Tag: Circumstances of Childhood

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #227 with Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 51 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 it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). 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.

Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”

The photo.

Kreative Kue #227

They Will Come by John W. Howell © 2019

“Hey, you there. You by the gate.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“What do you mean what is it? That’s my gate, and you are messing with it.”

“Not messing sir. Fixing.”

“It doesn’t need fixing.”

“Oh, it most certainly does, sir.”

“How so?”

“Well first of all the gate sections are not level.”

“Yeah so? It looked fine.”

“Not if we are expecting guests, sir.”

“Guests? I’m not expecting guests.”

“Yes, sir. Second of all these hinges are almost frozen with rust.”

“Who cares?”

“Your guests will care if they can’t come through these gates.”

“You keep talking about guests. I told you I don’t have guests here.”

“That is about to change sir.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your farm has been declared the country White House.”

“Huh. Never heard of such a thing.”

“Well, we have the White House and Camp David. We now need a residence that recognizes the country folk constituents.”

“You are in marketing, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?”

“No one else could come up with a hairbrained scheme like that. What makes you think I’m going to go for this charade?”

“Ten million.”

“What?”

“Ten million cash for you to get out today.”

“Excuse me while I get my hat. By the way. You create it, and they will come. This is a really, really terrific idea.”

“Oh, I know. Been doing this for a long time. Where do you want your money deposited?”

“Wells Fargo in West Palm Beach. Got a little place down there.”

“Love your hair, sir.”

“Thanks. On sale at Costco.”

Views of the Neighborhood – Lake Travis Community Library

~ John W. Howell ~ 83 Comments

Today we are visiting the Lake Travis Community library in Lakeway. Here is a bit of history quoted from their webpage.

“The Lake Travis Community Library was founded in 1985 and through the generosity of Lake Travis ISD, shared space with the Lake Travis High School Library for over 20 years. In May 2004, voters approved the formation of a Lake Travis Community Library District as a means to create public funding for a regional library. The library district includes Hudson Bend, Lakeway, The Hills, Spicewood, and Briarcliff.

In March 2011, the library received a generous donation of land from Haythem Dawlett in the Tuscan Village development. The new library opened in February 2013. This 11,000 square foot building includes a meeting space for community use, dozens of public computers, a teen room, study tables, a book sale area, a coffee bar, a patio, and ample space for children’s programming.”

Views of the neighborhood

The library overlooks some beautiful scenery.

A sculpture of a boy reading a book.

The bookmobile.

The building is expansive with over 50,000 books, audiobooks, magazines, and movies

The entrance.

The audiobook and movie corner.

Nancy’s Nook has fiction and non-fiction books for sale. Several times a year, the library has a flash sale where a reader can buy a bag of books for $10.00. Coffee is available as well.

A peaceful and comfortable place to read.

The stacks

Plenty of computers.

The patron’s recognition wall where gifts of $10,000 to over $100,000 are acknowledged.

The grand opening commemoration.

Supporter’s walk with personalized bricks.

This is a beautiful library and I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Couch.”

~ John W. Howell ~ 54 Comments

Stream of Consciousness

 

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again, and this weeks prompt is “couch.” Linda Hill (The prompt master) says we can use it as a verb or noun. She then adds, “have fun.” So in keeping with her wish, if you would like to have fun, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 31/19

Couch by John W. Howell © 2019

“Crouching tiger, hidden dragon.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“This week’s prompt.”

“Hold on. As I look at the title, I see the word ‘couch,’ not ‘crouch.”‘

“Yeah well, couching tiger wouldn’t make any sense.”

“Why are you focused on crouching?”

“I love that Chinese proverb, which means keep your strengths hidden.”

“You certainly are a testimony to that for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. I think Linda Hill wanted you to talk about a couch like in ‘couch potato.”‘

“She also said to use it as a verb. Can you think of ‘couch’ as a verb?”

“Let’s see. Ah. How’s this? I will couch my answer with some uncertainty.”

