Today, I opened Circumstances of Childhood to page 123. With my eyes closed, I pointed to the page, and nearest my finger was the word “stood.” This is the prompt for today.
Stood by John W. Howell © 2025
“I never knew what this monument stood for.”
“Well, just read the inscription.”
“So many words.”
“Oh, come on. You can do it.”
“Alright, I’ll try in memory of General Kilgore Trout, who led his troops into victory during the great Cola Wars of the 1970s and 1980s. His most notable feat was battling the return of Classic Coke in 1985. General Trout was mortally wounded in the final battle to regain Classic Coke and succumbed to his injuries in 1986.”
“There. So now you know.”
“Yes. But now that I know, I have some feeling for General Trout.”
“Feelings? What kind of feelings?”
“That maybe we have been a little disrespectful to the general’s memory.”
“How so?”
“Sitting on him and such.”
“Don’t be silly. That’s what pigeons do.”
“Well, maybe I can eat less fiber and control myself.”
“Sure, you do that.”
Fiction Favorites 
The great Cola Wars, I love it!
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Ha ha ha. Thanks GP
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At least the general got commemorated in bronze for his efforts. Maybe they can use cola to scrub him clean.
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It would work well, too.
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Is it the real classic coke? Only because I feel like certain ingredients were changed after the initial creation.
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Whoo boy. I have no idea.
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It’s not the sitting. It’s the ‘such.’ 🤣 Oh, John….
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And such, indeed. Thanks, Lois 😀
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Yes, it does seem that pigeons are on a high fiber diet, John, geese too.
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Ha ha ha. Glad you got it. Thanks, Tim
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As usual, a hard turn from where I expected the story to go…and I loved it! Well done, John.
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Thank you, Monika. I like your Wilson Gravatar.
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Thanks, John. It seemed like it was time to update our online presence.
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Such a cute one too.
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A fellow pet blogger who does amazing work with Adobe created it. I’m very grateful for her work.
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Very cool. I have been trying to figure out how to make a Frenchie emoji with no luck.
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Holler if you want contact info.
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Thank you. I will if I can’t figure it out. 😊
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Hahaha! You are a kick!
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Glad you liked it, Cindy.
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🙌🏽🙏🏼🙌
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😀
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Hahaha! Is it wrong of me to tell the pigeons to keep on being pigeons?
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No cause, that’s what they should do. 😀
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😁
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😊
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Hilarious! Loved it from start to finish.
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So glad. Thank you, Esther.
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👍🙏🤣😂😂🙏👍
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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😊
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I do remember those coka wars. The pigeon contribution seems fitting to me 🙂
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Ha ha ha. Thanks, Denise. 🤣
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Nicely spun, John. Seems rather fitting that pigeons would sit wherever they want though!
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It does seem that way. Thanks, Debbie
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LOL! You had me rolling!
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So glad. 😀
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Funny! I like that Kurt Vonnegut’s character took a break from writing sci-fi short stories to become a general. Or was he a general first, and then retired and wrote short stories? Generally, I don’t know. 🙃
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Vonnegut would be proud.
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Thank you, Marc. I think he would enjoy seeing Kilgore as a brass general.
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Oh man, would he ever.
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😊
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Kurt would enjoy this, John.
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I would hope so,
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Poor General Trout. In Stockholm, Sweden, there is a big statue of King Carl XII. He is the king who invaded Russia in 1707. Napoleon studied King Carl XII invasion so that he could, well, do the same mistake but a little bit better. Anyway, King Carl XII is getting pooped on a lot by the pigeons.
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😀As are most of the heroes in bronze. Thanks, Thomas.
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Chuckling on the pigeons, and can only imagine the pigeon Stars left on the General’s shoulder boards 🙂
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Yes, most of the bird world is impressed with the pigeon’s ability to dress up a bronze statue.
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Haha!
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😊
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