Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Prize

February 25, 2023February 24, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 57 Comments

Saturday is supposed to be stress-free. This thought comes to mind while waiting for the Frankensteinish AI in the coffee machine to quit doing quantum physics formulas and get to work on my cup of joe. In the meantime, the nagging feeling of unfinished business in the form of two white cartoonish gloved holding a sign last week keeps tweaking my gut.

Finally, the machine begins its process, and before my countdown reaches one hundred, the soul-restoring elixir sputters from the twin spouts. Once done and a sip has calmed my caffeine-addicted nerve endings, a quick look at the Ring doorbell image on my phone confirms the gloves are still there, holding yet another sign. Since the lettering is somewhat weird, the front door must be opened to read it.

Disconnecting the security system involves turning off the hot oil, disengaging the automatic tower machine guns, lifting the subnet from the moat, locking the Trecuchet, securing the ballista, coiling the concertina wire, removing the claymore mines, Lifting the iron gate, throwing back the bolts, and unlocking ten locks. Finally, the door is ready to be opened. “Who is there?” is the message sent through the Ring doorbell.

“Eh. What’s up, doc?”

Throwing open the door and “I’m face to face with Bugs Bunny. “I’m your prize,” he shouts.

“Prize, what prize?”

“What you get for knowing Linda Hill. Here read this sign, doc. I’ll be going now.” Bugs hands me the sign and disappears around the side of the house. Up close, the words on the sign are easily read. It says, Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “prize.” Use it as a noun or a verb; use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you want to have fun, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2023/02/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-25-2023/https://lindaghill.com/2023/02/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-25-2023/

“Lame.”

“What?”

“Prize, Bugs Bunny, the whole thing.”

“I thought it was clever.”

“You know everyone was waiting for Mickey Mouse.”

“I don’t know that.”

“You don’t read your mail?”

“Of course, I read my mail but didn’t see much about Mickey Mouse.”

“I hoped it would be Mickey Mouse.”

“Why?”

“A change of pace. You are always doing Warner Brothers stuff.”

“They are prize characters.”

“Yeah, go ahead and sneak a prompt word in. But, of course, you take the prize for that kind of thing.”

“You are a little cranky today.”

“I think I’m a quart low on my precious fuel.”

“Are you paid by New Belgium Brewing?”

“No, why?”

“This obsession with VooDoo Ranger is why.”

“Well, it’s my prize for going back and forth with you.”

“And I always pay.”

“But I call Uber. That has to count for something.”

“You take the prize. I give up. Call Uber.”

“You won’t be sorry.”

“I doubt that to be true.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

February 24, 2023February 23, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 90 Comments

Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network. With the exception of fixing the typos, here is the story in its entirety.

Senior With No Car Walks to Work–But After She Found $15k and Returned it She Does Now

Andy Corbley Feb 22, 2023

Strangers around the country are rewarding a Michigan woman for her honesty after turning in nearly $15,000 cash to the police that she found at a gas station.

It turned out to be the contributions of guests to a pair of newlyweds, who were more than overwhelmed by her integrity.

65-year-old Dianne Gordon has been walking 2.7 miles to and from her job behind a deli counter every day since her Jeep broke down, and she didn’t have enough money to fix it. One day she decided to stop at a gas station for a snack and noticed a plastic bag. Inside there was a lot of money; turning it around, there were some greeting cards and a lot more money.

Just doing what she “was taught to do,” the grandmother of two called the police, who sent an officer to take custody of the sum.

Gordon could have walked into any dealership in the state and driven something off the lot that day, but knew because the money wasn’t hers, it wasn’t correct to take it.

“If it doesn’t belong to you, you don’t keep it,” she told the Washington Post. “I didn’t do anything special. All I did was return something that didn’t belong to me.”

Police Chief Dan Keller of the White Lake Township Police Department telephoned Gordon later that day to tell her they had used the information on the cards inside the bag to track down the owners. The happy couple was “overwhelmed” by Gordon’s honesty, as was Keller’s wife Stacy Connell.

