“So nice that Friday is here.” “Yes, Little One. After all, you and I have to work so hard all week. Where’s that cabana person anyway?’
Ah, Friday……*crickets* Hello. Anybody here? here? here? Well, notwithstanding the echo, I’m going to assume somebody’s out there.
Not much going on here. Been sending out queries and actually got a response. “Thanks, but no thanks.” I wrote back and thanked them for at least letting me know. I think if every agency could somehow let you know it would be a help. Of course, who said agencies were in the business of having to let those who query them know the outcome. After all, they were sitting there minding their own business when some interloper like me bothered them with a query. I think I will revise my thinking on this item. If I haven’t heard anything, I’m going to assume they are having trouble deciding if the literary or mass-market agent should represent me.
Oh, wait. Let’s take this one step further. With my query letter in hand, the agent took the initiative to contact Harper Collins. Harper Collins is having a difficult time determining whether or not a $50,000 advance will be enough to keep the book from Hachette. Of course, the agent thinks a six-figure advance will be required. So until they work out the details, no one is going to contact me. Yes, this is better.
I hope everyone is doing okay now that the states are starting to open up. This particular old guy is going to take his time to embrace my fellow humans. I’m going to wait until I see the net result of people congregating again. Today’s JohnKu talks about caution. I hope you all have a super weekend.
“Lucy.” “What Little One?” “Can you turn off the light?” “Wednesday sunshine. Can’t turn it off.”
It is Wednesday Story Time again, and last week our heroes with a police escort began their trip to the airport. As luck would have it, there was some kind of ambush set up, which was interrupted by the State patrol. By the sounds of it, there was a big shoot-out. The escort thinks it is better to head back to SWAT headquarters until everything is sorted out. I see the group is at the headquarters, so let’s go there and see what the next move is going to be.
“Right in here, gentlemen.”
“Thanks, Sarg. Is the lieutenant here?”
“Let me go check. He’s not answering his comm. I’ll just be a second. Please have a seat.”
“This looks like their war room, Larry.”
“Yeah, I think that is what it is. What do you suppose is going on?”
“I think a bunch of folks want us dead. That’s what is going on.”
“Never in my life have I dodged so many close calls.”
“Well, the keyword is ‘dodged.’ As long as you are doing that, you are okay.”
“Gentlemen.”
“Lieutenant. Nice to see you again.”
“It is especially nice to see you both, detective.”
“What is going on?”
“Good question. We are running the prints and facial rec on the dead guys. The survivor is heading for the lock-up, but so far, he’s not talking. He gave a name, but we think it’s a phony. In any case, we think these guys are pros from out of town.”
“Looks like the same situation as when we arrived.”
“You don’t have many friends in Reno that’s for sure.”
“Any way to trace these guys to Cortez?”
“Not sure right now. I’ll tell you what, though?”
“What?”
“I’m pretty doubtful Cortez would hire outside help. His guys are about the best there is. I can’t believe he would want to risk having the job mishandled if he was behind it. I’m sure if it was Cortez, we would be zipping up the body bags and shipping them to Boston instead of chatting here.”
“So, who do you think is behind all this.”
“I’m going to reserve my judgment until we find out what the prisoner has to say.”
“You think he will talk?”
“If we give him some kind of deal, he will. Hold on, I got to get this. Yeah, Mayfield here. No shit. Uh-huh. Damn. Okay, thanks for letting me know. Mayfield clear.”
“A problem, Lieutenant?”
“The prisoner just took something, and it looks like he’s dead.”
“How can that be?”
“Looks like he had some poison, and he used it.”
“How often does that happen?”
“In spy novels all the time. Here not so much.”
“You would think we could catch a break.”
“Well, detective. The fact that you are still alive is a break. I think these guys are operatives at a different level, and we need to get to the bottom of this. You two are going to need round the clock protection.”
“How about we help with the case? Could kill two birds with one stone.”
“Interesting choice of words, detective, but I think it will work. Let’s coordinate with the State patrol and get a plan together. In the meantime, how about some coffee?”
“Sounds good. Everyone would expect that offer to come up sooner or later.”
“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.”
“Look out the window over there. Just beyond the trees.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Don’t you see above the trees what looks like some kind of antenna?”
“Oh, now I do. Would you look at that? Them government people are checking on us.”
“Checking on us? Whatever for?”
“I think they are checking to see if we are maintaining the shelter in place rules.”
“Couldn’t it be they are looking at someone else?”
“Bertie. Think about it. What other houses are there around us? We are the only one here.”
“What do we do then?”
‘Well, we are sheltering in place according to the rules.”
“I just don’t like being watched. I mean a couple of over the hill pensioners like us. Don’t they have anything better to do?”
“I see your point. It is a matter of personal freedom. It’s bad enough being cooped up here without some snooper team checking up. I’m going to get something.”
