Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Scene”

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

 

After hanging up from the oxymoronic customer care representative of the coffee machine company, it is apparent the next scene would be me screaming for help. It seems the machine needs a reboot which will take two hours to completely reset. Two painful hours before the first cup of the day. Thoughts turn to grinding beans in the blender and boiling water. Maybe even chewing a few while the clock moves as if it were invented by a tortoise.

As luck would have it, The Producer plans for such a disasters and produces a mug of hot steaming ersatz Columbian from a jar. Any port in the storm is my motto, and after a sip, the worry over caffeine availability is dispelled. A mental note on the purchase of cold brew is recorded to avoid this scene in the future.

Now that the head is clear, the subject of the monolith on the porch must be resolved. The security shutdown process is begun. The claymore mines disarmed. The tower machine guns are placed on standby. The boiling oil vat is secured. The moat net retracted. The concertina wire rolled back. The trebuchet secured. The gate lifted. The locks and deadbolts reset. The front door opened.

The tall box is still there. Walking around, it gives no clue as to its contents. An ear placed on it reveals no sound. Turning toward the porch once again, the sides of the box suddenly drop to unveil a statue in the likeness of Roger Rabbit. He is standing with a defiant expression and his finger pointing toward my front door.

Moving closer, a small sign hangs on the finger that says, “Pull me.” Having had a bunch of Wiseacre friends, I know that direction will never be followed. Further observation of the stature reveals little tiny words etched in Roger’s overalls. The words became clear with the help of a magnifier (which was in my robe pocket). They were from Linda Hill and stated, Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “scene.” Use it any way you like. Have fun!

If you want to have fun, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. You will also see how others handled the prompt. Here’s the link. https://lindaghill.com/2023/04/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-22-2023/

Scene by John W. Howell © 2023

“So, where did the statue come from?”

“I guess Linda Hill.”

“There has to be a story there.”

“Well, since there has been an arrival of a statute of a major star on the scene, I hope so.”

“That was a funny movie.”

“It was made in 1988. Thirty-five years ago.”

“Wow, that is hard to believe.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“The graphics were terrific.”

“Imagine if they made it now.”

“Would be even better.”

“I’m wondering if the jokes would still be okay.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t recall if any were offensive.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either.”

“One thing’s sure.”

“What’s that?”

“They didn’t have VooDoo Ranger back then.”

“I wondered how long this scene would go before you brought up VooDoo Ranger.”

“My guess thirty seconds.”

“Call Uber.”

“Already ordered. There he is.”

“That’s a dump truck.”

“Discounted fare.”

“Oh.”

95 comments

  1. Roger Rabbit was great. Shame it didn’t go further than the one movie.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. That clip made me want to watch it again!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I’m with you. Welcome back. (I mean back to the blogging world.)

        Liked by 1 person

      3. 🙂
        Thank you, John. Nice to be back (even if I am sad my 9 days are over!)

        Liked by 1 person

      4. That is the part I used to hate. (did an LDLA for awhile)

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Yeah. So hard. Would you believe it’s been five years?

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Hard to believe.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. You never fail to surprise with your cast of characters. The dump truck was a nice touch, too. I can just imagine arriving at your local ale house in that Uber! Thanks for the morning lift. I hope you got your caffeine.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I did. I didn’t go into what was in the dump truck. Might be a story for another day. Thanks, Maggie.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I have to give The Editor high praise for replacing our coffee maker before it up and died. Great scene, John. Enjoy the ride for VooDoo.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you. Eight speed with Georgia overdrive.

      Liked by 2 people

  4. What would we do without our morning brew? Dump truck? LOL That would be quite the ride — worthy of a discount. 😄

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It was. Thanks you, Gwen. I hope you have a peaceful weekend. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Thank goodness for The Producer, eh? Besides being out of sorts without your brew, I can only imagine the troubling start to the day!
    I wouldn’t pull the finger either. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Dale. All is good the customer service person was right on the reboot.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Thank goodness that was all it took (even if it took two hours!)

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I know I was very pleased.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. No kidding! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Don’t read this Steve Tye bar. You’ll create an uncontrollable riot of guffaws with beer spilled everywhere. It’ll be like a brawl in an old western movie except the combatants will be trying to out laugh each other instead of out punching. I can picture it. What a scene. And what an imagination you have, John.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Steve. I’m glad you liked it. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Two thoughts here, John: 1) Your security system sounds like a cross between a Vikings stronghold and a prison tower. Well done! 2) It’s funny…I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but have both a french press and cold brew apparatus. You need to arm yourself with coffee making alternatives, especially when they rest upon your morning well-being.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. You are so right about the coffee, Mary. I think the tower more accurately describes the system. After all you need height to make an effective boiling oil drop. Thanks for the smiles.

