Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Laundering.”

~ John W. Howell

Today, I randomly opened Circumstances of Childhood to page 159, pointed to the page with my eyes closed, and my finger fell on the word “laundering.” This will be the prompt today.

Laundering by John W. Howell © 2025

“What are you doing?”

“The laundry. What does it look like?”

“I’m not really sure. I thought laundering was done in a machine.”

“Yeah, well, this is the best we’ve got. Rocks and the river bank.”

“That looks like a hard way to go.”

“If you have a better idea, I’d like to hear it.”

“No offense, but I can’t see how you do the laundry.”

“See this rock?”

“Yes.”

“I take this crawfish here and hit it on the rock.”

“So you are having lunch. Why did you say laundry?”

“Any fool could see I was eating. Asking what I was doing begged for a smart-assed answer.”

“I suppose.”

“Besides, I didn’t want to ask you to share my lunch.”

“Yeah, I really get that. I can get my own lunch.”

“Don’t be touching these crawfish. They’re mine.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to hit that new restaurant.”

“The one with the spicy food?”

“Yeah.”

“How can you stand that heat?”

“I avoid it.”

“How?”

“I look for French fries and salad when I enter the dumpster. I leave the hot stuff to the rats.”

“Well, it seems that no self-respecting raccoon needs to dumpster dive. You can always fish.”

“With you guarding the river?”

“Okay, you got me there. Here, have a few mussels.”

“Oh, I’m allergic.”

“Then it’s the dumpster.”

“How about a crawfish?”

“I caught these myself. Why don’t you catch your own?”

“And get wet?”

“You sure you are a raccoon like me? You sound more like a pussy cat.”

“Hey, I got the mask.”

“You do. I think you are hiding behind it.”

“Okay, step aside, I’m going into the river for crawfish.”

“Atta boy.”

 

 

 

64 thoughts on “Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Laundering.””

  4. I always depend on your humor to lift my spirits, especially following a blood draw when the tech had to stab twice to hit her mark. I bet a raccoon could have found it on the first try. I’ll read your story to the doc unless I use my allocated 15 minutes on medical stuff. Cross your fingers.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. What a riot! And I thought humans just had a hard time deciding what to eat. This is hilarious!

    Yeah, leave it for the rats. They’ll eat anything. Oh my gosh…😆

    Liked by 1 person

  16. What a fun and clever twist on the prompt, John! You had me smiling from the first line—laundering, crawfish, and raccoons? Brilliantly unexpected and so entertaining. The dialogue crackles with wit and personality, and I could almost picture those two mischievous raccoons bantering by the riverbank. There’s something delightfully human about their conversation, too—hunger, pride, resourcefulness, and a dash of sass.

    Thanks for turning an ordinary word into such an imaginative and chuckle-worthy story. If anyone needs more doses of humor (especially from a twin mom’s perspective!), I’d love to welcome you over at Twin Chaos & Toddler Giggles or on Instagram @twintales2025. There’s plenty of “laundry” and chaos on my end too—though not as tasty as crawfish!

    Keep these gems coming!
    Warmly,
    Diya

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Pingback: Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Laundering.” – JAMES KEDZE BLOG

  20. When I lived in Connecticut, I had to fight those critters. They were cute but devious. And reading your clever dialogue makes me think you’ve dealt with a few as well. Bravo, John, another great story. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Gwen. When living in Connecticut, we had a couple who moved in one night, and we found them two or three days later. in an upstairs bedroom.

      Like

      1. OMG! Well, your story beats mine. 😄They got into our garage and made a home there. Says something about the garage, doesn’t it. 🙄

        Liked by 1 person

  22. What happened to the raccoons of the 50s? They had much sweeter spirits, didn’t cuss, only ate out of garbage cans, and hung out in trees.🐳

    Liked by 2 people

Comments are closed.