Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 151. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page, and the word closest to my finger was “first.” That is our prompt today.

First by John W. Howell, © 2026

“When did you first see him?”

“The first time? Let me see. I think it was last winter.”

“What about him did you notice first?”

“Oh, that’s easy. He had a bright red coat.”

“Where were you?”

“Well, he startled me, and so I ducked behind this huge tree.”

“What happened next?”

“My heart was beating so fast I was sure he would hear it.”

“Did he ever see you?”

“No, I stayed out of sight.”

“What else can you remember?”

“I could tell he was fit, but he had on a hat, so it was hard to see his face.”

“Did you see him again?”

“In the spring, I saw him walking with a girl in the woods.”

“Okay, is that the last time?”

“Yes.”

“I want to warn you that this man is dangerous.”

“How so?”

“You were lucky he did not see you last winter. He’s a killer.”

“How can that be? When he was with the girl, he seemed nice and was smiling.”

“Yeah, his type always puts on a good facade. Just do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“If you see him again, stay out of sight.”

“Why?”

“His type is not fussy about shooting Does. That’s why.”

“But that is illegal.”

“Tell him that if you dare. You have been warned.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Just doing my duty as herd commander.”

 

 

Today I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 225. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “privacy.” That is our prompt today.

Privacy by John W. Howell © 2026

“Could you please leave?”

“What’s the problem?”

“I just need some privacy.”

“I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?”

“We went to all those classes, and I’m your birthing partner.”

“Well, right now I can’t stand the sight of you.”

“What has changed?”

“You are the one who got me into this mess.”

“Oh, like you weren’t there?”

“This is no time to do the hurt feelings routine. Just go away.”

“What about the breathing exercises?”

“I can do that on my own.”

“I hate to see you like this.”

“Then you should go.”

“You sure you will be okay?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Go hang out with your friends.”

“They are all busy.”

“Go catch some fish then.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m sure you will be hungry after the pup gets here.”

“I swear. Of all the sealions in this world, I end up with Mr. Practical. Now go.”

“You still love me, right?”

“Of course. I just need you gone. Bye.”

 

Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 199. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “system.” That is our prompt today.

“I’m telling you the system won’t allow it.”

“The system? What are you talking about?”

“The way things are organized. How the world is set up.”

“Oh, come on. There really isn’t a system.”

“To do what you want, there definitely is a system, and it won’t allow it.”

“Well, how about I just go ahead and ask for forgiveness later?”

“That’s up to you, but I can predict the outcome.”

“I don’t know how you became an expert all of a sudden.”

“Look, I’m older than you and have been around.”

“Have you ever tried doing what I’m thinking of doing?”

“No, of course not.”

“Okay then, just let me go.”

“Very well. It’s your funeral.”

“Now you have me wondering.”

“I’m glad, since I would hate to see you crash into the valley.”

“It does look pretty far down.”

“Changing your mind?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Let me help. Never in the history of our breed has anyone been able to fly.”

“But I read that book.”

“Dumbo the flying elephant?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Fiction. Made up by some lunatic. Trust me, you can’t fly.”

“All right, I believe you.”

“Let’s go get some nice warm peanuts. You’ll feel better later.”

“Where do we get peanuts?”

“In the tent, of course. Follow me.”

Today I randomly opened Circumstances of Childhood to page 127. I closed my eyes and pointed to the page. My finger is closest to the word “urgent.” That is our prompt today.

Urgent by John W. Howell © 2026.

“Hurry up.”

“What’s the deal?”

“It’s urgent.”

“What?”

“The thing you have to see.”

“For heaven’s sake. You are moving like someone possessed.”

“Well. I don’t want it to go away.”

“This must be pretty important.”

“Not important, just interesting.”

“Have you seen it before?”

“Yeah, of course. You will get a kick out of this. too.”

“I hope it is worth being almost out of breath for.”

“Don’t worry, it will be worth it.”

“Are we almost there?”

“Yup, see that outcropping right ahead?”

“Yeah.”

“We need to be under it.”

“Okay, that is easy. Now that we are here, what am I looking for?

“Wait one minute.”

“Uh huh.”

“There it is.”

“What is it?”

“A stupid worm on a hook.”

“Wait. You mean one of those idiots thinks he can catch us with a lousey worm?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh my gosh. What trout in its right mind is going to go for that?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Whoa. Did you see that?”

“Yeah, that stupid bluegill came out of nowhere.”

“I hope he enjoys being a guest at dinner.”

“Ha ha ha. What a dope. Hold on, is that a mayfly?”

“Where?”

“Out by that rock. Just floating.”

“Be careful.”

“Right there are plenty of mayflies somewhere where these worm baters aren’t.”

“Look, another one.”

“Yup. Let’s get out of here.”

 

Today I opened The Last Drive randomly to page 207. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word “yelling” was closest to my finger. That is our prompt today.

Yelling by John W. Howell © 2026

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s all the yelling?”

“Jimmy is not playing fair, Coach.”

“Tell me more, John.”

“We are having a game of hide and seek, and Jimmy does a short count.”

“Short count. What’s that?”

“He’s supposed to count to 100 by ones, but he does it by tens.”

“Did you guys state the rules up front?”

“Well, no. Everyone knows the rules, though. The way he counts is like counting to ten.”

“Jimmy is new here. Are you sure everyone knows the rules?”

“Hey Jimmy, do you know the rules?’

“Well, John, back home we always counted by tens.”

“See, John, everyone doesn’t know the rules.”

“Okay, Coach, my mistake. Tell me this, Jimmy, why do you count by tens?”

“All the kids I played with are very fast, so if we counted by ones, they would be miles away.”

“Fast? Who is faster than crows?”

“That’s just it. In the desert, all the guys are roadrunners. They are super fast.”

“You had no crows to play with?”

“None, Coach.”

“How about we count by ones. Is that okay, John? ”

“Sure. I can do that.”

“Okay, kids, back to playing.

 

 

Today, I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 141. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger was “document.” This is our prompt.

Document by John W. Howell © 2026

“So what did they say?”

“I need a document from the doctor.”

“Document? What kind of document?”

“They won’t let me stay there until I get a complete bill of health.”

“You look healthy.”

“I know. The parents are pretty upset.”

“About what?”

“Well, they wanted me to go to camp, as you know.”

“You still can after the doctor’s visit.”

“That’s just it. The doctor can’t see me until next week.”

“So?”

“The camp starts this week.”

“Still, you can go to the next session.”

“That’s true, but the parents had planned to go on a trip while I was away.”

“Can’t they postpone a week?”

“I heard them say something about no refunds on the tickets.”

“Yeah, that does hit hard. You wanna come stay at my house?”

“You’d better ask your parents before the offer.”

“Nah. Here’s how we play it. We’ll go to my house, and I’ll look all excited to have you there.”

“What does that do?”

“My parents will feel sorry for you and let you stay until they can contact your parents. Once they do, hopefully, your parents will let mine know the fix they are in. My parents will offer to keep you. Problem solved.”

“Sounds great. Just one hitch.”

“What’s that?”

“How will they be able to contact my parents?”

“Your collar.”

“Huh?”

“Your phone number is on your collar. Now, let’s go.”

“You are a pal.”