“As a police officer’s wife, I typically hear the bad things, so this was obviously heartwarming,” said Connell. “I was hoping we could help her get a car since she could have walked into any dealership and used that money.”

Connell set up a GoFundMe, and in just 6 days, it raised four times as much money from people wanting to reward Gordon’s act of selflessness as she had found in the sealed bag that morning.

Grateful for the money and the words of encouragement from all the contributors, who celebrated with comments like “there are still good people in the world,” Gordon said she was stunned by the outpouring of generosity, which at the time of publishing, raised $82,000 and then closed.

On February 8th, Friends of Dianne wrote: “Dianne officially signed for her new Jeep Compass yesterday at Szott M-59 in White Lake Township. Along with the new car, she also got an extended warranty, maintenance, insurance, and plates/tabs.”

There was also an inspection done at her home to evaluate some much-needed repairs that will be done very soon.

The good news here is a beautiful story that shows, more often than not, honesty pays. Today’s JohnKu talks about honesty. I hope you have a wonderful weekend

A choice to do right,

Or to select the wrong way . . .

Do we think it out?

Thursday – A Little Personal – Lucy and Twiggy Outside in the Warm Weather

February 23, 2023February 21, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 104 Comments

“Can you believe it is over 80 degrees (26.6 C) out here?”

“Yesterday, it seemed like it was freezing.”

“Yeah, so come on, let’s round up something to chase.”

“Something to chase? You feel up to that?”

Yes indeed. Hey, look. Is that giraffe over there?”

“If so, the water buffalo and puma will make short work of it.”

“The buffalo lowers its head and gets ready to charge.”

“The puma sniffs the air to make certain it’s safe.”

“Step by step, slowly, the water buffalo stalks its prey.”

“The puma remains in reserve in case that pack of pesky hyenas is around.

“Hey, puma. Enough reserve already. It’s time to strike.”

“The puma thinks it might be time to strike the bossy buffalo.”

“The buffalo is ready for such treachery.”

“The puma plans on a flanking maneuver.”

“Well, that does it. The giraffe just took off.”

“I didn’t realize they could move that fast.”

“What’s with the puma turning on the buffalo?”

“The giraffe was so far away that the puma figured a closer target was easier.”

“So much for teamwork and loyalty.”

“You do remember pumas are cats, right?”

“Good point.”

Wednesday – A Look at The Last Drive Reviews.

February 22, 2023February 20, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 52 Comments

The reviews for The Last Drive continue to be posted. I appreciate those who take the time to read and review my books. Since Amazon takes a dim view of posting reviews that appear on their platform, I’ll give you a brief idea of what is being said. So far, The Last Drive has a 4.6 rating. You can see all the reviews right HERE. I also want to point out that The last Drive Kindle edition will be 99¢ until March 1. It then returns to its regular price of $2.99.

Excerpts from a few of the reviews posted.

“To sum up, I found The Last Drive an engaging and satisfying read. The stakes of the plot are high, the action fast-paced, the historical research thorough, and the main characters well-developed and likable (with the exception of Lucifer, of course). In addition to the other surprises I’ve noted, the ending of The Last Drive also surprised me–in the best possible way. I highly recommend this surprising sequel to Eternal Road!”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this magnificently written book and recommend it without reservation to anyone who enjoys suspenseful historic adventure, with a spiritually paranormal twist.”

“There are some disturbing scenes to read as Lucifer shows his true colors. But in the end, good triumphs over evil. The book is a mix of history, suspense, and paranormal, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys those genres.”

“This highly emotional story is brilliantly written. Sending Sam and James to these disastrous occasions is a ploy by Lucifer to make them break God’s rules so Ryan will be forced to forfeit his soul.”

“An entertaining mix of history and the supernatural, The Last Drive offers a unique journey with four great characters as guides. The ending is wholly satisfying and left me with a wonderful warm feeling. If you’re ready for adventure, sit back and buckle in while James revs up the Olds. Next stop—history!”

