Today I opened The Last Drive randomly to page 207. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word “yelling” was closest to my finger. That is our prompt today.
Yelling by John W. Howell © 2026
“Hey, hey, hey. What’s all the yelling?”
“Jimmy is not playing fair, Coach.”
“Tell me more, John.”
“We are having a game of hide and seek, and Jimmy does a short count.”
“Short count. What’s that?”
“He’s supposed to count to 100 by ones, but he does it by tens.”
“Did you guys state the rules up front?”
“Well, no. Everyone knows the rules, though. The way he counts is like counting to ten.”
“Jimmy is new here. Are you sure everyone knows the rules?”
“Hey Jimmy, do you know the rules?’
“Well, John, back home we always counted by tens.”
“See, John, everyone doesn’t know the rules.”
“Okay, Coach, my mistake. Tell me this, Jimmy, why do you count by tens?”
“All the kids I played with are very fast, so if we counted by ones, they would be miles away.”
“Fast? Who is faster than crows?”
“That’s just it. In the desert, all the guys are roadrunners. They are super fast.”
“You had no crows to play with?”
“None, Coach.”
“How about we count by ones. Is that okay, John? ”
“Sure. I can do that.”
“Okay, kids, back to playing.
Fiction Favorites 
I’m trying to get rid of the crows in my yard if you want any John?! 😂
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Ha ha ha. No thank you, Cindy. 😊
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😂🐦⬛😂
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😊
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Counting to 100 was always a pain. Reason we all hated being the seeker.
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I agree. By tens would have been better.
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I used to see road runners on the road that snaked through the University of Ca Irvine when we lived there! They’re fast, but I had no idea about crows! We have a house crow who stops by almost every day – I named him Arthur. Sometimes he comes with a friend. I did read somewhere that crows will ‘adopt’ houses, particular if there is something good to eat there. Arthur likes peanuts and can get them out of the shell.
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Cute story, Noelle. I’ll bet having a friendly crow around would be fun. They are very intelligent.
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They really are! I wish I could befriend Arthur.
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Lay out some toys for him to play with. A ball, for instance.
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Good idea – I’ll se if I can find a small ball!
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Not small enough to swallow. A tennis ball would be perfect.
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Glad that got resolved! Good one 🙂
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Thank you, Denise. 😊
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We mostly get doves these days, but there are a few crows around. No roadrunners, but as fast as it is getting hot here, who knows.
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Yes, they may be coming your way.
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It’ll be good if they follow the countdown rules.
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Yes, it would. Thanks, Tim
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😊
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😊
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I don’t know whether to go expect kids or some other critter. Left me confused here.
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A critter. (Crows)
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Thanks. Looks like I was the only one confused.
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No. I think most were.
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😆
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When I first moved down here to Florida from Jersey, my excuse was always, “Well, back home we….” Response was always the same–“Well, you’re not back home anymore.” Learn the rules, kid! 🤣
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Yeah, Kid. Get with it. Thanks, Lois 😊
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That was fun, John. Slick, as always.
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Thank you, Esther.
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Lol! Roadrunners are very fast for sure. Loved this!
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Thank you, Jan. 😊
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Always important to learn the rules before playing the game, John. I didn’t see these as crows, but they just might be intelligent enough to be able to count!
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Yeah, they are crows. Thanks, Debbie.
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Ahh…childhood scenes abound. Great story, John. BTW, the roadrunners in our area dart across the walking path but otherwise play peek-a-boo. Of course, most of us are retired. 😊
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Does that mean there are no hide-and-seek games? 😆
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Beep beep!
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😀
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Absolutely loved this. Never saw the crow/roadrunner angle. This needs to be read and discussed in every elementary school room. Brilliant. By the way, I would have been in the crow group, very slow.
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Ha ha ha. Thanks, Steve.
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Now I have that old roadrunner song in my head, and you know what? I’m alright with that. As for the crows, I can see why they stick together now.
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Yes. They need to stick together.
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That they do
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😊
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Ha! counting crows. I did not expect that. Roadrunners are indeed fast. We’ve seen them sometimes running along roads (while we were driving).
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We don’t see them very often here. Just once in a while.
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Crows, eh? I would not have guessed that! Well done, John. Always enjoy your finger prompts!
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Thank you, Monika.
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You have an active and enviable imagination!
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Well, it is active, Neil. I’ll take the compliment. Thanks.
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Counting crows… you caught me!
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I love that. 😀
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