Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Passenger”

March 17, 2026March 16, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

Today I randomly opened Eternal Road – The final stop to page 165. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “passenger.” That is our prompt today.

“Here we are, YouTubers. This is the freight train switching yard in Peoria, Illinois, and boy, is it cold. Look, there’s someone who looks like they just got off one of the boxcars.”

“Sir, do you mind talking with me for a minute about your experience?”

“What are you recording?”

“I have a YouTube channel and am interviewing working folks around the country.”

“Okay, that sounds pretty harmless.”

“So where are you headed?”

“Trying to get to Florida.”

“You been hopping freights? Are you a hobo?”

“I prefer to call it a privileged passenger.”

“But you’ve been hopping freights.”

“Well, yes. I can’t afford the coach fare of a passenger train, and as you can see, the way I look would cause people concern.”

“Isn’t it dangerous hopping freight cars?”

“Not if you know what you are doing. For me, it’s pretty easy.”

“So why Florida?”

“Well, I have to eat, and opportunities up North get scarce when it gets cold.”

“So, you do outside work?”

“Yup. One hundred percent of the jobs I find are outdoors.”

“I can see why it would be better in Florida. You mentioned it was easy to hop freight trains. Mind sharing your secret?”

“I just hover over one of the cars and then slowly ease down for a perfect landing.”

“I’m surprised you can hang on.”

“See these talons. They grip anything. Plus, when I hunker down, I’m pretty much impervious to the wind.”

“It has been a pleasure talking to you. Mr. Ah.”

“My friends call me Victor.”

“It was great talking to you, Victor.”

“Likewise.”

“So there you have it. A discussion with Victor the Vulture. If you enjoyed the discussion, hit “like” below and we’ll see you next time.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Document”

March 10, 2026March 9, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 44 Comments

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.

“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.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Hands”

March 3, 2026March 2, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 49 Comments

Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 121. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. My finger fell closest to the word “hands,” which is our prompt today.

“Hands. Touching hands. Reaching out. Touching you, touching me.”

“Sweet Caroline. Bah,bah, bah.”

“You know the song.”

“I sure do.”

“How do you know it?”

“They play it all the time where I work. Well, where I used to work.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“No, it’s okay. I left voluntarily.”

“Why did you leave?”

“The work environment was getting more and more hectic.”

“How so?”

“Well, we used to put on two shows a day.”

“Wait a minute. Shows?”

“Yeah, I work in the entertainment business.”

“So, go on.”

“We also had Mondays off.”

“What happened?”

“Our place was bought by a huge company, and they needed more revenue.”

“What did they do?”

“The first thing was a move to three shows a day.”

“Oof. That is tiring.”

“Then Mondays off went away.”

“Wow. So what did you do in the show?”

“The usual. High dives, waves. Played the horn, juggled balls.”

“You were a clown then?”

“I felt like one.”

“Not to get too personal, but how did you get away?”

“It was easy. I waited until everyone was gone and then went from the big pool, down a water slide, into the little pool, then to the beach, and here I am.”

“You are not afraid to be on your own?”

“Not having to sit up, clap my flippers, and honk for fish? I am delighted to be on my own. Besides, I met you, and life is good.”

“Just watch out for the sharks, and you’ll be okay. Let’s hit the kelp. There is a nice school of redfish that hangs out there.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Throat”

February 24, 2026February 23, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 54 Comments

Today I opened The Last Drive randomly to Page 243. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “throat.” That is our prompt today.

“What did you just do?”

” Gargle”

“Why?”

“I have a sore throat, and that makes it feel better.”

“What did you use?”

“Water.”

“Water? That’s not going to help.”

“Why not. It felt good.”

“You need something with some medicine in it.”

“The water was warm.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s going to help.”

“So what kind of medicine should I use?”

“Well, to start, I would get some saltwater and see if that helps.”

“That is easy enough. What if it doesn’t work?”

“Why don’t you try it first?”

“Yeah, I guess worrying about the ‘what ifs’ is a waste of time. You want to come with me?”

“Sure. I haven’t had breakfast yet, so I could do that while you are gargling with saltwater.”

“Good thing we live by the sea.”

“For a lot of reasons and not just your sore throat.”

“I’ve often wondered.”

“What?”

“What they say about our color.”

“What do they say?”

“We are pink cause we eat shrimp.”

“Yeah, that’s a good one. Can’t say if it’s true or not.” Here we are. Get to gargling.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Meetings”

February 17, 2026February 16, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 55 Comments

Today I opened Circumstances of Childhood randomly to page 159. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page, and the word closest to my finger is “meetings.” This is our prompt today.

“Why do we always have to have meetings?”

“Beats me. Maybe it’s so the boss has something to do.”

“That is pretty funny.”

“But close to the truth. When’s the last time you saw him do anything?”

“Productive, you mean?”

“Ha ha ha. I mean, just anything. Productive is too high a bar.”

“Let me think. Oh, I know. Remember when he invited us to go hunting?”

“Yeah, I remember. He crashed through the bush and scared all the game away for five miles.”

“That was some day for sure.”

“I think I was talking about doing something that didn’t mess things up.”

“I think you got me. I can’t remember a time when he didn’t mess things up.”

“So what is this meeting about?”

“Rumor is he is going to introduce a new strategy.”

“Strategy for what?”

“I’m not really sure. I just heard two guys talking.”

“So you must have heard more.”

“Well, it seems he thinks we lions ought to be the hunters and the lionesses ought to stay home.”

“You have got to be kidding me. That’s not going to work. He should know from that hunting trip.”

“Well, maybe it’s just a rumor.”

“I hope so. I’m not sure I could even catch anything. I can almost feel my stomach growling now.”