“What are you uncertain about.”

“No. I used ‘couch’ as a verb in that sentence.”

“We are all friends here. You don’t have to couch your answer.”

“For heaven’s sake. I have to wonder why I even put myself through this pain.”

“Maybe you have mommy issues.”

“I mean the pain of even asking what you are up to at any moment.”

“Cause you know it’s going to be a fascinating discussion.”

“Or a fine excuse to do some day drinking.”

“Speaking of that, did you hear that. have a two for one special at the Velvet Couch?”

“Velvet Couch? What is the Velvet Couch?”

“A neat bar where all the furniture is covered in velvet.”

“Is it dark?”

“The darkest.”

“They serve alcohol?”

“The strongest.”

“Chicken wings.”

“The hottest.”

“Let’s go.”

“You didn’t couch that response.”

“You just described heaven. What’s to couch.”

 

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 61 Comments
Lucy and Twiggy
“Think we out to hit it, Lucy?”
“Well, it is Friday after all.”

Another Friday. Once this day is done, then there is a three day weekend ahead for all you productive prisoners of organized commerce.  I certainly hope you all have a wonderful time and remember the rule of safe party behavior. The rule? No drinking and driving. There is another rule of thumb that should be followed when doing a weekend of celebration which is don’t yak in your own hat.

I’ve managed to keep the 1000 word a day regimen for this last week on my WIP. I was at 54,000 words last Friday and am over 61,000 words today. I am very thankful to keep moving. I was a little unsure how to get to the ending even though I had written the last three lines. I had a breakthrough yesterday courtesy of one of the characters.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the holiday weekend. I hope you have a fabulous time.

Holiday by John W. Howell © 2019

Monday holiday,

Takes forever to get here . . .

Then gone in a flash.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Temps below 100 Degrees

~ John W. Howell ~ 98 Comments

Twiggy and Lucy

“So Lucy, what’s the deal?”

“The temperature is below 100 degrees for the first time this month.”

“Is it the end of the world?”

“No, Little One. A cool front moved in, and it is cooler now.”

“How cool is it, Lucy?”

“Hmmm let’s see. That thermometer says ninety-seven degrees.”

“Ninety-seven degrees? Are you kidding me?”

“Uh, no. That is what it says.”

“With you going on about the cool, I thought it would be well below one hundred.”

“Hey. Every little bit counts.”

“Okay, I’m going to try it out.”

“I think the back patio would be the place to relax.”

“Come over to my spot on the grass and see if you like it.”

“Okay. Let me sniff out a good place.”

“Well, how is it?”

“Comfy. But too many ants for my taste.”

“So come to the back patio.”

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

“What do you think?”

“I don’t see any ants.”

“Relax, Lucy. I have the cabana server running us a couple of drinks.”

“When he gets here would you ask him to put up the umbrella?”

Five Things to Remember as a New Writer- Guest Post at @maryannwrites

~ John W. Howell ~ 18 Comments

 

Today I’m a guest at Maryann Miller’s blog, Maryann Writes. When I was a new writer, I learned many things by trial and error. Some of what I learned I forgot and had to keep relearning and others I managed to save. I developed a list of five things that new writers ought to remember and published on Maryann’s blog today. You can find it at this link.

https://maryannwrites.com/2019/08/28/five-things-to-remember-as-a-new-writer/

Maryann Miller

So that you can know Maryann a little better here is her bio.

A diverse writer of columns, feature stores, short fiction, novels, screenplays, and stage plays, Maryann Miller has won numerous awards including being a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute for her screenplay, “A Question of Honor.” More recently, she placed in the top 15 percent of entries in the Chesterfield Screenwriting Fellowship with the adaptation of her mystery, “Open Season.”

Early publishing credits include work for regional and national newspapers and magazines. The Rosen Publishing Group released her nine non-fiction books for teens, including the award-winning Coping With Weapons and Violence: In Your School and on Your Streets.  Her fiction includes: One Small Victory, Play It Again Sam, Open Season, Stalking Season, Boxes for Beds, Doubletake, and a short story collection, The Wisdom of Ages.

