Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

 

“Say what you want. I’m waiting right here for Friday.”

It is Wednesday Story Day time again and last week Larry and Andrew made a decision to see if they can get Louis to open up and perhaps confess to offing Sandusky. They also reminded themselves (or maybe Gloria stepped in) to look for other motives and not just focus on the possibility of Louis getting greedy. So let’s get back to the police station and go with Larry into the interrogation room.

“So, Louis. How are you feeling today?”

“Other than being held here against my will, I feel great.”

“You can leave anytime, Louis. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks. That crankcase oil you cops call coffee is not to my taste.”

“Water then.”

“No, sir. I don’t want anything from you.”

“You sound a little resentful, Louis.”

“I think the word is pissed, detective.”

“Why so, Louis?”

“You haul me down to this station and make like I have something to hide. I told you everything I know about Sandusky and it is like you don’t believe me.”

“Why is that important?”

“You have to be kidding me. You are the police. You can arrest me anytime for anything.”

“That’s not true Louis. We need to have probable cause to arrest you.”

“And?”

“We have nothing on you except you invented a procedure that killed a man. Might be a stretch but I think I could make a case for involuntary manslaughter.”

“So, charge me then.”

“I really don’t want to take taxpayer time and money chasing a charge that some fancy lawyer could convince a judge to give you community service as a sentence. I would rather get some information from you to find the real killer. You can afford a fancy lawyer, right?”

“I don’t have any money for a lawyer. What kind of information are you looking for anyway?”

“I want to know who would want Sandusky dead?”

“Oh, is that all. You have a Boston phone directory?”

“Um yeah.”

“Open any page and there are probably three or four on that page who would want Sandusky dead.”

“You know I’m not one who likes games much.”

“I’m just trying to say there are a whole lot of people who are better off as a result of Sandusky’s death.”

“You kill him?”

“Hell no.”

“Know who did?”

“I have a couple of suspicions, yes.”

“Talk to me.”

“What do I get out of fingering some possibilities?”

“I’ll forget about the manslaughter charge if I can bring a murder one against someone else.”

“In writing?”

“Hell no.”

“I guess I’ll have to trust you then.”

“I guess so.”

“I’ll have that coffee now.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #198 by Keith Channing

Since Keith has NaNoWriMo and other commitments, there will be no Kreative Kues until Monday 3 December. This week’s challenge will, therefore, remain open until the end of November.

In Keith’s words. “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 on Sunday, 2 December (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, with links to your own blog or web site, on 3 December.”

The photo.

Kreative Kue #198

Das Boot by John W. Howell © 2018

“Kapitan. You should take a look at this.”

“Move aside Fritz and let me see. Mein Gott, what is that thing?”

“It looks like it might be an enemy ship.”

“Ja, but look at the color.”

“Maybe they like to decorate their ships for Halloween.”

“Don’t be a dummkopf. It would take months to paint that thing.”

“Why do you think they use such a color?”

“I can’t imagine. Maybe some sort of way to hide it.”

“It sure stands out against that jetty.”

“Prepare the bow torpedoes.”

“You aren’t going to sink her are you Kapitan?”

“That is what we are here for Fritz. What is the matter with you?”

“For one thing I don’t see any guns on her.”

“So?”

“Might be a non-combatant.”

“Yes, this is true.”

“And for another, our torpedoes haven’t been launched in a long time.”

“So what? We have gone for a long time before.”

“Finally, my arthritis is acting up again, and I don’t think I can punch the launch button.”

“Now that is a problem because I can’t straighten up enough to reach it.”

“Kapitan?”

“Yes, Fritz.”

“We have not had a message from the vatherland in how long?”

“Since September of 1945 Fritz.”

“And this year is 2018.”

“Ja.”

“Maybe we ought to retire Kapitan. War is a young man’s game.”

 

Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Founding of Harvard College in 1636

 

harvard

This post continues the Top Ten Things Not to Do with history as a backdrop. Harvard College, the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, is founded in Cambridge, Mass on this day in 1636.

The Top Ten Things Not to Do at the Founding of Harvard College in 1636.

10 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not suggest a celebration with a kegger party. If you do, at best the kegger store will be closed. At worst, the administration will create a rule against keggers. (Congratulations, Fyodor. You are the first student at the college to be put on probation.)

