Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Clump

~ John W. Howell

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

The machine is on it today. One cup of relief in less than twenty seconds. Has to be an all-time record. Knocking down a clump in the sugar and a spoon to the java it is now time for a sip. The brain has cleared enough to consider the clock. It is set for March 1, 1924. The location is Nixon, New Jersey. The duration is two hours. The plunger is pulled, and we are standing in an area that no longer exists.

Nixon, New Jersey, is the site of the Nixon Nitration Works Disaster. An explosion of Ammonium Nitrate destroyed several square miles of New Jersey factories and killed 18 people with two missing and 100 injured. The scene is complete devastation, and the town of Nixon no longer exists.

The explosion destroyed one building initially and then spread through fire to 40 others. The explosion was heard as far away as New York City. The cause is believed to be a small clump of TNT left in the Ammonium Nitrate that was extracted from WWI artillery shells for reuse as furtilizer. With that knowledge, the alarm goes off and the couch is an acceptable shelter from the smoke. Of course, there is a text from Linda Hill. It reads; .Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “clump.” Use it as a noun or a verb. Have fun!

If you would like to see how other bloggers handled the prompt visit Linda’s post. Here is the link  https://lindaghill.com/2024/03/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2-2024/

Clump by John W. Howell © 2024

“You know your readers are going to revolt with those one word prompts hidden in the text.”

“They are the best people on the planet. They are okay with it. Besides there are two this week.”

“Yeah hidden in the aftermath of the Nixon explosion.”

“That was a terrible thing.”

“It is good to remember stuff like that. Did the town rebuild?”

“Yup but they voted to rename it Edison.”

“Why is the Nixon name familiar?”

“Lewis Nixon III was a highly decorated WWII airborne combat officer veteran and included in the book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. After the war he returned and joined the family company which was Nixon Nitration Works. The book was made into an HBO mini-series with Ron Livingston playing Lewis.”

“That sounds terrific but I was thinking of Richard Nixon.”

“Yeah, I can’t help you get out of that clump of bushes.”

“What bushes?”

“Never mind. All this time travel has me needing a Voo Doo Ranger.”

“Uber is waiting over there.”

“Where? All I see is a mess of a truck. Oh no.”

“Yup. Quite the classic.”

Photo by Dan Antion

“Classic what?”

“Classic Ford 3/4 ton flatbed.”

“Don’t even suggest we are riding in the back.”

“No we have a girl my lord from Winslow Arizonia.”

“She’s our uber driver?”

“Yup and she’s slowed down to take a look at us.”

“I think you have lost it. Lucky there’s room for three up front.”

“Dibs on the middle.”

“Why does that not surprise me?”

“Okay let’s go.”

“Think she has a disk player?”

“You rented it. You should you know.”

 

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Published by John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

70 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Clump”

  2. Only you could figure out a way to tuck a history lesson in with one of the greatest rock bands of all time, I dig it very much.

    As for Edison, I used to go to Harold’s New York Deli all the time when I was traveling. Just off the turnpike, the leftovers will last you a week.

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Dear John,
    we just googled the Nixon Nitration Works Disaster. We hadn’t heard about this disaster before.
    Nicely build in your stream of consciousness text.
    Keep well
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I’m glad you got the timing right on that visit, John. I’d hate to think what could have happened to spacetime if you had been a few minutes off.

    “Dibs on the middle.” – I’m still laughing,

    Liked by 2 people

  7. My better-half grew up in the Nixon area of Edison. Lewis Nixon III was part of the 101st A/B during WWII and known by many from the miniseries, Band of Brothers.

    Liked by 3 people

  8. Wow! The story of Nixon, New Jersey’s explosion is mind-boggling! I suppose you took it easy on the way to the pub and back, not letting the sound of the wheels drive you crazy. 😁

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I lived in Middlesex County and worked in Menlo Park/Edison (as our company letterhead stated), but never knew about Nixon, NJ. So interesting.
    Anything by the Eagles is fine with me! That truck looks great. Can I drive?

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Very clever with incorporating the lyrics to the Eagles song. I’m betting most missed that. As a huge Eagles fan, I immediately caught on with Winslow, Arizona, and a flatbed Ford. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  20. Wow, this was quite something, John. I’d never heard of it before. Ha ha, I was waiting for the punch line of President Nixon …..
    Too funny!!!❣️….”“Never mind. All this time travel has me needing a Voo Doo Ranger.”❣️

    Liked by 2 people

  22. Love these history lessons tucked into your Saturdays! As for the truck… I’d want to ride in the flatbed! Course, it has to be a nice evening… Wonderful tucking in of the lyrics, too. You are so clever and fun 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Not to be controversial, but if Nixon were running today, and considering the competition, I’d vote for him. I wove a huge molasses disaster into one of the hat stories. It really happened.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Well, that was interesting. Yes, it is good to not forget things in history that were not nice, scary or horrific.
    It all counts in paying forward to better happenings.

    The truck …mmmmm..but the song is fabulous!
    Voodoo cheers to voodoo guys!

    🛻𝐗 🍻𝐗

    Liked by 1 person

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