Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Near/Far

~ John W. Howell

A picture of a string with drops of water- the logo for SoCS

 

Near my house is a beautiful waterfall that is the ideal place to contemplate life’s unanswered questions. There is a bench for sitting and even a table that can be used for a picnic or a great spot for a laptop. After a hectic morning, I decided to head over there and take some time to discover at least one answer to many questions.

The spot is about a fifteen-minute walk from the parking lot. The air was crisp for Texas, which meant it was in the 70s, so I took up a healthy stride and covered the distance in sixteen and a half minutes. (The senior citizen Olympic rate) Upon arriving on-site, I was taken back to see a family of four had taken up the table and the bench. There was no room for contemplation, let alone peace.

I turned to leave when I heard one of the kids yell about something in the sky. My eyes followed his point (his mama needs to talk to him later about pointing), and several opened parachutes were heading for the park. I knew this would not be just a simple skydiving club exercise, so I began my Q-tip shuffle toward the entrance.

Of course, one of the divers landed in front of me, blocking my exit. I decided to get into a Kung Foo stance to let him know I’m not just an over the hill, bag of bones pushover. The level of laughter coming from the diver was infectious. I couldn’t help myself, so I joined in. He then reached out and handed me an envelope. Expecting some kind of trick, I took it with two fingers. He laughed some more, and as he turned to leave, I caught sight of the patch on his shoulder. I initially thought it was a USPS patch, but I was wrong. The blue and gold Navy Seal Team Six patch told me my Kung Foo ruse was indeed laughable.

I opened the letter, and you are right. It was from Linda Hill.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “near/far.” Use “near,” use “far,” use them both if you’d like. In fact, if you start your post with one and end with the other, you get bonus points! Enjoy!

If you would like to enjoy, visit Linda Hill’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.

https://lindaghill.com/2021/09/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-25-2021/

Who knows? That link could get you far.

*The sound of the register racking up those bonus points *

Near/Far by John W. Howell © 2021

“Near time to hit the bar.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“You almost took the whole morning with that prologue.”

“You like it I can tell.”

“How can you tell?”

“You have a smile on your lips.”

“Maybe it’s gas. You don’t know.”

“Well, anyway, the prompt is done.”

“As are most of your readers.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.”

“Says the guy who has no life whatsoever.”

“That’s not true.”

“What do you do for fun?”

“Write.”

“What do you do to relax?”

“Write.”

“What do you do on vacation?”

“Write.”

“The prosecution rests.”

“Let’s hit the beer garden.”

“Beer garden? Where did that come from?”

“A story I’m writing.”

“Gad.”

“Let’s go. Unless you would rather not. If so, I’ll go myself.”

“Since I’m buying.”

“Yes?”

“Without me, you won’t get far.”

A note from the management. *cha-ching on bonus points.

54 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Near/Far”

  6. What an imagination! You’ve got it all in this story – a Navy Seal, a waterfall, a delightful day, and of course, a few drinks at the bar. Well done, John. 😁

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Give yourself another coaching for the best intro ever, John. You got me going. I thought, “Wow. John has gone off his normal SoCS script this week!” Then, bam! You got me.

    Liked by 2 people

  10. What a prologue! A friend of mine was relaxing on his boat on Jordan Lake – a huge man-made lake near us – and the local lake patrol came over and told him not to move from where he was anchored. It seems the 82nd Airborne was making a water drop that day. So he got to watch about 100 paratroopers land in the lake!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. As the Navy Seal sky divers say ‘ There is nothing quite so good as a successful let down well executed…’ Or a real alcohol RA for short to cool things off afterwards.

    Like

  19. A most entertaining introduction, John. Your life of writing sounds like my ideal life. Sadly, I still have to squeeze in more lucrative work during the week. At least we have some interesting projects which make it much more worthwhile. I hate preparing training material!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Way back in 1979 I had a training role. I didn’t like preparing the material but putting on the classes was fun. Thanks, Robbie. Yes, I had to work many years to allow the life of writing. Work is the curse of the drinking class. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

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