“Take away that pudding—it has no theme.”

—Sir Winston Churchill

Starting last week, National Pasquinade began prompting you with themes from the last twenty years of the magazine. The challenge each week will be to write a funny piece, based on the themes below, that could have appeared in the magazine during the issue’s time frame.

Time Frame: Winter 1999/2000 through Summer 2001. The Y2K bug never really materialized, but nobody will ever forget needing to scratch out the little “19” on every check you wrote. You still write checks, right? Create a funny story, parody, or article based on one of the following themes:

• The Second-to-Last Award Show Ever
• Proofreaders’ Strike
• Happy 224th
• Lucky Halloween
• Flushed
• Coulda Been a Contender
• Dog Days

Share your results, or a link to your results if they’re longer, in the comments, if you feel so compelled. If you’re especially satisfied with your results, why not submit your finished piece to National Pasquinade for its 20th Anniversary Issue? The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017, if you pay attention to deadlines.Happy writing.