      Liked by 2 people

  8. I laughed my head off from the oxymoronic customer care center to pulling the finger. Well done, John!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Jennie. I’m glad you liked it. 😁

      Liked by 2 people

      1. You’re welcome, John.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Speaking of Roger Rabbit, might a future “Views of the Neighborhood” be an outing to Toontown? If so, be very careful, it is very dangerous there. Even Walmart has closed all of their stores there, Bring ink remover, Have a great week-end John.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I’d love that too

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Good advice, Dan. Have a good weekend as well. Toon Town might be a destination some day. I hope you recognize your Roger Rabbit recommendation.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sure did. Thanks

        Liked by 1 person

    3. I’d love a visit to Toon Town as well!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Have to figure that one out. On the list.

        Liked by 2 people

  10. It sounds like a lovely piece of statuary. I’d keep it for all the neighbors to enjoy, too.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It is in full color too.

      Liked by 2 people

  11. This is hilarious, John! Happy Saturday!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Jill. Happy Saturday to you *sung to the tune of Heartaches by the Number by Guy Mitchell.

      Liked by 2 people

  12. Yep, before my morning ☕️coffee☕️ l hate everyone…after my first cup l feel much better about hating everyone 😂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. There you go. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Hi John, Roger Rabbit is not ringing bells for me. I’ll have to look him up.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yes. There are a couple of trailers that will give you a flavor.

      Liked by 2 people

  14. A dump truck??? Ha! Ha!! Love the response to the prompt, John!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Jan.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Wow, John, quite a scene; a boxed-up Roger Rabbit, not framed! Coffee time! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    1. It certainly is coffee time.

      Liked by 1 person

  16. My mind went first to Space Oddity and I was going to crack a joke about Dave…! I was never a big fan of Roger Rabbit but you are right, the graphics were incredible. And I’m sure somebody will complain nowadays about it being sexist or elitist or some kind of negative ist. Don’t they always?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I would have like the Dave reference from HAL. Thanks, Pam.

      Liked by 2 people

  17. I love the Uber dump truck! I sure didn’t see that one coming.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Came up at the last minute. 😁

      Liked by 2 people

      1. It was the perfect touch!

        Liked by 1 person

  18. Yes, indeed, the Uber dump truck is a nice touch. I hope your coffee machine is fixed too. I’ve never had a cold brew. In fact, it was a long time before I realized cold brew refers to coffee and not beer, even cold brew would be redundant in describing beer … lol.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The machine is fixed. Cold brew is new to me as well. Daughter drinks it.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. OH! Maybe the dump truck can haul away the monolith and Roger Rabbit statue.
    Still, you could have pulled his finger.
    Perhaps not the wisest move…. but I could use a riotous laff!

    💋🧟‍♂️💋🧙🏻‍♂️💋🧟‍♀️💋🍺

    (driving that darn ox back into 2nd place!)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I should have pulled it then. Here is a depiction of the result. 👈 🐂💨 Did you laugh?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. YES!!!! 🐂🤣🐂🤣🐂🤣🐂🤣

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Not as GREAT BIG as the 🐂💨!

        Like

      3. 🐂💨 is hard to beat.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes,, and hard to breathe!
        OX OX OX OX

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I’m sure OX OX OX OX 🌹The tulip will help

        Liked by 1 person

      6. 🌹OX OX OX OX 🌹

        Liked by 1 person

      7. 🌹👀👃🏻

        Liked by 1 person

      8. 💋🌹💋

        Liked by 1 person

      9. Now… to clean the cat litter!
        🤣 OX

        Liked by 1 person

      10. Ew. I used to dislike that job. 🐱

        Liked by 1 person

      11. & of course Johnny can’t quite seem to always get it all in the box.
        It’s not exactly like thinking outside the box. It’s more like going outside the box. I go through a lot of cardboard. This can still be recycled.
        😱 OX

        Liked by 1 person

      12. Recycled cat litter cardboard. Ew, ⭕️❌

        Like

  20. Well the security all seems in order …. How on earth does all these nightmares get on to your land…..
    💜💜💜

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Who the heck knows? I suspect it’s the guy behind the keyboard but cant prove it. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

      1. We definitely need to sort him out! Is the coffee machine fixed yet?

        Liked by 1 person

      2. All fixed. The reboot worked. 😁

        Liked by 1 person

      3. A large Americano please 💜

        Liked by 1 person

      4. You ant that in a tub?

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Yes please 😁

        Liked by 1 person

      6. All we have are barrels 🛢

        Liked by 1 person

      7. Well then a barrel it will be 🌹

        Liked by 1 person

      8. Yup. Have the neighbors in.

        Liked by 1 person

  21. D.L. Finn, Author · ·

    I’m a fan of Rodger Rabbit. Maybe he will show up to collect his statue 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You never know. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you for sharing the link, Traci.

      Like

  22. Thank goodness for the back up caffeine and good to know others protect their fortress effectively lol.. I don’t have quite so much to disconnect.. hard to believe that the film was made 35 years ago.. great take on the prompt John..hugsx

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Sally. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post.

      Liked by 1 person

  23. I set the over/under at one minute so you get a bottle for hitting the under, Boss.

    Liked by 1 person

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