“Where you going kiddo?” “I thought I heard Friday on the patio.” “You are right Friday is here.”
It is Friday again, and I think I must spend part of the week in a state of unconsciousness. That would be the only reason the week passes so quickly. Well, here we are on the eve of the weekend.
It has been a week of finally getting past the block on my WIP. I still can’t figure out what the problem was, but managed to move on. I have been able to score one thousand words a day which is my goal.
On Sunday, we will be visiting the Enchanted Forest again. There are some interesting things done with the trees so we will concentrate on those. I hope you can make it.
This week’s JohnKu talks about peace and quiet. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
“What are you doing Little One?” “Thought I heard Friday over there.” “Sounded like Wednesday to me.”
It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we found ourselves at the Chick-Fil-A and talking to the manager named Tony. Tony was a little intimidated and asked for some time to call his boss. Our gang gave him a business card (These were not ID but Vista Print $5.00 a thousand cards. Whew, I hope that clears that up). Our gang then took their coffees out to one of the tables to wait for Tony to come out. We should get over there in case Tony comes back quickly.
“You know what, Larry?”
“What, Andrew?”
“I often wonder why people line up at Chick-Fil-A.”
“I guess cause they like the chicken sandwiches.”
“But for breakfast?”
“They have other stuff like sausage, eggs, and hash browns.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve had breakfast at a Chick-Fil-A.”
“Hey, fellas.”
“Yeah, Mike.”
“Got the judge working on a warrant now.”
“Excellent. Oh, look, here comes Tony. Well, Tony, what did you find out?”
“My boss said to cooperate with you guys. He called our lawyer, and as long as you do not think any of our employees committed a crime, we should try to help.”
“well, that’s nice of your boss and the lawyer. At this point, we do not suspect any of your employees of wrongdoing. We had a photo of a partial receipt from a pickup yesterday. Here it’s on my cell. Take it and have a look.”
“Uh-huh. Looks like it has been burned.”
“Good eye, Tony. It was burned, but these ashes still have a trace of it. Anything pop out at you?”
“There is a sequence number just below the date. Let me pull it up on my iPad. Humm. Yeah, that was a pickup order filled about 5:10 yesterday. Seven number three combos. Three sweet teas and three diet cokes and one lemonade.”
“Sounds like a big crowd. Let me ask, Tony. You guys have any surveillance cameras?”
“Sure do. Covers the drive-through from two angles. One is the window, and the second is the rear of the car. That’s was in case we had a grab and go.”
“Grab and go?”
“Before our new system, the customer would pay for the food when delivered. We used to have people take the food and then hit the gas. We now have a two-window system where we collect at the first window and fill the order from the second. We still have the camera working. There was a time when jokers would throw a drink at the server. Having the recording of the event and the license plate ensured that the police had enough to arrest the person.”
“Over a drink?”
“How about cuts and bruises. Those cups are not light.”
“Okay, I get it. So do you think you have the pick-up from yesterday on tape?”
“I’m sure we do. We have a 24-hour loop.”
“Can we get the tape?”
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem, but—”
“You’ll have to ask your boss.”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and make the call. We’ll wait.”
“I won’t be a minute. I’ll just step over there.”
“Take all the time you need, Tony. We think the tapes will be the breakthrough we need.”
“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.”
This post was originally published on May 4th, 2015. Let’s see if it still has legs.
This list was inspired by reading a story about a person who had a dream that they were a Lotto winner and went out and bought new cars before the drawing.
Top Ten Things Not to do if You Think You Will Win a Contest or the Lotto
10 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not quit your day job until the drawing is over. If you do, at best, your boss won’t take you seriously when you give a reason for resigning. At worst, the Publisher Clearing House Award Team will knock on your door only to discover they have made a mistake, and your neighbor with the barking dog is the actual winner. (Fun stuff, huh?)
9 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not brag to your in-laws before the drawing. If you, at best, they will believe you are a little naive. At worst, your father-in-law will present an IOU for the amount of money he has loaned to your spouse over the years. (The bill will still be due even if you don’t win.)
8 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not sign the papers for that beautiful new house until after the drawing. If you do, at best, you will be the proud owner of two homes and utterly broke. At worst, the Federal government will want to talk about the amount of income you stated on the bank loan forms of twenty million used to approve the loan. (They keep mumbling vaguely about something called bank fraud.)
