Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Hum”

~ John W. Howell

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

 

Last week was a humdinger is the thought as the aroma of a perfect cup of coffee fills the room. A quick sip reminds me that there is an Oscar the Grouch look-alike character living in an urn on the front porch. The temptation to hum the theme from the Good Bad and Ugly is tempered with the need to disarm the security system and have another try at getting rid of the noisy pest.

The tower machine guns are deactivated, the moat screen rolled, the concertina wire retracted, the boiling oil set to standby, the claymore mines detached, The trebuchet reset, the iron gate opened, and the locks and bolts thrown. The front door is open, and yes, the urn is still there.

We all know from reading stories that a rub on a strange urn might produce something. With that learning in mind, my hand quickly rubs a shiny spot on the side of the urn. Like magic, a cloud floats out of the urn, followed by a thing looking similar to Oscar dressed like a genie. He only comes out to the waist and yells, “Okay, you have interrupted my BBQ lunch, so you get three wishes.”

As we have all heard, this wish thing can be tricky, so taking time to think is paramount. After what seems like an hour, the first wish is issued. “I would like this urn to disappear.”  There is a sound like “poof,” and it’s gone. The Oscar look-alike is standing on the porch holding a pork chop. “My next wish is to be a New York Times best-selling author for the next twenty years.” The Oscar look-alike nods.”My final wish is that you follow the urn.” The Oscar look-alike holds his hand up. “Hey, governor. If I disappear, that second wish is out of the question.”

Seems to be a fly in the Chardonnay. “So be it. Be gone.” The Oscar look-alike disappears in a cloud; only a fluttering envelope remains. Once landed, it is opened and contains a message from Linda Hill. It reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: starts with “hum.” Find a word that starts with “hum” or use the word “hum” itself. Send your bonus points to Dan at https://nofacilities.com/ if you use both. Enjoy! If you want to read how others responded to the prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here’s the link. https://lindaghill.com/2023/09/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-30-2023/

Hum by John W. Howell © 2023

“Well, you got the bonus points.”

“Yup. I already requested them from Dan Antion.”

“Good. I hope he doesn’t run out.”

“Nah. Dan has a virtual bonus point printer. He’s like the government.”

“Well, that’s good. Not much to say about your story today.”

“Got rid of the character, which makes me happy.”

“I guess that’s all that counts.”

“That urn’s been on my porch for three weeks.”

“What was up with that best-seller wish?”

“Figured it couldn’t hurt.”

“You don’t feel bad about losing it?”

“You can feel bad about losing something you never had.”

“Ah, a philosophical day today.”

“We’ll just call it a realist day.”

“You know what else is real?”

“Have you called Uber?”

He’s right over there. Look.”

Photo courtesy of Dan Antion

“That’s a tractor.”

“Hey, you know your vehicles.”

“How are we going to fit on that?”

“Snugly. Very snugly in the open air.”

 

 

 

 

 

49 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Hum””

  3. Well done, John. I’d never deplete the Bentley fund of another lug nut. Enjoy the ride and be careful not to over do the VooDoos, if you have to call that contraption for a ride home.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Oscar the Grouch Genie with a bottle. Sounds like a unique Halloween costume, John. Since he is now gone, is your security system now gone? Or are you waiting for the next thing to wind up on the porch?

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Ahh, there’s nothing like a drive with the top down on beautiful day.

    Anyway, I would have never guessed Oscar the Grouch would have taken a job as an “Open Sesame” type character.

    Well, good riddance to that porch f urn iture!
    Now we can finally wonder what will show u next week!
    OX OX OX OX

    Liked by 1 person

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