“Don’t you lower yourself to go down there and talk to them, Herold.”
“I have no intention of talking.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have something here in the closet.”
“What is that thing?”
“This, my dear, is an MK153 shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon.”
“Goodness, where did you get that thing.”
“Amazon prime.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Take out that snooper thingy.”
“Won’t you get into trouble?”
“A gray-haired old fart like me. What are they going to do? Shoot me?”
“Maybe. Might shoot me too.”
“You know I never thought of that. Okay, maybe we try to ignore that thing.”
This last week marked the 216th anniversary of the beginning of the full Lewis and Clark expedition. On May 14, 1804, Clark and the Corps joined Lewis in St. Charles, Missouri, and headed upstream on the Missouri River to try and find a water passage to the Pacific Ocean. This is one journey you won’t want to miss. If you go take along this list so maybe you will stay out of trouble.
Top Ten Things Not to Do on the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804.
10 On the expedition, do not insist that the expedition started in Pittsburgh in November of 1803. If you do, at best, the men will ignore you. At worst, since most came with Clark in 1803, you might make some enemies. (You see, Lorne, Meriwether Lewis and a few of the crew picked up a keelboat in Pittsburgh in 1803, but the full complement of 45 souls including Lewis, Clark, 27 unmarried soldiers, a French-Indian interpreter, a contracted boat crew and a slave owned by Clark named York.)
9 On the expedition, do not refuse Tiny, the WWF champ, when he wants to trade his handmade moccasins for your LL Bean boots. If you do, at best, you better use the excuse that you and Tiny are not the same size. At worst, you and Tiny are the same size, and your refusal is being interpreted as pure rejection. (Tiny missed his last dependency group session where he was to be given advice on how to handle rejection. He is now left up to his own devices. Yeah, Leroi that pinwheel over the head just before the mat slam is part of it. Try not to hold your breath. It doesn’t hurt as much when you land if you don’t.)
8 On the expedition, do not try to help with directions. If you do, at best, you will be ignored. At worst, Lewis and Clark will take your comments as a lack of confidence in their leadership. (Now you’ve done it, Lorence. You have made a backseat driving move that might get you left behind. If it happens, be sure and ask for a musket. The bears are pretty wild around here.)
7 On the expedition, do not sit in the peace pipe ceremony and then declare you don’t smoke. If you do, at best, everyone will think you are joking. At worst, you will break the spell and the peace process. (You may wonder why everyone is looking at you, Loki. I think you can interpret the looks as a dead man walking.)
6 On the expedition, do not ask Sacagawea out on a date. If you do, at best, she’ll just say no. At worst, she will tell her husband, French-Canadian trapper Toussaint Charbonneau. ( I hope you have your running shoes on, Lazarus. If there is one person you don’t want to mess with is a trapper. The fact that Toussaint is French-Canadian and does not take guys hitting on his wife lightly, I would start running now and don’t stop until you hit St. Louis, which is about 290 miles East.)
5 On the expedition, do not accept an invitation from Meriwether Lewis to go hunting. If you do, at best, the event will be uneventful. At worst, there is a hunting accident. (Since Lewis was shot in the butt during one of these trips, Lucky. Hopefully, you stayed in front of him. If not, here take this band-aid.)
4 On the expedition, do not offer to do the cooking for a night. If you do, at best, the group will politely decline. At worst, they will be enthusiastic about seeing what you can do. (The only thing there is to eat is the dog, Lennox. I hope your Beef Bourgogne recipe is adaptable or this may be the end of the trip for you.)
3 On the expedition, do not offer to watch out for all the specimens collected. If you do, at best you will get a polite no. At worst, Lewis and Clark will take you up on your offer. ( I hope you knew, Lex that there are 120 animal specimens and 200 botanical samples. Good luck with toting all of that stuff. Also, some of those animal specimens are getting real gamey.)
2 On the expedition, do not complain about sore feet. If you do, at best, no one will listen. At worst, those who hear your complaint will think you’re a softy. (Everyone has traveled the same 8,000 miles, Lev. Your claims have fallen of deaf ears.
1 On the expedition, do not expect the same rewards as Lewis and Clark. If you do, at best, you’ll be disappointed. At worst, you overvalued your importance to the mission. (Since both Lewis and Clark received double pay and 1600 acres of farmland, Len. Perhaps they will share it with you. Of course, maybe someday pigs will fly as well. )
This is another view of some of the decorations that have been placed on top of mailbox holders. It hardly seems possible that I did a post over a year ago about the mailbox decorations here in Lakeway. This tour has some different ones from the last. If you missed the last one, HERE is a link. I hope you enjoy our stroll today.
I would call this one Jerimiah.
This is a metal plant. I like the turquoise color.
A pot with some petunias.