7 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not tell all your friends before the drawing. If you do at best, they will want the money back for the drinks they bought you. At worst, they will think you won and are avoiding their requests for a loan. (Might want to leave town.)
6 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not put off saving for retirement. If you do, at best, you will need to keep working until you have enough to retire. At worst, you will retire and find out you needed to work more, and no one is hiring. (Especially an old dumb person.)
5 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not put your house up for sale until after the drawing. If you, at best, you will sell it and need to find another. At worst, you will sell your house and find you don’t have enough money to buy a similar value and no way to qualify for a loan. (That five-person tent looks pretty good about now.)
4 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not tell your boss exactly what you think of them before the drawing. If you do, at best, your boss will send you for a mental evaluation, and all will be forgotten. At worst, you will say things you want to retract, but you know a retraction is impossible even as you pack for your new assignment in North Korea. (Don’t forget the down-filled jacket.)
3 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not avoid setting up a college fund. If you do, at best, your kids will be so bright and talented they will win full scholarships to Ivy League schools. At worst, your kids will have to take jobs and loans to get through college and will eventually find their way back to your basement since they can’t afford a house while paying back the loans. (You would think they would offer to do the dishes just once.)
2 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not invest in that oil well with your brother-in-law before the drawing. If you do, at best, you have given your brother-in-law a gift. At worst, you will need the money you gave the brother-in-law to meet your near-term commitments since you figured you were throwing the money away and wouldn’t need it. Now you need it. (Good luck in getting it back.)
1 If you think you will win a contest or the Lotto, do not finally buy that expensive gift for your spouse before the drawing. If you do, at best, you will be a hero for the thought. At worst, you will have to return the gift and explain why you bought it in the first place. No matter how the excuse comes out, it will still sound like you have lost your mind. ( It would have been good to winterize the dog house.)
Today we are going to visit the Lakeway Enchanted Forest sponsored by the Lakeway Parks and Recreation. Since there is so much to see, we will be coming back next week as well. You may recognize the venue from the holiday display. To fortify us for the trip, we have a catered brunch from El Alma in Austin. Our entertainment will be Lady A (formally known as Lady Antebellum )
Brunch Menu
GORDITAS RANCHERAS
fried farm eggs on refried bean gorditas, chipotle tomato salsa, crema, queso fresco, avocado.
HUEVOS REVUELTOS
scrambled farm eggs, chorizo, mushrooms, jack cheese, crispy tortillas, tomatillo salsa. crispy papitas.
ENCHILADAS DE ALMUERZO
jack cheese, smoky tomatillo salsa, fried egg, queso fresco, pico. black beans.
HUEVOS FRANCESES
poached farm eggs and spinach on corn pudding. chipotle hollandaise. tomatoes, avocado.
add crab
CHILAQUILES VERDES
crispy totopos, tomatillo salsa, crema, queso fresco, avocado. farm eggs, refritos.
add chicken
BANANA BREAD PUDDING
with cajeta
OMELETTE AHOGADO
omelet stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, jack cheese, smoky tomatillo salsa, pico, queso fresco, crispy papitas.
BREAKFAST TACOS
choose up to 3 ingredients
egg, bacon, chorizo, carne asada, jack cheese, spinach, mushrooms, poblanos and onions, avocado, refried beans, potatoes
We are going to serve some brunch cocktails. If you would rather have wine, we have it by the glass. Just ask your server.
MANGORITA
frozen margarita, tequila-marinated mango purée, el chile rim
MIMOSA FELIZ
sparkling wine, mango purée
MICHELADA
dos XX, bloody mary mix, lime juice, tabasco, Worcestershire, el chile rim
BLOODY MARÍA
jimador silver, bloody mary mix, olive brine, lime juice, Worcestershire, tabasco, el chile rim
So let’s get on the bus. I was asked if we should be using an electric bus to help the environment. The bus is fueled by environmentally friendly propane.
Here is a welcome sign, so we must be in the right place.
Looks like an entrance arch.
Uh-huh. A troll bridge sign is a give-a-way
And there it is, the troll bridge.
With trolls.
Fairy rocks with butterflies.
A welcome to Lakeway rock.
A fairy flower bed.
Lots of ladybugs.
Bees on a tree.
A wizard and a snail.
Frog
Bluebonnets and hope.
A mushroom patch.
A little gnome’s house.
Another little house.
A gnome and flowers.
