Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Seven

~ John W. Howell

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

At seven in the morning, no one wants to be forced to fix a coffee machine. This morning is no exception. The hatch is open, and a confusing maze of wires and lights makes me wonder why it’s open in the first place. The machine asks if a song would help calm my nerves. “Yes, Hal, a song would be nice.”

The machine starts singing, ” Daisy, daisy give me your answer true.”

“It was then that the decision is made to go to Starbucks. Before leaving, somebody activated the Westchester Chime sequence of the front doorbell. This, of course, triggers the baying of Igor’s hounds in the form of Twiggy and Tempeste. A ham hock toss into the soundproof room followed by a slam of the door brings peace back to the valley. Looking at the security camera,  a very large bear is seen standing on the porch. “What do you want?” is the message through the intercom. “Envelope for Howell,” comes the reply. “Just leave it.”

After a long silence, it is clear the bear is not going to leave the envelope. With a sigh, the standby process is begun.

The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the shutdown process of the security system. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away.  The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opens.

A bear is wearing a pork pie hat. “Sign here,” he says, and passes me a clipboard. My signature is placed next to my name, and the bear hands me an envelope. “Haven’t we met before?” My question causes the bear to scratch his head. “Have you been to Jellystone Park?” My response is negative. The bear holds out his paw. “Here’s your tip. Not all pick a nick baskets are created equal.”

Before the bear can react, the front door is slammed and the envelope opened. It is from Linda Hill.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “seven.” Use it however you’re inspired to. Have fun!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2025/09/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-20-2025/

Seven by John W. Howell © 2025

“Was that Yogi the Bear?”

“If you say so.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t have a use license, so since you are not writing this post, you can say whatever you want without setting me up for a lawsuit.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works.”

“Well, anyway, I don’t think we could consider this blog a commercial enterprise, so it may be a moot point after all.”

“What side of the law  book did you get up on this morning?”

“I’m just saying.”

“I hope we are by that stuff.”

“Yes, we are. What do you want to talk about?”

“Seven.”

“Seven?”

“Yup. Seven VooDoo Rangers.”

“Where’s the Uber?”

“Over there.”

Photo by Dan Antion

“What is that?”

“It’s a Volvo 122. I would say a 1964.”

“Well, it looks like the driver is ready, so let’s go.”

“We have one stop first.”

“I hope it isn’t a wax job.”

“No, it is a stop at IKEA.”

“IKEA? What for?”

“The car needs a new engine, so we will pick one up.”

“All put together?”

“Are you kidding at IKEA?  We have to hurry; it may take a while.”

 

73 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Seven”

  8. Haven’t been here for awhile, but it seems to me you were having coffee maker issues last time? Do you need a different, non-singing coffee maker? Or was I in a different dimension with a different John?
    Also, remind me never to visit you at home because it seems as though answering the door is an extensive process I wouldn’t want to put you or the SWAT team through. Unless there is an older, attractive SWAT leader. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

  10. A ‘77 muscle car might have been easier to deal with. Get your seven beers, pick up a bag of Sevin dust for the garden, swing by the pawn shop for an old percolator, pay seven bucks, then threaten Hal with it.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Hahahahaha. Thanks for the Saturday morning fun, John. I’m envious of that security system. It seems there’s a serial killer in my previously no-crime town. That or an extremely high number of coincidences. I wonder if an alligator would eat weeds? Hmmm… Hugs. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  14. A coffee machine not working makes a tough morning. Having Yogi Bear at the door would be amusing. You gave him a nice tip, even if it wasn’t what he wanted. Having the engine replaced would take a lot of time.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Made my first visit to an IKEA last month and that was…a lot. So much so that at one point my husband — who does not have sensory overload as I sometimes do — stopped me in my tracks to ask “Are you okay? Because I AM NOT ok, this whole thing is 😳.” And I would not be the least bit surprised to learn somewhere in that enormous warehouse is a car section.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Jellystone Park that is not far from here, just south of Fort Worth. I have never been there but I wonder if it is a good alternative to Yellowstone Park. I recognized that picture of the car. It looked very much like my Volvo Amazon 1968, which was my first car. My dad bought it for me for $300.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Tee hee…well at least you’ll get a lovely if not confusing manual with the iconic little man showing how to put everything together. The good news is you’ll likely only need an Allen wrench and they’re included. 😉 Enjoy all those Rangers.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Trust me, you’re more likely to get a migraine before the carpal tunnel sets in. I owned a hardware store in a previous life and consider myself fairly competent about assembling things but I swear, a lot of IKEA furniture is truly flummoxing.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. 7 VooDoos?

    So that’s 4 for 1, and 3 for 1.

    Hmm… Or is that 4 for 1 and 3 for 2?

    Or 4 & 3 for you and me?

    Or 1/2 + 1/2 +1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 +1/2 + 1/2+ 1/2 +1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 +1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 14/2

    So 7 1/2’s for each!

    Gee, I guess that’s what’s known as VooDoo economics!

    🧟💸 🧟💸 🧟💸 🧟💸

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Hahahaha!

    No pick a nick for that bear, tell you what! But I do enjoy your tips.

    As for that Uber ride, make sure you stop off at the IKEA food court because this engine situation might take a while. Too bad they don’t sell Voodoos there . . .

    Liked by 1 person

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