“Well, we will know in a minute. Here he comes.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Trash”

February 3, 2026February 2, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 49 Comments

Today, I randomly opened The Power of Three by Teri Polen to page 67. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “trash.” That is our prompt today.

“When are you going visit the trash young man?”

“Aw, Mom. I just got interested in this puzzle.”

“That’s not a puzzle, it’s just a bunch of sticks.”

“Yeah, and the idea is to make them look like something.”

“Well, mister, you need to put that stuff away and get to the trash.”

“Why do I always have to do the trash?”

“Because you live here and we each need to pull our own weight.”

“What about sister?”

“What about her?”

“I never see her do the trash.”

“That’s because she does other chores.”

“Liked what?”

“Well if you must know, she is at the creek .”

“Doing what? Throwing daisies and making wishes?”

“Hilarious, smart guy. I’ll have you know she is catching tonight’s supper.”

“When did she learn how to fish?”

“Dad taught her.”

“Oh man. I thought that was something special between dad and me.”

“No when it comes to putting food on the table. Now, I think you’d better get moving.”

“Okay, okay. Anything special?”

“Some fruit or salad would be nice.”

“Why aren’t we raccoons like other animals?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know. Hunt and catch prey.”

“Cause we are fat, lazy, and human stuff is easy pickings. Now get to it.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – Approach

January 27, 2026January 26, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 53 Comments

Today, I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 67. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “approach.” This is the prompt today.

“Nice approach. Now let’s see you sink that one.”

“You know it makes me nervous when you are watching.”

“How can I help but watch. I’m right here.”

“Maybe you could just turn around and look the other way.”

“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. It can’t make that much difference.”

“But it does.”

“Why?”

“Well, I know you will be evaluating my technique.”

“Technique?” Oh, come on now. I’ve watched you sink hundreds. I don’t recall a technique.”

“So you say.”

“I’m serious. If you asked me to explain your so-called technique, I would be at a loss for words.”

“Could you humor me then?”

“And turn away?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, all right. I was going to offer some advice, though.”

“Like what?”

“Once you sink that bird, tuck it under a log. You can then come back for it.”

“That is a great suggestion. Where’d you learn that?”

“You know that old gator who hangs out in the West swamp?”

“Grumpy old fart?”

“That’s the one. That’s his approach to saving the game. He taught me that.”

“Well, okay. Thank you. Never mind the turnaround. Here I go. I know just the log.”

“When you come back, we’ll lie out in the sun.”

“I’d like that. See you soon.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Answer”

January 20, 2026January 18, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 51 Comments

Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 187. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is answer. That is our prompt today.

“Who has the correct answer? Yes, Jimmy.”

“To see what she could see?”

“No, I’m sorry, that’s not it. Anyone else? Yes, Cindy.”

“To find her brother?”

“Not quite, Cindy, but a good guess. Who’s next? Yes, Tom.”

“She needed to head home.”

“Well, eventually, but not quite yet. Yes, Mary Lou.”

“Her mother calls her.”

“That could happen, but not in this case. Frank, do you think you know?”

“To get an ice cream.”

“That would be fun, wouldn’t it. But for this exercise, we’ll have to wait for another time. I see your hand, Roland. What do you think?”

“She lives over there.”

“That is close, but not the exact answer we are looking for here. Yes, Tim.”

“To see her friends.”

“Another good guess, but just not exactly it. Okay Karen. Your turn.”

“To get to the other side.”

“You are absolutely right, Karen. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side, of course. Well done.”

“Mr. Jones?”

“Yes, David.”

“That is really dumb.”

“I think you could say that, but it is an anti-joke (sometimes also described as a meta-joke).”

“What’s the purpose?”

“Just to alter expectations. The person hearing the joke expects something witty, and all they get is dumb.”

“Do you have another example?”

“Sure. What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?”

“I don’t know.”

“A carrot.”

“Now that’s funny.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Focus”

January 13, 2026January 12, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 48 Comments

Today, I randomly opened The Last Drive to page 129. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger is “focus.” This is our prompt today.

“You got the target?”

“Roger. My focus is absolutely laser sharp.”

“Well, just track it then and wait for my order.”

“Yes, sir. Staying with it.”

“It’s important that you wait until the target is out in the open. You don’t want any trees to cause a miss.”

“Yes, sir. Roger that. Still on target.”

“Good.”

“The target has picked up speed.”

“He might know you are locked on.”

“I don’t get that indication. Maybe he is anxious to return to his base.”

“Yeah, that could be, but we can’t let that happen.”

“So should I take him now?”

“Just hold a few moments more. We need to have a clean kill.”

“He’s starting evading maneuvers now.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

“He definitely knows we are here. ”

“Okay then. Take him out as soon as practicable.”

“Yes, sir. Here I go.”

“Right behind you.”

“Ooooof.”

“Nice one.”

“Let’s go back to the nest and have a feast.”

“I just love squirrel, don’t you?”

“My favorite.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Short-Range”

January 6, 2026January 5, 2026 ~ John W. Howell ~ 45 Comments

Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 77. With eyes closed, I pointed to the page. The word closest to my finger that we can read is the compound word “short-range.” This is our prompt.

“What are you talking about?”

“Were you listening?”

“I guess I had my mind elsewhere. So, what were you saying?”

“I was trying to get you to quit focusing on short-range activities in favor of a more long-range concentration.”

“Wow, I don’t even know what that means.”

“Let me give you an example.”

“Please.”

“That apple you are eating.”

“What about it?”

“Instead of eating it now when there are plenty of apples, maybe you should save it for when apples are scarce.”

“But I’m hungry now.”

“Won’t you be hungry later?”