“Luckily, there is not only some humor mixed in but hope and faith to counter the hopelessness of a situation. Even with the heaviness of some subjects covered, this story left me hopeful. “The Last Drive” was a wonderful blend of history and paranormal that I can easily recommend.”

“The history of each event is fairly brief but is well-researched and factually accurate and does not go into any of the gory detail or political and emotional complexities of the time or place. It is an intriguing idea to put four angels in the path of human-induced destruction and describe their reactions.”

“The story is episodic (in fact, it’d make a great serial novel), with Sam and James making stops throughout history in their search. Sometimes they travel on their own. Sometimes the devil tricks them and sends them places. I can tell Howell did his research. Places/events like the Western Front in WWI, the Titanic, a WWII concentration camp, the bottom of the English Channel, a Superbowl game… fantastic!”

“The Last Drive is ultimately a story about good and evil. Some scenes are disturbingly graphic. Other scenes might require readers to shelve their notion of angels and devils to entertain Howell’s depiction of either.”

“Howell is a master storyteller, and this is well worth your time to read.”

Thank you all for your beautiful words.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #394 by Keith Channing

February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 68 Comments

In Keith’s words.

“Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before Sunday evening UK time. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please do also mention it in a comment here. Thank you for taking part.

Visit Keith at his place if you want to read the stories or participate. Here is the link to his post. https://keithchanning.wordpress.com/2023/02/20/kreative-kue-394/

The Photo.

“What do you think, Number Two?”

“Looks deserted, Captain.”

“My thought exactly. I’m a little worried about that rock there.”

“How so, Captain?”

“When I was a kid, I saw a scary movie where a giant gorilla lived on such a rock.”

“You think this might be the rock?”

“No, of course not. There is something creepy about it, though. Is this island on our map?”

“No, sir. It is uncharted.”

“Hmmm. Have you ever seen a movie where an uncharted island was not filled with horrors?”

“Not much for movies, sir. If you’re saying this island may be dangerous, I will agree.”

“You will? Why?”

“For one thing, there are no birds flying around. I have never stood off from an island that didn’t have birds.”

“I don’t see any signs of inhabitants either.”

“That may be a good thing, but no birds? Bad JuJu.”

“We should send a landing party to check it out.”

“Suit yourself, Captain, but as for me, I would rather we lift anchor and leave this island in the uncharted category.”

“Tell the boatswain’s mate to assemble a party to reconnoiter the island.”

“Aye, aye, sir.”

“Make sure they are well armed.”

* * *

“Captain. We got a garbled message from the landing party’s radio.”

“It’s been twenty-four hours, Number Two. It’s about time. What’s the message?”

“It was hard to understand, but sparks figured it out.”

“Enough suspense. What did the message say?”

“Send more long pigs.”

“Long pigs? What the hell are long pigs?”

“We think they mean us, Sir.”

Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Zoo

February 20, 2023February 19, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

This post was published on February 8th, 2016. Still hoping for spring, so here it goes again. Wishing you a Happy Presidents Day.

* * *

I know most of the US and much of the northern hemisphere of the world is in winter conditions, and I would not think about going to the zoo this time of year. However, since I am deeply committed to providing only the highest quality of information *cough* designed to keep you out of trouble, this list is being proffered in preparation for an early spring. (Guaranteed). As a plus, the title has a little alliteration which is fun.

Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Zoo

10 At the zoo, do not tempt the Ostrich to eat the keys to your car. If you do, at best, it will ignore you for the kid’s ice cream cone. At worst, you will be following the Ostrich around the enclosure with a shovel and bag, hoping for efficient movement of the keys. (Lucky you when it comes to the separation process as well. Ew.)

9 At the zoo, do not make fun of the giant gorilla. If you do, at best, you might receive a warning from the park employee. At worst, you might be wearing some of his lunch. ( And you don’t want to know when he ate it.)

8 At the zoo, do not let your inner child join your kids on the carousel. If you do, at best, you might lose your footing as you get off. At worst, you will be too dizzy to stand and find yourself on the ground. ( Did that person just call you a drunk?)