In association with Stephen Marro Productions in New York, Maryann has done script editing and doctoring and co-authored three screenplays; “Holding Point”, “Canned Goods”, and “It Doesn’t Take a Hero”. She worked on the screenplay for “Broadway’s Finest,” a feature film that was released in 2012 by Arrested Development Productions. With Gary Martin, she co-authored the screenplay for “The Benign”.

Miller has an extensive background in editing, most recently serving for ten years as the Managing Editor and writer for an online community magazine, WinnsboroToday.com. She does freelance editing, and you can visit her Services Page to find more details. Miller has written book reviews for Dallas Newspapers, ForeWord Magazine, and online review sites. She has been writing all her life and plans to die at her computer.

 

AWARDS
Detroit News Scholastic Writing Awards
Golden Pen Award – short story – Southwest Writer’s Conference, University of Houston.
Golden Pen Award – screenplay – Southwest Writer’s Conference, University of Houston.
Sundance Institute -Semi-finalist.
Writer’s Digest Writing Awards – screenplay.
New York Library List of Best Books for Teens
Chesterfield Film Project – Semi-Finalist
Page Edwards Short Fiction Award – University of Florida
Trails Country Treasure Award – Winnsboro Center for the Arts
2015 Best Mystery for Doubletake – Texas Association of Authors
Woman of the Year – Winnsboro Area Chamber of Commerce

Wednesday Story Time – AKA – Hump Day

~ John W. Howell ~ 33 Comments
Lucy and Twiggy
“It’s Wednesday Little One.”
“Just means two more napping days till Friday.”

 

It is Wednesday Story Day time again, and last week we were there when Larry and Andrew got the warrant to go and ask for the hotel records for Alexis Rafferty. The warrant is only valid for twenty-four hours. Larry requested that Ned Dixon, Janis’ lover be included in the warrant but the judge was cold to the idea, so Larry dropped it.  It is now after 8:30 and Larry decides they should go to their own hotel. Let’s go with them.

 

“Shouldn’t we go to the Hyatt hotel?”

“You know Andrew, if we go there tonight, we will meet some kid who won’t be authorized to honor the warrant and we’ll spin our wheels or worse tip off someone as to our intentions.”

What do you mean tipoff?”

“I don’t trust anyone. If we go over there and ask for the records and then can’t get them ten to one, they will have met an unfortunate accident by the time we get back.”

“I get that for sure. Tell me, Larry, if Alexis is registered, how can we prove Janice is with him? Unless they have a Mr. and Mrs. registration, we won’t be able to tell.”

“You and I know that. Even with a Mr. and Mrs. registration without additional evidence, we could never make a case that she was actually there. Whoever we question may have additional information like a room service bill signed by Janice.”

“Good thinking. Too bad on the Ned Dixion try.”

“Yeah, that judge is a sly one. No matter we’ll pretend that the warrant covers anyone we want.”

“But if you turn up evidence it won’t be admissible.”

“Not too worried about admissible. I’m going for the old one perp turns on the other strategy.”

“Meaning?”

“Let’s just say we find out Ned was at the hotel the night Alexis was killed. We then have some information to ask him why he was there. We also have information to ask Janice why he was there. Makes a beautiful scene of sweat city. Maybe one or the other will crack and spill the beans for a deal.”

“You are a crafty one, Mr. Grinch.”

“Why thank you, Andrew. Well, we are here at the hotel. Let’s go in and have a nightcap and call it a night.”

“Good idea. This altitude gets to me. I could use an early evening.”

“Uh, Andrew. Do you see that guy coming this way?”

“Yeah. I also see the guy knocking on my window with a very impressive handgun.”

“Roll down the window, fat man.”

“Is he talking to me?”

“Roll down the window, Andrew. I think he wants to talk to us. At least I hope it’s talk. This is not good. I have one on my side too.”