9 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not pledge a fraternity where Tiny the WWF champ is a member. If you do, at best Tiny will flunk out before you get there. At worst, Tiny who was just criticized by the dean for necessary hazing had ordered you to bend over. (Let’s hope the dean lecture has not made Tiny even angrier, Frederick. Is that paddle as big as it looks?)

8 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not organize a demonstration protesting the dorm food. If you do, at best no one will join you. At worst, the college put you in charge of food procurement. (Looks like your fellow students are getting tired of squirrel stew, Falcon. I think I would try to raise a few vegetables if I were you.)

7 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not cut class on the first warm day. If you do, at best you can get notes from the nerd, At worst, your professor will pull a pop quiz that is 20% of the term grade. (No amount of begging is going to help, Fallon. I would go to the infirmary and see if you can con someone into an excuse.)

6 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not try to organize a football team. If you do, at best no one will know what you are talking about. At worst, you’ll find some players who are ready to play but can’t see a ball. (Looks like you will have to make one, Fraser. Try to get it a little rounder okay. That thing looks like a fat sausage.)

5 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not go outside wearing that Yale sweatshirt. If you do, at best no one will notice since Yale was founded in 1701. At worst, someone will take offense thinking Yale is an acronym for Young American Liquor Enterprise. (You have to understand the Puritan Ethic is still pretty strong, Fiorello. The time in the stocks will go fast. Think positive.)

4 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not fail to return your library book on time. If you do, at best the fine is only 1p a week. At worst, a press-gang will come looking for you. (It would have been easier to return the book, Ferril. Now you won’t get back to the College until your sea duty is over. Five years will go pretty quickly.)

3 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not try to organize the first co-ed dance. If you do, at best your fellow students will just laugh. At worst the administration will pass a rule prohibiting co-ed dancing. (Good luck finding a co-ed, Fabrice. The first sex-blind admissions were not until 1977. Oh, and you need to serve time on the dunking chair due to the rule violation. I hope those hold your breath contests come in handy.)

2  If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not park your horse in the faculty parking lot. If you do, at best no one will need the space. At worst, professor Curmudgeon will alert campus security to shoot you on sight. (Never thought taking a tenured professor’s parking place was that big of a deal, huh Faddei. Those musket balls look like they would hurt.)

1 If you are at the founding of Harvard, do not buy your books ahead of time at the used bookstore. If you do, at best you might save money. At worst, the professor will change the course text with no notice. (Well, looks like your used books will make an excellent fire starter, Fadil. Better luck next term)

Views of the Neighborhood – Harvest Moon Regatta

This weekend was the annual Harvest Moon Regatta. This is a sailing race from Galveston to Port Aransas. The distance covered is about 150 miles. The race used to begin on Friday and end on Saturday, but this year it began on Thursday. Some captains asked if they could use their motors. Here is the answer. “No.  This is a sailboat race.  In the past, the race started on Friday, and some motoring was allowed in case the winds were light, and people were not able to finish in time to make it to the awards ceremony.  The race now starts on Thursday; motoring is not allowed, except for emergency purposes.  (Note: While you may disagree, the Race Committee does not consider getting to Port Aransas in time to party Friday night, to be an emergency!)

I hope you enjoy the photos.

harvest moon regatta

Here is a shot of the sponsor’s sign

Harvest Moon Regatta

T-shirt concession.

Check-in desk.

A vendor tent with equipment like generators and radar units.

This one is for Dan Antion. Big ole ship.

This is not a participant but looked good navigating the channel.

Like the fact this boat has a Sugarland home. (there is no salt water near Sugarland.)

A shot of some of the boats that took part.

Another boat from a landlocked city.

I liked this shot for the flag.

This Marilyn Monroe flag caught my eye.

A boat from Annapolis Maryland.

A group of catamarans

The Producer says this is her kind of boat.

This crew was a little puzzled since there were a few lines out of place.

Lots of flags

These were displayed at a booth selling boat photos of participants.

This is the tent where the victory party took place Saturday night. Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Bone”

Stream of Consciousness

 

It is Stream of Consciousness Saturday again and this weeks prompt is “bone.” Linda Hill says we can use it any way we want. I just love the smell of freedom in the morning. If you would like to participate and lose yourself forever just visit Linda’s blog and she has the easy info on how there. Here is the link https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-27-18/

Bone by John W. Howell © 2018

“What is that thing?”