A large butterfly.
With a place to leave a message.
I hope you enjoyed part one of this tour. Next week we are going to look at tree decoration. I hope you can join us. For now relax, have some food and listen to the music. Have a wonderful week.
It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday time again, and as I was looking up at the rainclouds, I was hit by an envelope. It seemed to come from nowhere, and inside was what I was expecting. Yes. It was Linda Hill’s prompt. Here is what it said. “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “may.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!” I have to find out how she does the airmail thingy. In the meantime, if you want to have fun visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is. Here is the link.
“Gonna miss that patio.” “Come on Twiggy. We need the rain.” “But why on Friday?” “Just to torture you.”
Another week has flown by. It is Friday again, and time to prepare for the weekend. (YAY)
Before I forget, I have a post up on Story Empire today. I have listed the top ten books that have been banned or challenged in 2020. Also, there is a list of the banned or challenged books from the 100 most significant books written. Go HERE if you would like to visit.
The first 100 days of the Biden administration is now history. The scorecard on promises made vs. promises kept looks pretty good. I still wish the left and right would quit throwing insults at each other. It just doesn’t help anything.
The producer got her second shot, so after two weeks, it looks like we will have some immunity. We are still going to be careful on the three ways to protect oneself — wash hands, distance, wear a mask. We still don’t trust air travel, so we won’t be doing any of that.
I am very sorry for the outbreaks of COVID in India. Such a large population and so difficult to get every immunized quickly. The second outbreak comes after the first and is more severe. Lax preventive care such as masks and social distancing is being blamed on the current situation. I still feel COVID is going to be around a long time.
Today’s JohnKu talks about what is normal. I hope you. All have a great weekend.
“I heard Friday.” “You didn’t, Little One. That was an auditory hallucination. It’s Wednesday” “Sure sounded like Friday.” “Hallucinations are like that.”
It is Wednesday Story Time again, and last week our team found some ashes at the warehouse. It was a Chick-Fil-A receipt. After a thorough search of the warehouse, nothing else was found. I see the group heading for the Chick-Fil-A. If we hurry, we can get there about the same time.
“Okay, guys. We need to have a little plan here.”
“I agree, Larry. We can’t go in and show badges and expect anyone to remember anything.”
“How about I stay out here and sample the sandwich.”
“Nice try, Andrew. Come to think of it, why don’t we get with the manager and quietly explain the situation and then interview the employees out here.”
“Good idea, Larry.”
“Thanks, Mike.”
“Could we at least get a coffee?”
“Sure, Andrew. We will need to order something anyway so as not to attract attention.”
“That’s pretty funny. Three guys who look like they just stepped out of central casting of the Untouchables are trying not to attract attention.”
“Glad you get a laugh out of this, Andrew. Let’s go.”
“Right behind you.”
“Yes, sir, welcome to Chick-Fil-A. How may I serve you?”
“Uh, three coffees and some information.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else.”
“Yes. Is the manager in?”
“I’m the manager. Name is Tony.”
“Okay, Tony. My name is Larry, and I’m with the Boston Police Department. The guy behind me is Agent Moore with the FBI. The guy behind him is Andrew Cummings with the Boston Police department.”
“I-is something wrong?”
“No, Tony. Everything is fine, but we need to talk to you privately about a case we are working on.”
“Case? I-I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t involve you. We have some suspects that we have reason to believe picked up food here yesterday, and we would like to talk to you and your employees. Perhaps they know something.”
“I-I’m not sure the company would like me talking to you without their knowledge.”
“Can you call someone to get permission?”
“Yes, I can. Do you have some identification?”
“We each have cards and badges.”
“Give me your cards, and I will make the call. Here are your coffees.”
“Thank you, Tony. Here are the cards.”
“The coffee is on the house. I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll be outside. We would appreciate it if you could come out there.”
“No problem. I’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks. Tony. For the coffee and your cooperation.”
“I’m not sure he heard you. He was quick to move.”
“I’ll bet you a shot beer and a buck he’ll come back and ask us to contact his boss.”
“I don’t doubt that. If so, I’ll just get a warrant.”
“I would start working that now, Mike. Tony looks to be all of twenty, and if I were his boss, I would want him talking to us either.”
“I’m on it. Let’s go outside.”
“Come on, Andrew. Let’s enjoy this day and a fine cup of Arabica bean coffee.”
