Leaving a bookmark last week on the subject of an AI assistant was a good idea. It seems the Coffee machine has hired an AI assistant, and that assistant is asking me for the password to the touchscreen. Doing the research paid off, and the message delivered to the machine was, “My AI assistant will beat the crap out of you if you don’t give me access right now.” Like magic, the touchscreen appeared, and the order for two coffees was placed. As always, the first sip brought an end to the Anvil Chorus playing in my head. The second was spoiled with the Westminster chime of the doorbell, accompanied by the crystal-cracking cacophony  (Ooo, nice alliteration) of Tempeste and Twiggy. Two new toys were tossed into the soundproof room, and the slamming of the door brought back peace.

A glance at the monitor showed me that Chewbacca was waiting to deliver an envelope. There is no hesitation to shut down the security system.]

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. The MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter hovering over the house is diverted. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. 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 Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The Tasmanian Devil is directed to the food in his cage, and the door drops. The electronic jammer is kept active, given a situation with a robot not too long ago. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.

Chewbacca hands me an envelope and a clipboard. Once signed, the clipboard goes back to an open palm. Not wanting to lose the house, a ten-spot is quickly produced, which is acknowledged by an ear-splitting roar of appreciation and the feeling that Chewbacca needs to see a Periodontist. Back in the house, the envelope is opened, and the message from Lind Hill reads;

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “bookmark.” Use as a noun, use it as a verb, use it way you’d like. Have fun!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2026/04/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-11-2026/

Bookmark by John W. Howell © 2026

“Well, that was fun.”

“Glad you liked it.”

“What caused you to bookmark the AI assistant in the first place?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I have been dealing with ChatGPT for quite a while and thought it would be nice to have an assistant take care of some of the routine tasks without prompts.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like organizing e-mails into Important, Not important but should be read, and junk.”

“Doesn’t  Gmail do that already?”

“Sort of, but not very well. I thought it would be good for a program that could learn the subtle differences by reading the mail and then making a decision.”

“Okay. Way above my  capacity.”

“I think the use of an assistant could be limitless.’

“Name another use.”

“Could edit manuscripts.”

“You have an editor.”

“True, but the cost puts the break-even mark out of reach.”

“Can we talk about something important to me?”

“Voo Doo Rangers?”

“Now that’s important.”

“Uber?”

“Right over there.”

Image from Tom Okragly

“My goodness. A 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 hardtop station wagon.”

“We will be styling.”

“And the catch?”

“No catch. Just a favor to the owner.”

“Okay, let’s have it.”

“We can’t go more than 5 miles an hour.”

“What? Why’s that?”

“The owner doesn’t want the paint chipped by a stone.”

“That’s going to take three hours to get there.”

“Think of living life full measure.”

“Don’t bring a Twilight Zone episode into this. We will be bored out of our minds.”

“We can play cards or something.”

“That will also mean three hours back.”

“Yeah, but we can nap.”

“I give up. Let’s go now before the pub closes.”