“I found it in the park.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t find it in the backyard. What is it?”

“I think it is an animal bone.”

“It’s the size of a baseball bat. What kind of animal would have a bone that big?”

“If I were to hazard a guess I would say a tridactyl.”

“You mean like T-Rex.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh man. Don’t be telling me we have a T-Rex in the neighborhood.”

“You know they are extinct, right?”

“So they say, but I wouldn’t take any chances.”

“Oh come on. How silly can you be? Extinct means no longer on the planet.”

“I hear you. It’s just that I have been hearing some strange noises when I’ve been out at night.”

“What kind of noises?”

“Heavy footsteps in the grass.”

“Well, maybe it is some other kind of animal or your imagination.”

“I’m telling you these were big heavy footsteps.”

“You want to go out and take a look to see if there are any tracks?”

“Its dark now.”

“We have fire remember. We can make a torch.”

“I keep forgetting the fire thingy. How did you do that?”

“Rubbed a couple of sticks together. Come on. Let’s make a torch, and I’ll show you that it could not be a T-Rex out there.”

 

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

“So Friday. You’re here finally. What took you so long?”

 

Another Friday. Hopefully, your week went well, and you were not too disturbed with the correction in the stock market. I also hope you were not too disappointed with not winning the Mega Millions Lottery. (Well except for that one ticket sold in North Carolina.) I guess we are all happy no one won the Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, and we can still dream of winning $700 million plus. The next drawing is Saturday so good luck to us all.

This week has been a bit of a challenge, and I normally wouldn’t share these details, but you have come to know Bailey through this blog. She has not been feeling well, so we are in the process of trying to find out the cause of her symptoms. We have had blood testing and an ultrasound and have narrowed the possibilities. It will in all probability require a cat-scan to rule out the last potential if other treatments do not work.  In the meantime, we are eliminating the other variables as we wait for a cat-scan appointment.

I hope you have a great weekend.

 

Care by John W. Howell © 2108

It is just a dog,

Some would say about Bailey . . .

Family I reply.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Lucy, Bailey, and Twiggy Try to Play

The rainy weather is still with us and it presents a challenge to the canines.

Twiggy, Lucy, Bailey

“I’m going to bite off your ear.”

“Oh, no please spare me.”

“That was a good ear bite move, Little One. But now you are going to die.”

“Oh, I’m so afraid, Lucy you big ole cow.”

“Okay, you two. Looks like the smack talk is getting out of hand. Time to take it outside.”

“But it is raining.”

“Not now so move it.”

“Man take a look at that pelican in the pond.”

“Hold on. I’ll be right there.”

“I’ve never seen one in there before.”

“Do you think he is okay, Lucy?”

“Yes, I do. What do you think, Bailey?”

“It just flew off, so I would say it is fine.”

“Lucy the pelican flew over that house across the street.”

“I’m wondering what game we can play?”

“I thought I left the ball over there.”

“No, Twiggy. We passed the ball coming out here.”

“Yeah, Twiggy. It is right in the middle of the yard.”

“I don’t know Bailey. She still has something on her mind.”

“I still can’t get over the pelican in the pond.”

“Small stuff. You need to move on.”

“Okay, can I name the game?”

“Anything to get you off the pelican.”

“No fair peeking. This game is called night ball. You have to find it in the dark.”

“Twiggy. You come up with the weirdest games.”

“Fun though, Right?”

Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

Is it Friday yet? No? Come back when it is, please.

 

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we discovered through Larry’s astute (?) questioning that Louis was hired by Sandusky to experiment in finding a way to remove organs from the body without a visible entry. The reason Sandusky gave for the research was to facilitate organ transplant. Of course, getting an organ back into the patient was an open question. Larry invited Louis to go downtown for further questioning. Louis agreed, and they all left for police headquarters. I see that Andrew and Larry are in Larry’s office. Let’s pop over there and find out what they are talking about.

 

“So you think the story about the reason for the research by Sandusky was a ruse, Andrew?”

“A ruse. I mean how stupid would it be to explode organs and then cut someone open and put in a new one. My god the mess in there alone would be impossible to clean adequately.”

“What does that mean?”

“Think of a chicken exploding in the microwave. Do you ever get the little pieces cleaned up?”

