trajectory and is heading straight for Santa Barbara. Its name? Eden! Hurricane Eden! Mason laughs bitterly, of course she had to come home now. No way she'll let a storm steal her thunder."

And now…the winner story! Congratulations, Matt Crider!

EDEN COMES BACK TO SANTA BARBARA DURING AN HURRICANE

“Most of the Capwell Family had long given up hope that Eden would ever return to Santa Barbara.  She had disappeared years before, her mind fractured seemingly beyond repair.   And although they still mourned her, they had all moved on with their lives.  Cruz once again married Santana Andrade and they built a strong marriage, even if it lacks fire.

CC, now in ill health, gets a letter from Eden.  She wants to see him.  But ONLY him.  If he tells anyone else, she will run away again and no one will ever find him.  Sophia and Mason know something is wrong,  They work together and retrieve the letter.  They decide to confront Eden first, in case it is an impostor.

Sophia shows up first to the run down hotel that Eden has directed CC her to meet her at.  There is no power because of the storm.  Mason tries to stall CC, but is unable to do so.  Mason gets in the car as CC takes off. The wind is getting worse, a hurricane has shifted its trajectory and is heading straight for Santa Barbara.  Its name?  Eden! Hurricane Eden! Mason laughs bitterly, of course she had to come home now. No way she’ll let a storm steal her thunder.

In the dark hotel room, Sophia confronts a blonde woman, who certainly bears an uncanny resemblance to Eden.  But it's too dark for Sophia to tell for sure and the woman doesn’t speak, She gets away from Sophia and runs outside as the storm reaches a fever pitch.  Sophia screams “Eden!” as CC loses control of his car, slamming into the blonde.

CC has chest pains as he and Mason get out of the car.  Sophia rushes toward them.

All are in shock as they look down at the blonde.  She has Eden’s face!  But as Mason points out, looking at the open robe. “That’s definitely NOT Eden. That’s not even a she!” The impostor is a MAN.

CC has a heart attack and falls to the ground, next to the man.  Before he passes out, he asks “Who are you?”

“Don’t you recognize me daddy?” The voice is decidedly male.

”That voice!” Sophia gasps.  “That’s Kirk Cranston”

Kirk laughs weakly as he fades away.  “And you will never find the real Eden, I made sure of that!”  With that, Kirk dies.

THE END (?)

                                         

                 

And now I have to tell you the theme of the next disaster contest:

BIRDS ATTACK SANTA BARBARA.

You can let your imagination run wild. You can enter all the characters that you want. Cross-over with other soaps or tv-series are allowed. You can choose who to kill and who to resurrect. I would recommend not exceed 30 lines.

Your story should be sent to  sb_disaster@aol.com    by April 30, 2012.

Pic #2 is taken from Capridge.com

Dear Friends,

Until now, we’ve joked. Now the game gets serious. In recent days you've read the interview that Lynda Myles has granted exclusively to the SB Blog. You've read about the “SANTA BARBARA DISASTER OF THE WEEK” CONTEST: we have learned that, during her long stay on SB Mrs. Myles enjoyed writing a spoof of our soap, involving various characters in the most extraordinary stories. Now, 27 years later, it's up to you! At the beginning of each month I will give you a small outline to follow: for example the kind of disaster and the characters involved. You will have to fantasize and write a story set in a particular time period of SB or in the present . The story should not exceed 20 lines and can be written in the dramatic or comic key, or both. You will then send the story to:   sb_disaster@aol.com   by the 30th of each month. Lynda Myles (herself!!) will decide the winner, whose story will then be published on the “Santa Barbara Blog”! I think it's a steal.

To better understand what I'm talking about, I now publish the scan of the original SB DISASTER OF THE WEEK CONTEST in ABSOLUTE EXCLUSIVE. It was written by Lynda Myles in 1985 and she gave it to me, so you can all enjoy it. Guys, this is a rare gem and it is viewable here for the first time, after more than 20 years.

I also prepared a video tribute to some SB "disasters". I advise you watch the video until the end because there are many surprises for you!

The outline of this month is: "EDEN’S RETURN TO SANTA BARBARA".

The disaster is: HURRICANE.

Remember that this is a spoof. You should send the story to sb_disaster@aol.com by November 30. Let the SB DISASTER OF THE MONTH CONTEST begin!

Cari Amici, Fino ad oggi abbiamo scherzato. Ora il gioco si fa serio.

Nei giorni scorsi avete letto l’intervista che Lynda Myles mi ha rilasciato. Avete letto del SB DISASTER OF THE WEEK CONTEST: abbiamo così appreso che durante la sua lunga permanenza in SB, la signora Myles si divertiva a scrivere una parodia della nostra soap, coinvolgendo vari personaggi nelle storie più straordinarie. Ora, 27 anni dopo, tocca a voi! All’inizio di ogni mese io vi darò una piccola traccia da seguire: per esempio il tipo di disastro e i personaggi da coinvolgere. Voi dovrete sbizzarrirvi a scrivere una storia ambientata in un particolare momento di SB oppure nel presente. La storia non deve superare le 20 righe e può essere scritta in chiave drammatica oppure comica, oppure entrambe. Dovrete poi inviare il racconto a  sb_disaster@aol.com  entro e non oltre il 30 di ogni mese. Sarà Lynda Myles in persona a decidere il vincitore, il cui racconto verrà poi pubblicato sul sito! Io credo che sia un’occasione da non perdere. Per capire meglio di che cosa sto parlando, ora pubblicherò IN ESCLUSIVA ASSOLUTA la scansione dell’originale SB DISASTER OF THE WEEK CONTEST . Quello scritto da Lynda Myles nel 1985 e che lei in persona ci ha consegnato affinché tutti voi ne possiate godere. Ragazzi, questa è una perla rara ed è visionabile per la prima volta qui, dopo oltre 20 anni.

Io ho anche preparato un video-tributo ad alcuni dei disastri che abbiamo visto in SB nel corso degli anni. Vi consiglio di guardarlo fino alla fine perché ci sono alcune sorprese per voi! Buona visione!

Il tema del Mese è: “IL RITORNO DI EDEN A SANTA BARBARA”

Il disastro da inserire è: “L’URAGANO”.

Ricordate che deve essere una parodia. Potete poi inviare il vostro breve racconto a sb_disaster@aol.com  entro e non oltre il 30 Novembre.

Che il SB DISASTER OF THE MONTH CONTEST abbia inizio!