Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Pant/Pent/Pint/Pont/Punt”

~ John W. Howell

 

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

Waking with a pent-up demand for caffeine, a surprising pant left my chest. At first, it was in reaction to the machine’s slowness to wake. My brain immediately began searching for a plan B should a punt away from our beloved coffee maker be necessary. To my relief, a button punch delivered a whole pint of the steaming stuff. Maybe too much for a sitting, but certainly enough to take on the road. Some other refreshments would be necessary. A hunk of “Pont l’Évêque cheese and a baguette should do.

The clock is set for June 6th, 1925. The location is Highland Park, Michigan. The duration is an hour. We find ourselves standing in front of the Maxwell Motor Company building when the plunger is pulled. Walter Chrysler, an employee, is on the steps announcing to the press that, through a reorganization, Maxwell is now the Chrysler Corporation, headed by Walter Chrysler. He outlines plans to produce cars that people want to buy. Walter Chrysler had come to the Maxwell Motor Company in the 20s with the mandate to turn the company around. He introduced the Chrysler automobile in 1924, which featured many improvements, and the company was renamed. The questions from the press begin, and our alarm sends us back to the couch where the cheese waits.

There is a text from Linda Hill. It reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “pant/pent/pint/pont/punt.” Use one, use ’em all, any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use more than one. Enjoy!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2025/06/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-7-2025/

“Pant/Pent/Pint/Pont/Punt” by John W. Howell © 2025

“That must have been fun being there at the founding of Chrysler Corporation.”

“There was a lot of excitement, too.”

“Were the employees happy?”

“I think most saw the handwriting on the wall since the Maxwell wasn’t selling well and were glad Walter was taking over.”

“You mentioned innovations in that 1924 Chrysler.”

“A carburetor air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, they developed hydraulic brakes later, a real innovation. It took less pedal pressure to stop the car over shorter distances.”

“Innovation is a wonderful thing. Speaking of innovation.”

“Just order the Uber.”

“I did. It’s over there.”

Photo by Dan Antion
Photo by Dan Antion

“That is a 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible. Now we’re talking.”

” Yes, we could get used to that kind of machine.”

“Just one thing though.”

“There is always a thing.”

“We have to go with the driver to the drag strip.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, this is one of those three carburetor jobs with a six-liter engine. The owner has entered it in a drag race.”

“Do we need to be in the car during the race?”

“No, we can watch. They have Voo Doo Rangers at the track.”

“Why didn’t you lead with that? Let’s go.”

 

64 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – “Pant/Pent/Pint/Pont/Punt””

    1. Ha ha ha. Spoken in true logic, Klausbernd. No one “needs” a six-liter engine. The car was designed by Ralph De Loren to attract younger buyers and be fast. The original version had a four-speed manual transmission for quick acceleration.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Back when racing meant, “Win on Sunday – Sell on Monday” for the dealers. It was amazing what kind of car you could roll out of the dealer’s showroom in.

    Chrysler was a family favorite for many years, (with a break as we skipped the K-cars).

    Liked by 1 person

        1. We had a Durango. In the Texas heat the gas tank collapsed. The gauge showed a full tank, so we ran out of gas and had to tow the SUV. AAA to the rescue. The warranty repair took months since tanks were in short supply.

          Liked by 1 person

        2. That’s crazy. I had problems with the fuel injectors that was traced to the fuel filter (installed in the gas tank) deteriorating. They had to remove the tank and drain it, in order to replace the fuel filter.

          Liked by 1 person

  8. That’s really good information about the founding of Chrysler corporation, John. That GTO would sure be a fun ride, even more so to drive it. Going to a drag race would be fun too, and the Voo Doo Rangers would add to the fun.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Wow, love the car, might even watch the drag race. 😄 Enjoy your weekend, John. And bravo for the great response to the prompt!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Chrysler definitely has a better ring to it than Maxwell. 🙂 That GTO brings back memories, John. I had a gold 1967 GTO, but it wasn’t a convertible. I loved that car! It made me feel special. But we blew the transmission up in it and I think my nephew wound up with it.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. That was a fun and interesting story and I learned something about American car history that I did not know. It has gotten complicated lately with DaimlerChrysler and Stellantis. Your uber is nice.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Goes to show how well he did because I’ve never heard of the Maxwell car!!

    And what a great drive to the pub – even if it’s not necessary, being full-equipped with VooDoo!!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. That’s a neat old muscle car.

    It makes me feel like going to the drive-in. We have one by the lake, on the east side of Toronto.

    Have fun at the track! Put $10 on the GTO to win! If it wins, buy yourselves more VooDoos.

    If it loses…sorry, I live in Canada, there’s going to be another postal strike, I don’t do bank transfers and I don’t do anything under $20 on PayPal.

    0$ 0$

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s okay. We won and went under water with Voo Doos. We went to drive-ins in high school. Most times, we had to keep that a secret from the girls’ parents. Seems drive-ins had a bad reputation. (go figure) 🍿X

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Who wouldn’t want to watch a ’67 GTO drag race? This one takes me back; my best friend had this car, with pinstripes, in a darker shade of green. Thanks for the memories. Loved the Chrysler story.

    Liked by 1 person

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