Today, I randomly opened Eternal Road – The last stop to page 233. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “language.” That is our prompt
Language by John W. Howell © 2025
“That is not the kind of language we use, young man.”
“Sorry, Mum, but I’m very frustrated.”
“Over what?”
“Well, you know how Pa sent me out to hunt for dinner.”
“He said it was about time you learned to contribute to the family.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
“So, what is so frustrating?”
“Pa makes everything look so easy.”
“And?”
“I found out that hunting is more complex than it looks.”
“I think anyone could have told you that.”
“Well, long story short, I didn’t get any dinner.”
“Hmm. That does present a problem for you.”
“I know. Pa is going to be pretty mad.”
“Don’t you think your father knows how hard hunting is?”
“I suppose. He’s been doing it a long time.”
“And don’t you think he would have made sure we had dinner, knowing it was your first time?”
“You mean?”
“I think the only problem is not your father getting mad, but how you see yourself as a hunter.”
“A failure.”
“See, that’s not the way you should look at it.”
“Well, that’s how I feel.”
“You have to know that every time your father went hunting, he didn’t always bring back dinner.”
“Really?”
“Really. But what he did was to continue to go out each day, no matter what.”
“So never give up?”
“That’s it. Tell me, did you see any game?”
“Sure.”
“So what happened?”
“Every time I stalked the game, they ran away.”
“Sounds like a scent problem.”
“What’s that?”
“Did you pay attention to the wind?”
“No. What’s wind got to do with it?”
“Springboks have a great sense of smell. If the wind is behind you, your scent blows toward them.”
“If the wind is in my face, then their scent blows towards me and mine is not detectable.”
“That a boy. Take this information and make us proud.”
“Make the pride proud. You got it, ma.”
I will be taking a blogging break from Friday of this week to Thursday of next. Totally off the grid.
Fiction Favorites 
A great advising dialogue. It´s not easy to walk in the footsteps of the elder ones. Experience is all. 🙂 Have a nice free time, John! Stay well and have hopefully a lot of fun. Best wishes, Michael
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Thank you, Michael. 😀
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That was a lesson in steadfast wisdom. Hope you have a great beak!
🩷
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Thank you, Cindy.
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Sweet dialog. Enjoy your break.
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Thank you, Charles.
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Totally off the grid, yikes. Remember those days when there was NO grid? 😮
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Yes, indeed I do. I also remember having to stop at a payphone to check in with the boss.
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OMG, I forgot about that! Had to do it too!
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They were hot too.
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Grasshopper doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. But he’ll get there.
Enjoy YOUR break
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Thank you, Marco.
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🙂
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So much for achieving his cub scout badge in hunting…🙄
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Ha ha ha. Good one, Lois. 😀
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The first sentence of this brought back a memory I hadn’t thought of for a while. When Son #2 was very young, he latched onto a word he shouldn’t say, and no matter what I did he kept using it. I borrowed a trick from A Christmas Story and made him hold a bar of soap in his mouth for a couple minutes. That did the trick. Thanks for the memory, John, lol!
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Great story, Teri. Thanks for sharing. 😀
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Great dialogue! And advice. But don’t the females in the pride do the hunting?
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Yes, but this was a matter of poetic license. Good catch.
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Thanks. Now get going on your vacation!
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Thursday
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Why didn’t pa give him the good lesson about the wind and his scent?
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Naw pa has an oasis problem. He is always there.
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Great story, and good advice. Enjoy the break, John.
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Thank you, Dan.
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As always, your dialogue is superb. And a great lesson for us as writers – hunters for a good story.
Am I supposed to know what a Springbok is??
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You are not supposed to know what a springbok is. It is an African antelope. I needed to put in a clue to help identify the lions so that was it.
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THANK you. I don’t feel quite as ignorant, and now I’m going to have to add a springbok in one of my stories sometime. Oh, hmmm, maybe a springbok will enter a dream soon. 🙂
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That will be fun. They do wander into dreams a lot.
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Entertaining as always. Have a good break, John.
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Thank you, Esther.
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Aww, the trials of a young lion hunter. Love this!!
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Yes, poor lad. Thanks, Jan
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You sure had me stumped with this one!
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Excellent. Thanks for letting me know.
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You’re welcome. I thought you’d be pleased.
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😊
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Love this one, John 🙂 Enjoy your break!
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Thank you, Denise.
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Another unexpected lesson. But I had always heard that the lionesses did hunting… Fun tale nonetheless.
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Great story, John. Have a wonderful week away from it all. Much like you, I’ll be off-grid Thursday through the following Wednesday — visiting my kids in the Northeast. I’ll send a hello from your old stamping ground. 😊
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Wishing you a great trip. 😀
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Good hunting advice from mom. Enjoy your time off the grid!
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Thank you, Jo. Wishing you a nice weekend.
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Have a wonderful break, John! I enjoyed your story. Endearing conversation and lessons in there. 👍🏻
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Thank you, Michele. I’m glad you liked the story. I appreciate the lovely words.
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You’re very welcome and a pleasant Wednesday to you.
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And to you. 😊
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Try, try, try again. Only way to learn. Wonderfully done. And do enjoy YOUR break.. We’re all breaking at the same time! 😉
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Thank you, Dale. I hope you enjoy yours as well. 😀
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Will do my best! 😊
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Ha ha ha. 😀
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😏😉
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He’ll learn, or get devoured by hyenas. Enjoy your time away, and I hope it’s for a fun reason.
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Thank you, Craig. It will be fun.
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That sounds like good advice for every hunter even human ones. For humans avoid taking a shower with fragrant soaps and schampoos.
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Yes, find a neutral scent like VooDoo Ranger.
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Well if you do that the deer will come to you. That’s not really sport.
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If they do, then you are right. What about those guys with the corn feeders? Seems a little unsporty to me.
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Yes I guess you are right
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Enjoy your break, John! Do something fun!
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Thank you, Jill.
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A well learned lesson and great way to handle the prompt, John. Enjoy your break!
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Thank you, Monika.
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Enjoy your break, John!
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