Today I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 145 and, with my eyes closed, pointed to the page. The word nearest my finger is “system.” That is our prompt today.
System by John W. Howell © 2026
“How do I get out of this?”
“I don’t think you can.”
“Why not?”
“You have to go through the system. No one just gets out.”
“But I don’t understand the system.”
“Ignorance is no excuse. If you do the crime, you need to do the time.”
“But that’s just it. I didn’t do anything.”
“If I’ve heard that once, I’ve heard it a thousand times.”
“So you’re not going to let me go?”
“Nope. Only the judge can do that.”
“I want my lawyer.”
“Of course you do. Until your lawyer gets here, you’ll stay put.”
“Can you and I make a deal?”
“Oh, so now you want to bribe your way out?”
“Call it a gift.”
“You have nothing I want. I would just sit down and behave myself before more charges are added.”
“What charges are on me now?”
“Let’s see. Destruction of property, assault with intent to harm, public indecency, trespassing, running loose without a license, and avoiding arrest.”
“It’s not my fault.”
“And why is that?”
“My owner left the gate open.”
“So that gave you permission to tear up the newspaper, bite the animal control officer, poop in the neighbor’s yard, run uncontrolled through the neighborhood, and dodge the animal control officer.”
“Well, yes. I was confused. Out of my element.”
“Tell it to the judge.”
Fiction Favorites 
I have to guess he’ll be on a short leash after this latest episode.
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Very short, I would suspect.
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Wow, John! It sounds like the owner will have to control the pet more or have to get it back from animal control.
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Yeah, I think you are right, Tim. 😀
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😊
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I suggest raking the water dish across the bars until his owner appears.
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If in doubt, always blame the owner!
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LOL Well, hopefully, he is home soon.
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Cut him loose. Lock up the owner.
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Oh no, maybe they’ll arrest the owner instead! 😱
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This would so never be a cat…😹
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I did have a cat that got into this very same predicament, l had to bail him out…he was TOMcat. We were living in Chicago at the time🐳
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Lol! Too funny. It’s hard waiting for the judge. 😁
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Hard rap to beat there.
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