Stream of Consciousness Saturday – “Make the Call”

~ John W. Howell

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

 

A big gulp of coffee reaches the brain in less time than is reasonable to hope. With the cobwebs gone, it is time to fire up the clock. The choice is to continue to make 1923 mistakes or finally move into 1924. Someone needs to make the call, and it has to be me.

Okay, the clock is set for January 27, 1924. The location is Moscow and the time allowed is two hours. When the plunger is pulled, we find ourselves in Moscow. Dressed like it is Texas with flip-flops and shorts, the temperature turns my knees blue. It is currently -35 degrees F (-37 C), and someone should have reminded me that we need to dress for the destination and not the origin. Lesson learned for next time.

We are in Red Square, and thousands of people gathered for the state funeral for Vladimir Lenin, the co-founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin’s body is delivered to Red Square, accompanied by martial music. The crowds listen to speeches from Mikhail Kalinin, Grigory Zinoviev, and Joseph Stalin, but notably not Leon Trotsky, who had been convalescing in the Caucasus. Later, it is learned that Stalin had given Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral on purpose.

Lenin’s body is embalmed for long-term viewing and placed in a mausoleum on Red Square. He died on January 21, 1924, at 18:50, in Gorki, at age 53, after falling into a coma. The official cause of death was recorded as an incurable disease of the blood vessels.

As the funeral is completed, the alarm goes off, and back on the sofa is my destination. My test tone tells me Linda Hill has sent this week’s prompt. Here it is. Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 27th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “make the call.” Use it as an idiom, or use it literally. Have fun!

To see what other bloggers have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/26/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2024-daily-prompt-jan-27th/

Make the Call by John W. Howell © 2023.

“Wow. Lenin died 100 years ago.”

“Well, he was buried 100 years ago.”

“To be technical. Yes. Is he still there?”

“There was talk about taking him out of the mausoleum in 2018, but it didn’t happen. Yes, he is still there.”

“Well, that’s good. I guess someone had to make the call on that.”

“Yeah, that was Putin. He put his foot down.”

“I guess that would be the final foot.”

“I think it would. You ready for the pub?”

“Sure am. Uber’s already here. It’s in the parking garage.”

“Okay, let’s walk over.”

“Here we are.”

“You’re kidding?”

“It was this or a horse wagon. I had to make the call.”

“I guess it is better than a horse wagon. You know we could pay full price and get something comfortable.”

“What fun is that?”

“We doing lights and siren?”

“Is there any other way?”

“VooDoo Ranger, here we come.”

 

 

 

81 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – “Make the Call””

  3. You do time travel so expertly. And lemme tell you, the way Stalin pulled one over on old Trotsky, what a mall girl thing to do.

    As for that ride, I’m in! It’ll be nice to be in the back of a cruiser and NOT be in some sort of trouble.

    Liked by 1 person

        2. I was ‘gifted’ one extended seat in the back of a police car when the cops responded to a call and I was one of the kids who DIDN’T run, dumbass that I was! I also got a ride in an unmarked and that was no fun at all.

          Liked by 1 person

        5. I can imagine. I was on the roof of the local cleaners when I was a kid. My friend and I were throwing Mrs Koski’s tomatoes at cars on a busy street. All of a sudden a cop car came. We had to lay low on the roof for what seemed hours. We didn’t dare look either so every moment we though we would see a cops face over the edge of the roof. They never caught on though.

          Liked by 1 person

  4. Pingback: Who’s in? Who’s Out? — SoCS JusJoJan – No Facilities

  5. Lights and sirens for sure, John. That was a good little bit of time travel. I have to look up why they wanted to take him out of the mausoleum in 2018. I’m not sure why, but now I want to know.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I love how you give us a little bit of history in such an enjoyable way. Yeah, Russia in flipflops in January was not quite a well-thought out move 😉 Giving Trotsky the wrong day was a shitty move.
    I would love a ride in that thing. Sirens and all! Cheers tonight!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Didn’t know this. Politics rears its head even in dealing with the dead. Oh well, you’ll have a fun ride with lights and sirens. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Very timely. I read about this online earlier in the week. His tomb is no longer an attraction, being open only 15 hours a week and getting fewer visitors than the Moscow Zoo. What a comparison…😬
    Oh, yeah–if you’re gonna ride, gotta have lights and sirens!! I’m imagining sticking your head out the window and yelling, “Woo Woo!” would not be unheard of. Have a great weekend, John.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Hmm,
    I think from this small trip back in history, Lenin’s death sounds fishy.
    “an incurable disease of the blood vessels.” ??? Was putin around?
    I’m liking this time travel, John.
    Not sure why, but I’m getting a “Peabody’s Improbable History” vibe, yet all your history’s are a matter of record.
    Your ride is a testament to your fearlessness.
    (Strean)?

    OX OX

    Like

    1. You are the only one to catch the typo, Resa. That says something. (not sure what though) Yeah Lenin;s death could be a subject of a new conspiracy theory. They did do another autopsy and found the cause but I can’t remember what it was. No evidence of poison though. I’m glad you like this series. Thank you. OX OX OX

      Liked by 1 person

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