Being a lovely Saturday morning, I decided to motor to the local Starbucks for an overpriced coffee and blueberry scone. Arriving at the drive-through, I quickly calculated and figured I would be in line for thirty minutes. Heaving a big sigh, I pulled around to the parking area, grabbed my mask, and headed inside.

There was another line, but it was moving quickly. When my turn came, I ordered a Grande with room for cream and a blueberry scone. “All out of blueberry scones.” I thought a cheeky reply from the mixed purple and green-haired barista. I said to make it a plain scone then and was informed that it was also sold out. “What do you have?” She/her told me that they have everything else. By now, I had lost the desire for a scone and decided I would just get the coffee.

“John,” someone called. My coffee was sitting on the counter, and beside it was a blueberry scone. Not wanting to challenge fate, I took both and went to the service counter. I pulled the lid from the coffee and added some half and half. I sensed the shadow of a big guy pulling up behind me, so I made quick work of the stirring and turned to leave.

“You have my scone,” he said. His voice was so low and quiet I didn’t fully understand what he said. “My scone.” He surprised me with a louder voice. I suddenly understood that to continue to not understand might earn me a knuckle sandwich. I told him I was sorry and handed him the scone. He smiled and asked if I was John, who did a blog. I told him I was and he gave me an envelope. It seems he followed me to Starbucks for the purpose of delivery. He told me his name was Dog, the Prompt Deliverer.

I opened the envelope and read Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “lid.” Use it in the literal sense, use it in the metaphorical sense, use it any way you’d like. Have fun! While I was reading, Dog walked out the front door.\

If you would like to have, fun visit Linda Hill’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link  https://lindaghill.com/2021/10/08/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-october-9-2021/

Lid by John W. Howell © 2021

‘Put a lid on it.”

“Huh?”

“I want to use today’s prompt metaphorically.”

“Who you telling to put a lid on it and why.”

“I was rehearsing for my meeting with the POA.”

“Uh oh. What did you do?”

“Nothing. Well, I put up a sign protesting the dues increase.”

“And they told you to take it down?”

“They took it down.”

“Can they do that?”

“Yes.”

“So, what’s the point.”

Not sure. I just want to air my grievance.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll pay the dues.”

“But you will have been able to tell them they need to put a lid on more increases.”

“Not exactly. By ‘put a lid on it,’ I mean for them to shut the hell up.”

“Oh. I think it’s going to be a short meeting.”

“Maybe a visit to the pub might be more productive.”

“You think?”

“Let’s go.”

It was a quiet morning that could inspire incredible feats of mental productivity. However, before that process could begin, my carbon host kept reminding me to aspire to something even more important than the solution to the world’s problems. The shaking hands, frontal lobe pounding, and blurred vision led me to conclude that the carbon unit was set to expire without coffee. Lucky for it and me, the cup was already completing the beautiful act of creation. The aroma hit the olfactories like a linebacker determined to sack the quarterback. The olfactories called “time out,” and the rest of the unit stood at the ready for relief. Lips slightly parted, waiting for the hot potion that would soon be coursing throughout the entity, delivering its life-saving properties.

That done, it was time to visit the patio to get to work on the e-mails and post visits. As I was setting up the umbrella, a strange noise came to my now functioning hearing systems. It was like a small cry of a hawk. Looking up, I could see a speck in the sky that quickly turned into a dot. While my caffeine field brain was calculating the possibilities, my ocular sensors figured out that the flailing object was a man, and he was headed right for me.

The air was forcibly driven from my body at the point of catching the man. Yes, he landed right into my outstretched arms. We both hit the patio with a noise that could be described as resembling a watermelon hitting the street after dropping from a  twelve-story building. I think you get the picture.

I’m not sure how long I was out, but I opened my eyes to the biggest person I had ever seen. He had arms that looked like GI Joe on his best day and no neck. Around his waist was a belt with a buckle that read WWF Champ. “Hi, the name’s Tiny,” he said.”Thanks for catching me. This is for you.”

With that, he shoved an envelope into my immobilized hand, stepped over me, and left through the gate. I felt like a school project called flat me, forgotten on the concrete. Twiggy finally licked me back to life, and I opened the envelope. Inside was a message from Dan Antion. It read;

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “inspire/aspire/expire.” Use them in any form you like. Use one, use two or use them all if you want. If you use two, you get bonus points! If you use all three, Cheryl will put your next drink on David’s tab. Enjoy!

Clearly, I deserve a drink.

If you want to participate, go to Linda Hill’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2021/10/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-october-1-2021/

Inspire/Aspire/Expire © 2021

“You’ve done it again.”

“What?”

“Used our time on that stupid prologue.”

“Well, I couldn’t help myself.”

“What brought Tiny back to life?”

“Jennie Fitzkee.”

“Of Teacher’s Reflections?”

“The very same.”

“You opening this blog to requests?”

“No, but she suggested that it might be fun to have Tiny visit.”

“Pretty short visit.”

“Big impact, though.”

“What happened to the prompt?”

“It’s all in the prologue.”

“So we can hit the bar?”

“Yup, and the first one is on Dan Antion’s buddy David.”

“Just the first?”

“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”