“You two get out of the car. Slowly.”

“Let’s get out Andrew and see what these fine gentlemen want.”

Tuesday – A Little Personal – Kreative Kue #226 by Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 53 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 it (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before 6pm next Sunday (if you aren’t sure what the time is where I live, this link will tell you). 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.

Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next Monday.”

The photo

Top ten Things Not to Do at the Start of a New American Football Season

~ John W. Howell ~ 53 Comments

 

Top Ten things not to do

Yes, it’s true. We are beginning the pre-game season. I thought I would put together a list that will hopefully lead to a more enjoyable season for all. (Notice I labeled it American football in deference to the name the rest of the world calls soccer)

Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Start of a New American Football Season

10 At the start of the football season, do not try to change entertainment providers. If you do, at best you’ll have a sports bar close. At worse, you will be hanging aluminum foil off a shirt hanger trying to pick up tonight’s game. (We all know that no matter how you hate your current provider, Isa the new one won’t work for at least 30 days.)

9 At the start of the football season, do not try to hire Tiny the WWF champ to do your yard work so you can watch the game. If you do, at best he’ll come on Tuesdays. At worse, he will show up on Saturday and will have his broad nose pressed against your window to see the game. (By the way, Islam Tiny just left his separation anxiety group therapy session, and this is no time to tell him t get lost.)

8 At the start of the football season, do not try some tricky recipes for game day. If you do, at best there still is Pizza hut. At worst, you will know your goose liver pate is being seen as meatloaf when someone asks for catsup. (You should have never tried, Istvan. Your friends would have sooner had meatloaf.)

7 At the start of the football season, do not vow to beat the Jones’ with an elaborate tailgate scheme. If you do, at best the Jones’ won’t show up. At worst, Jones has hired an eighteen-wheeler. (To make matters even worse, Ivey the thing is fully furnished including a hot tub, kitchen and a Garth Brooks live performance.)

6 At the start of the football season, do not join the One Hundred dollar squares game at work. If you do, at best you will only have spent $100.00. At worst, you didn’t read the fine print and you are expected to anti $100.00 a week. (Don’t worry, Ixon. That guy with the big nose and muscles isn’t all that bad once you pay up. He may even buy you a beer.)

5 At the start of the football season, do not insist on wearing your team jersey to work on Friday. If you do, at best, your team is very popular with your fellow workers. At worse, your team is playing your bosses’ alma mater this week. (The boss does not look amused, Izod. I think you had better explain that you lost a bet and your team is really the bosses’ team. The boss is not going to buy it, but at least you have plausible deniability, especially if the bosses’ team loses.)

4 At the start of the football season, do not quote every single statistic about every single player during lunch. If you do, at best everyone will be engaged in other discussions. At worse, sooner or later someone will ask you if you would like a big cup of shut the f–k up. (Now you know you need to be quiet, James. Otherwise, you will know what it is like to eat your lunch all by yourself.)

3 At the start of the football season, do not go shopping for a giant screen TV. If you do, At best your store will be running a sale. At worst, since they know you and everyone else wants a big screen badly, your store will add 10% to the already outrageous price. (You should have made this purchase during the Fourth of July sale, Joshua. No one wanted a TV then.)

2 At the start of the football season, do not try the old mancave in the garage bit. If you do, at best, your spouse will nix the idea immediately. At worst, you’ll get the mancave set up only to be forced to make room for the cars. (You didn’t think this one out, Jonathan. You see the snow and ice on top of the vehicles is not suitable for them or you when it comes time to try and unfreeze the doors to go to work.)

1 At the start of the football season, do not try to exert dominance over the remote. If you do, at best others in the house want to watch the same games as you. At worst, no one has any interest in the games you want to watch. (So there you are on the back patio, Jason. Yeah, that’s your breath, you see. I hope you are enjoying watching the game in the same weather conditions in which it is being played. Another hot toddy may help.)