7 At the zoo, do not think letting the goat eat your hair is cute. If you do, at best, you will learn goats pull grass and hair out by the roots. At worst, you will need to get to someone who can even out what has become a bald half of your head. (Those little ones move fast, don’t they?)

6 At the zoo, do not roar at the lion. If you do, at best, the lion will understand you are dope. At worst, the lion will feel the need to mark you as part of his territory. (A little breezy riding home on the roof of the car, isn’t it, Bunky.)

5 At the zoo, do not let your kids off leash and out of your sight. If you do, at best, they will only get lost and found quickly. At worst, you will be frantic and arrive at the monkey enclosure in time to see your kids trying to talk the head of the monkey clan out of his favorite banana. (That monkey looks like he may lose his temper any moment, doesn’t he?)

4 At the zoo, do not go to the bird show and yell when the hawk swoops low. If you do, at best, the bird will become frightened and give you a present before returning to its perch. At worst, the hawk will think you are prey and attempt to lift you by your head. (Those talons can hang on, can’t they?)

3 At the zoo, do not try to lure an animal to the edge of its enclosure with snack bar food. If you do, at best, you might get a cute picture of them eating out of your hand. At worst, you might be making a rushed trip to the ER when you realize that french fry was still attached to your finger. (That made a pretty funny photo, and a video would have gone viral.)

2 At the zoo, do not think the elephant can’t reach you with a water spray. If you do, at best, you have to run fast to avoid it. At worst, you will be drenched and will have to leave early. (What made you think the elephant wanted part of your burrito anyway?)

1 At the zoo, do not volunteer at any of the wild animal shows. If you do, at best, you could embarrass your family with your screams. At worst, that carrot you are holding in your mouth for the sea lion might just be one inch too low. ( Your nose will be better in a couple of weeks)

Views of the Neighborhood – Chinese New Year Dragons

February 19, 2023February 18, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

Today we will participate in a Chinese New Year celebration with dragons. The dragon show is being performed by the Texas Dragon/Lion Dance team. We are being catered by the sponsoring Asian restaurant Sakura of Lakeway. Our entertainment is Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Chirashi – Chef’s choice sashimi served on sushi rice. Served with miso soup.

Mango House Rolls – Spicy crab, mango, avocado, sweet miso, and tempura flakes.

Creamy Vegetarian – Vegetable broth, fried tofu, wood ear mushroom, bamboo shoot, bok choy, sweet corn, and spring mix.

Rice Bowl – Served with choice of soup: miso, egg drop soup, or hot and sour soup, steamed rice, stir-fried broccoli, snow pea, cabbage, and carrot over steamed rice, pan-fried egg, teriyaki sauce, scallions, and sesame.

Twice Cooked Fish – Sauteed lightly fried fish fillet, snow pea, asparagus, green and red bell pepper, onion, and special spicy sauce. Served with steamed rice.

Mongolian Beef – Served with steamed rice.

General Tso’s Tofu – Served with steamed rice.

Kung Pao Chicken – Served with steamed rice.

Sauteed Shrimp with Snow Peas – Served with steamed rice.

Pineapple Fried Rice – Shrimp, Thai curry, served in a fresh pineapple bowl. Come with egg, bean sprouts, snow peas, onions, teriyaki, and sesame.

Picture of an old time school bus

So let’s get on the bus.

There’s the restaurant.

Looks like the team is getting ready.

A shot of the team shirt.

The dragons and the team getting a last-minute briefing.

Close-up of one of the dragons.

Here is the other.

The drum and gong.

Practice the moves.

The dragons come to life.

High kick.

Heading toward the crowd.

The drum, gong, and cymbal players are to the left and center.

A dragon led by the cymbal player.

The dragon heads for the restaurant to join the other.

Well, that was the show. Time to listen to the music and enjoy the food. I hope you have a great week.

Saturday Stream of Consciousness – Prompt – “Starts with Pro”Another Saturday and another opportunity to do exactly what I want.

