A piece of sourdough toast with peanut butter and grape jelly will go well with coffee this morning. The machine gives out a full mug with no complaint, and the toaster follows suit. The first sip of coffee stops the pile-driver effect in my brain from being triggered by dangerously low caffeine levels. Of course, the second sip is accompanied by the crashing sound of a full tray of dishes on a tile floor, which is the combination of the Westminster doorbell and the two four-legged warning barks of Twiggy and Tempeste. A toss of a big bone into the soundproof room and a door slam brings back precious peace.
A glance at the security monitor tells me I am graced with a visit from Roger Rabbit. He has an envelope and a clipboard, so conversation is fruitless. With a sigh, the security shutdown process begins.
The B-2 bomber squadron and the F-35 escort must be called off. One call does it. The tank corps and gunboats are told to stand by. The Apache helicopters are rerouted. The electric shock fence is turned off. The drawbridge over the quicksand is lowered. The robot attack dogs returned to their charging station. The laser-guided machine guns on the roof are set to caution. The nest filled with rattlesnakes put away. The bucket filled with 1000 marbles is locked down. The tear gas canisters shut off. The electrified welcome mat set to off. The fall-away sidewalk into the pit filled with spikes is locked. The hornet’s nest closed. The water cannons are set to safety. Bear traps are set to off. Peregrine Falcons perched on the roof above front door fed. The vat of boiling oil set to warm. The front door is opened.
Roger hands me the envelope and the clipboard. Keeping the envelope and returning the clipboard with a fiver attached. ” Control what you can and let go of the rest,” is my other tip. The envelope has a message from Linda Hill. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “jelly.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2026/07/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-11-2026/
Jelly by John W. Howell © 2026
“Roger Rabbit. I haven’t thought about that character in ages.”
“Brings back a memory ot two.”
“Like about Jessica?”
“Well.. Yes.”
“She was a favorite of mine, too. I liked your words of advice.”
“Been useful to me for quite a while.”
“You know what’s useful to me?”
“Let me guess. VooDoo Ranger.”
“You are a genius.”
“Uber?”
“Over there.”
“Goodness. A 1970 300 TD. At least there is enough room for both of us.”
“There is one thing.”
“Of course, there is. What is it?”
“We need to help the owner remove the rust.”
“What? That could take weeks.”
“No we’ll just work on that spot under the left side of the rear window.”
“Above the 300 TD?”
“Yup. That’s it.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
“It’s not. Here, take these goggles and respirator.”
“What are those for?”
“The sand blaster.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, the sand blaster makes a lot of dust.”
“I’ve never done a sandblaster before.”
“Nothing to it. Just aim at the rust, and the machine does the rest.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Stand behind the protective glass barrier.”
“Why?”
“So I don’t get hit.”
“Why aren’t you doing the sandblasting?”
“Hey. I arranged the car. Takes these overalls and this blaster. We need to get going.”