A peacock, of course.
Kind of a sad raccoon.
A happy fawn.
This looks to be the bluebird of bitterness.
Here is a symbol of good luck. I hope you have a great week.
Want to want is the opposite of need to need. With that introduction, it is Stream of Conscious Saturday, and here is Linda Hill to explain this week’s prompt. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “want.” Make the word “want” the first, second, or third word of your post. Have fun!”
So now you know that I choose using want as the first and third word to start the post. I am saving my bonus points for a Bentley Continental V8, so you know I have to work especially hard. Here’s a photo to help you see what I am shooting to achieve.
If you would like to save up points to get what you want, visit Linda’s blog and read how.
“So please explain what the heck you were talking about when you said, ‘Want to want is the opposite of need to need.”‘
“When did I say that?”
“Up top at the beginning of this post.”
“Oh, that. I believe need and want are two different things.”
“Okay, please explain.”
“When you need something, it is more or less vital.”
“and?”
“When you want something, it is a desire but not a matter of life or death.”
“Explain the want to and need to stuff.”
“We all can choose to want something. I call that want to want.”
“Then need to need is more like an emergency.”
“No, it is still a choice. Take eating, for instance. If you don’t need to need food, you could starve. We all need food to live, but if a person denies that need, then there is trouble.”
“Way over my head for sure. Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“I’m a writer, remember.”
“Doesn’t mean you need to go off the deep end. So that Bentley is in the want department?”
“Yeah, I think you’ve got it.”
“So, if you don’t get it, you won’t die?”
“I think we could safely. say If I don’t get it, I will need to want to die.”
“We need some drinks. A whole lot of drinks.”
“Why’s that?”
“To quote Jack Nicholson in the movie “Terms of Endearment.”‘
“Hey, Twiggy. Want to chase a squirrel?” “Hold on, Lucy. I’m going to sneeze.” “Wait, we need a social distance.”
Another Friday has arrived. I’m sure somewhere there are folks that are very happy to have a weekend. I think those essential workers who have been busting their butt while the rest of us stay home could use a weekend. I hope they have a good one.
The cases of COVID-19 across the US continue. As of yesterday, there were 1,400,050 cases up 30,92.6 from May 12th, That is a 2% increase in cases.
The state of Wisconsin just opened all the bars in the state after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down a stay at home regulation. The bars were packed after the order was struck down. This is a state where the cases have grown by 3% since May 12th. I guess well see how it looks in 14 days.
Today’s John Ku talks about who we can believe and who to trust during this difficult time. I hope you all have a safe and healthy weekend.
It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week there was some help from the SWAT commander. He arranged an escort to the airport for Larry and Andrew. He, too, is perplexed by the fact that Spencer Tagget the ADA, could be involved in any misdeeds. So I think we are 🎶on the road again.🎶 (Thanks, Willy.) We ought to join our boys who are following the patrol car.
“That was nice of the lieutenant to arrange the escort and not hassle us about killing that thug.”
“I still won’t feel right until we land at Logan.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“Having a bunch of people continually throw lead our way is bothering me.”
“Yeah, it is annoying.”
“Annoying? It is downright hazardous to our health.”
“You still have your gun?”
“What do you think? I always have my gun. Why the question?”
“Not sure. This whole trip has been one series of unusual circumstances. The sad part is we don’t know any more than when we left Boston.”
“We know Dixon and Janet Rafferty spent time together here. We also know Cortez thinks Taggert is involved.”
“I guess we also know Taggert wants us dead.”
“We sure it’s Taggert?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Think all the way back to what started this case. Sandusky’s blown up heart.”
“Yeah so?”
“Who is at the center of everything?”
“Cortez.”
“Right. It would make sense for him to tell us Taggert was involved to throw us off the trail. The way I see it, we got to get Mrs. Rafferty and Dixon to come clean, and then if they finger Cortez, we go get him.”
“Or let Taggert go get him.”
“Whatever. Why is the patrol car slowing down? He has his turn signal on, but there’s no exit.”
“Looks like he is pulling off onto the shoulder.”
“Maybe we should just pass him up.”
“I’m going to pull in behind him. Get ready for anything.”
“Maybe I can beat them off with my briefcase.”
“Very funny. Here comes the sergeant. This should be interesting.”
“Hey, detective. We got a call from the lieutenant that we should go back to headquarters. Something has come up.”
“Did he say what it was?”
“He had a chance to talk to his boss, and they think you are in danger and might better put off your plans to leave.”
“Danger? Hell, that’s nothing new.”
“Looks like the State Patrol came upon some guys up ahead. They were on a bridge over the freeway, and they had some weapons. That’s all I know.”
“They capture the guys?”
“In a manner of speaking. Big shoot out. One is still alive. You want to follow me. We are going over the median. I’m not taking any chances.”
