Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Left Alone”

~ John W. Howell

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

 

We finally reach the destination to meet with the boss. Being left alone with duct tape wrist binders, a black cloth bag over my head, and no coffee has me a bit rattled. Trying hard to pick up any sounds that could give me a hint of my whereabouts proves fruitless. There are no sensory clues as to my location other than the air feels quite cold.

My mind immediately takes me to one of those gangster movies where some of the action takes place in a meat packing plant. Hopefully, my position is not in the center of a vast refrigerator filled with aging beef. If it is, the prognosis for a happy ending to this saga will dim considerably.

The pain of caffeine withdrawal reaches a crescendo, and the certainty that one eye is bleeding brings me to hope an interrogation, once started, will be over soon. A confession for a cup of coffee sounds like a good deal at this moment.

A loud metal-to-metal sound of a bolt being thrown open grabs my attention. Echoing steps approach with the authority of one who knows exactly what they are doing. The steps cease, and the warm, exotic scent of another being washes over me. A fist grabs the top of the bag and rips it off along with a few strands of my hair. (What few are up there)

Blinking away the dark, the image of Jessica Rabbit comes into focus. Her pointer finger is on my chest. “I have two messages for you. The first is from Linda Hill. She wants you to know Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘left alone.’ Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!”

My words leave my mouth too quickly. “And the second?”

Jessica smiles, and it is evident that the second message will be served up in the manner of an offer that can’t be refused.

If you want to see how others handle the ‘left alone’ prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2023/06/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-3-2023/

Left Alone by John W. Howell © 2023

“So you leave us hanging again.”

“Well, I have a word count objective.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t think people need to spend all day reading my posts.”

“Okay, but sometimes we could use a little more.”

“And for that, I’m grateful.”

“What is this obsession with the Jessica Rabbit character?”

“It’s not an obsession. I just think she is a fascinating character.”

“Listen to yourself. Left alone, I think you would write a whole book about her.”

“Nonsense. She wants her statue back, and that’s it.”

“So she’s the boss?”

“Looks that way.”

I’m having a hard time with the segway to the VooDoo Ranger.”

“Yeah, I didn’t give you much of a lead-in. Just text Uber and we’ll call it a day.”

“Oh, I already did that. The car is over there.”

“Hold on. Is that a Yugo?”

“If so, it is a collector’s item.”

“Where do you find these drivers?”

“Well, this one is my Uncle Joe.”

“Figures. Any of your relatives have decent cars?”

“Cousin Ralphie has an Edsel.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

91 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Left Alone””

  1. A Yugo! I haven’t seen one of those in forever. We had a Pinto once upon a time, otherwise known as death on four wheels. We didn’t realize we were living on the edge.

    Happy Voodoo Day!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. A bag over your head and no coffee? *gasp!* Is this Linda’s SoCS or the latest horror movie?

    I had to go back and read your post from last week since I wondered how you ended up in the grasp of Jessica Rabbit. I hope you get this resolved, John, without further injury to your caffeine sensibilities.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Jessica being the boss sounds appropriate to me. 🙂 I can almost picture her driving an Edsel. I remember when the Edsel was introduced. An Oldsmobile sucking a sour lemon?

    Liked by 2 people

  10. I had to go back and read the last few SoCS episodes but I think I am caught up now. Jessica Rabbit might be a daunting adversary with her wily ways. I would be careful.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. The tension was building, and then…I like that Jessica Rabbit is the boss. Great turn of events. And I haven’t seen an Edsel in years. Those were some ugly tanks. Happy Saturday, John!

    Liked by 2 people

  12. A Yugo… My goodness, I climbed through my memory archives to get a glimpse of that car. No one in my extended family had one, but I remember the chatter. Have a great weekend, John. It’s sunny and warm here. Perfect for gardening. 🌞

    Liked by 1 person

      1. How about a Studebaker with a bad muffler and holes in the floorboard? (A friend of my mother’s had such a vehicle. She had to drive with all the windows down so as not to asphyxiate herself or her passengers.)

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Nothing wrong with being obsessed with something quite sexy 😉 As for the Yugo – man, they were uuuuugly!

    Now, don’t tell the Producer, but maybe Jessica has plans of a well, um… yanno kinda sort 😉

    Cheers tonight!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Awww –
    ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️
    As they’re virtual coffees, I thought you could use a few.

    Again, my disappointment with emojis – no Jessica Rabbit.

    There isn’t even a Betty Rubble!!!!!
    🍻🍺🍻🍺🍻🍺🍻 At least there’s beer! …(and a cheer to see what happens next week!)
    ⨷⨷⨷⨷

    Liked by 1 person

        1. VooDoo Ranger is Ale and will put hair on your chest. You wouldn’t like it I’m sure. Has that iron horseshoe bitter hop taste. (which I love) 💀⚔️ 💀⚔️ 💀⚔️ 💀⚔️

          Liked by 1 person

        6. 🤣 I’m good at that!
          I can’t help it! My 2 blogs are on different email addresses, completely remote from each other. have to log in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out…….
          🐂🐂🐂🐂

          Liked by 1 person

  21. Oh dear, John, I am sorry to hear you’ve lost a few precious strands of hair. My husband now gets a discount at the hairdresser because she says its not fair to charge him full price. I thought it was quite funny – Terence, not so much.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I used to spend more on haircuts but now go to chain places for around $8.00. Give Terence my sympathy. I’m reminded of the time I went into a McDonalds and ordered a coffee. The counter clerk said, “one senior coffee coming up.” The times of our lives. I din’t argue cause it was 35¢ instead of 75¢

      Liked by 1 person

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