February 18, 2023February 17, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 79 Comments

Another Saturday and another opportunity to do precisely nothing all day. The coffee machine reached an agreement with me to produce two cups each morning with no hesitation. In return, I agree to ensure the water tank is filled and the beans are replaced. Oh yes, there is another fine point. The toaster needs to be moved closer to the machine and left overnight. Not wanting to know stuff that I would need to drink heavily to forget, there were no questions asked.

With my hands around a steaming cup and the laptop powered, the preparation for a relaxing stroll through the daily emails is all but assured. Before opening the first email, some idiot rings the front doorbell. In order to do so, they would have to move the sign that says “Please Do Not Ring the Doorbell “away from the button. Lucy and Twiggy hit the equivalent of high C in the barking world. Immediately grabbing my phone and bringing up the image on the Ring camera. The phone projects a huge sign being held by someone with hands that can only be described as cartoon character white gloves. Whoever is behind the hands is not visible. The sign is professionally lettered and says,

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “starts with pro.” Find a word that starts with “pro” and use it any way you like in your post. Enjoy!

If you want to enjoy, visit Linda Hill’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.

https://lindaghill.com/2023/02/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-18-2023/

“So, who is holding the sign?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait until next week.”

“Why do you do this? You protecting someone?”

“No, I just ran out of time. I proffered too many words in the intro.”

“Proffered? That sounds like a legal term.”

“Probably. It seemed to fit.”

“And it started with ‘pro.'”

“I don’t care what they say. I think you are pretty proficient.”

“Who are they?” Promulgaters of hate?”

“Don’t get sidetracked. You were on a roll.”

“Promiscus spreaders of lies?”

“Try and come back to reality. Protect your mind from these evil thoughts.”

“I think we are out on a limb with the ‘Starts with Pro’ thingy.”

“Time to think of something more proactive.”

“Yeah, like a Voo Doo Ranger prompt.”

“Stop. Just call Uber.”

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News.

February 17, 2023February 16, 2023 ~ John W. Howell ~ 95 Comments

Today’s good news story comes from The Dodo on MSN. Here it is in its entirety.

Katie Graham and her service dog, Bailey, have been together for around four years now, and without him, her life would be vastly different.

Story by Caitlin Jill Anders

Camera Captures Incredible Moment Service Dog Goes Above And Beyond
© Katie Graham

“I suffer from an array of medical conditions, one of them being postual orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS),” Graham told The Dodo. “Bailey alerts to my rising heart rate prior to a fainting episode. This allows me enough time to sit and get in a safe position in case I do lose consciousness. Bailey will do what is called deep pressure therapy to help lower my heart rate and encourage blood flow. This helps keep me awake. He is able to retrieve medications, water, my phone, blanket, snacks, really anything you ask him to get. He seems to just know.”

Bailey loves helping his mom and makes sure he’s right by her side whenever she needs him. When she needs help, he does everything he’s trained to do depending on the situation — and sometimes even things he isn’t trained to do.

Recently, Graham was doing the dishes when Bailey sensed that her heart rate was rising and she might be in danger of fainting. He quickly encouraged her to sit down and grabbed her phone from the counter in case she needed to call for help. He then returned to the counter to grab her medicine, but it was too far back, and he couldn’t reach it.

That’s when Bailey did something unexpected and truly amazing. He jumped up onto the counter.

“I was surprised when he jumped on the counter, but I know in my heart he will do anything to ensure I get what I need to be okay,” Graham said. “He is very determined and does not give up. Jumping on the counter is not allowed in my house to prevent counter-surfing puppies. What Bailey did was intelligent disobedience. This means that he knows he is not allowed to jump on the counter, but he knew he absolutely had to in order to keep me safe and healthy.”

Bailey isn’t supposed to jump on the counter, but in that moment, he knew his mom needed her medicine, and that was more important than anything else. He did what he had to do in order to reach it and quickly brought it to her. Then, he opened up the fridge and got her a bottle of water to take it with.