Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Something That Closes”

~ John W. Howell

The brew machine delivers a cup of steaming stuff faster than usual. There is more time to fool with the clock. The clock is in the pantry, and the pantry door closes after fetching it. Another dial appears on the back of the clock for the first time. There is a small clock face and a dial. The word ‘alarm’ is beside the face. Looking at my watch, the local time is nine o’clock. So if the alarm is set for Ten o’clock, it will give me an hour in the past.

The alarm is set, and the day and year are chosen: November 24, 1923. Now, to pull the pin to engage. Whoa, that was fast. According to the stadium sign, the location is Forbes Field. That’s a stadium that was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It looks like the game is over since most are leaving. Inside is a giant scoreboard with the names Carnegie Tech and Visitor. It looks like the visitors won the game 23 to zero.

A program is on one of the seats, and the visitors have been identified. It is Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame football team. It looks like the game was a little one-sided. The local folks don’t look too happy, but the Notre Dame folks are all singing and laughing.

A guy from the radio station is interviewing Rockne, saying that the game didn’t reflect his team’s strength. He mentions that they could have done more but decided to allow some first-year members to get some experience. That seems reasonable since, for Notre Dame, the score seems modest indeed.

A bell goes off, and my living room replaces Forbes Field. In my hand, the program has turned into a message from Linda Hill. It reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “something that closes.” Write about the first thing that pops into your head that closes. Enjoy!

To see how others handled the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2023/11/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-25-2023/

Something That Closes by John W. Howell © 2023

“The pantry door was a cheap way around the prompt.”

“Well, ours does.”

“Tell me again why you don’t use the pronoun, ‘I'”

“Too many first person, present tense stories overuse the pronoun. Everyone gets tired of seeing ” I, I ” all the time.”

“Okay, I get that. Once in a while wouldn’t hurt.”

“I suppose, but I’m trying to do a story without.”

“You just said I.”

“Y0u and are a talking. That’s not what I mean.”

“I’m confused. You know what else closes?”

“Yes, the pub. Did you order an Uber?”

“He’s here.”

“By those Amish buggies?”

Photo by Crystal Tubens on Unsplash

“He’s is one of those Amish buggies.”

“Why did I ask?”

“Enquiring minds want to know.”

“Maybe we should walk.”

“Come on. It will be fun.”

 

 

79 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Something That Closes””

    1. I suppose I need to look up a point in history for the timing of events rather than just setting the day. It would have been nice to see the game. Thanks, Robbie. (look at us talking like this stuff is real 🤣)

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  3. Pingback: Dear Diary — SoCS – No Facilities

  5. I’m so glad you set the clock to Forbes Field time and not Three Rivers Stadium time. I saw lots of winners and loser in that stadium, until it closed its doors for good. Oops, I began two sentences with ‘I’. The person writing this comment needs a beer. Can he hop in the buggy?

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  13. I would have interviewed Knute Rockne immediately! And I’d be happy to take you on a buggy ride. I like the idea of a slower pace of getting where you want to go! Voo doo at the pub…

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  18. That’s an interesting and original choice for a ride. Hope the VooDoo is delish! I like that one-hour trial. Seems to have worked and you are so good at slipping in a bit of history for us! You’re a natural teacher 🙂

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  20. I hope there’s not too much traffic where you’re going in that buggy. The last time we were visiting my family, an Amish buggy passed by our hotel on a very busy four-lane road. I felt so sorry for the horses. I bet they were scared (and I would have been too).

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  21. It probably would be fun to ride in an Amish buggy. I used to see them when I lived in the Midwest. But in Arizona, I’ve not noticed even one buggy. Another great story, John. 😊

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  23. I would love to ride in an Amish buggie, and of course be on that football field field in 1923. That was a great story. Keep the alarm going!

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  25. I see…. yes the pantry door closes, and it is something that closes.
    Well, seems you’ve opened up a new prompt style.
    Um… was that game on November 24, 1923, a game that actually happened.
    Have a fab walk, and if you see any street art on your way, take a pic please!
    OX OX OX OX

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