Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 265. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “conference.” This is the prompt today.

Conference by John W. Howell © 2026

“Another boring conference.”

“Oh, come on. You say that every year, and then you have a good time in spite of yourself.”

“You’ll have to remind me.”

“Remember last year you took a dive into the pool at midnight?”

“Hmm. I don’t remember that.”

“You don’t? Well, you made quite a hit with the ladies the next day. Everyone was talking about it.”

“Where was I?”

“I think you slept late.”

“See what I mean? Even when having fun, I miss out.”

“The year before you decided to do those belly slides.”

“Now I remember that. Took a week for my belly to stop glowing.”

“You also led the sing-along.”

“Oh yes. The limericks. I remember it got out of hand.”

“The only thing that got out of hand was the fish swallowing.”

“My face turns red when I think about that.”

“I still wonder what made you think you could swallow a whole mackerel?”

“The fact I couldn’t still haunts me. I think it might have been the fermented sushi.”

“And mooning that great white.”

“Please stop. I can’t take any more.”

“We all fell about laughing when he chased you up onto the ice.”

“Lucky for me, penguins are faster on ice than sharks.”

“So loighten up. Everyone’s looking forward to what you’re going to pull this year.”

“I’ll try not to disappoint.