“Well, I would stay with it until I did.”

“Showing a certain anal retentiveness, I would say. In a body, the old tissue would be in every recess. After the new organ is in the old residual pieces of tissue would rot, and no doubt cause an infection.”

“A little different from a microwave.”

“Right. I used that example so you would get the degree of difficulty.”

“I understand. So why did Sandusky use a ruse to get the experiments done.”

“I can only imagine he didn’t want old Louis calling the cops.”

“You don’t think Louis couldn’t figure out the downside of the procedure.”

“I’m guessing he did. Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money.”

“To keep one’s mouth shut.”

“Yes, for sure. You also have to wonder how Sandusky became one of the victims.”

“What do you think happened.”

“I could paint a scenario where Louis got a little greedy and asked Sandusky for more money. He and Sandusky got into a spat which ended with Sandusky in the vibration pool hooked up to a negative lead.”

“So it is good we have Louis here for questioning.”

“Don’t know the best way to make him break down and confess.”

“I’m the detective leave it to me. We also need to think of possibilities as well.”

“Like getting some coffee?”

“Good suggestion but other motives for Sandusky to bite the terminal so to speak.”

“I knew that. Coffee first. Then motives.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #197 by Keith Channing

In Keith’s words. “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, with links to your own blog or web site, next Monday.”

The photo.

Kreative Kue #197

“What’s that old saying?”
“Okay, you got me. What old saying?”
“Something about the red sky.”
“Oh, that one. Red sky at night sailor’s delight. Red sky in the morning sailor take warning.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Have you seen the sky tonight?”
“No, I haven’t been out of this radio shack for five hours.”
“You gotta go out and take a look. I’ll watch the radio for you.”
“What am I going to see?”
“You will not believe the sunset. It is almost like the sun is going to drop into the ocean.”
“I would love to see that. All you have to do is put on these earphones and listen for our call sign which is  ‘Fairwind.”‘
“What happens if I hear it.”
“Just record the message in this log and answer them. Start your answer with ‘Fairwind.”‘
“Sounds easy enough. After all, you won’t be gone but a few minutes.”
“That is true.”
“Okay, I got this. You go look.”
“Thanks. Be right back.”
*
“Boy, that was quick. You back already?”
“Are you kidding me? It must be a hundred degrees out there. That sun is coming very close. I couldn’t stay long.”
“Well, there was one message.”
“You have got to be kidding me. I was only gone a couple of minutes. What was the message?”
“Here it is. It is from the atmospheric agency. It is pretty short.”
“Read it to me.”
“Fairwind. Farewell.”

Top Ten Things Not to Do If You Were with Edison in 1879

Thomas Edison

This is a continuation of the Top Ten on a historical backdrop. On October 21st after 14 months of testing, Thomas Edison first demonstrates his electric lamp, hoping to one day compete with the gaslight.

Top Ten Things Not to do if You were with Edison in 1879

10 If you were with Edison in 1879, do not say, “Watson come here I need you.” If you do, at best no one will answer. At worst, you will be escorted from the room and your 100 shares of Edison stock revoked. (You somehow got Alexander Graham Bell mixed up with Edison, Frici.)

9 If you were with Edison in 1879, do not elbow Tiny the WWF champ out of the way for a better view. If you do, at best Tiny will ignore you. At worst, Tiny, who has an aversion to being touched will use his hips to body check you out the door. (You didn’t think a big guy could move that fast huh, Friduwulf? Too bad the door was closed when you went through it.)

8 If you were with Edison in 1879, do not touch anything before the demonstration. If you do, at best you’ll avoid the live wire. At worst, you will inadvertently disconnect the main lead. (The test was a failure, Frisco. Thanks to you we are all living with gas lamps today.)

7 If you were with Edison in 1879, do not tell him how to improve his speech. If you do, at best he will do the speech the way he wrote it. At worst he will take your suggestions. (Thanks to you, Fynbar, the electric light bulb was named by Edison as “the better mousetrap of gas lamps.”)

6 If you were with Edison in 1879, do not mention to bystanders that the British had toyed with incandescent bulbs since the 1830’s. If you do, at best Edison won’t hear you. At worst, you’ll be talking with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. (Well now you’ve done it, Fernando. The headline reads “Edison steals British Idea.” Good luck with your future stock options.)

5 If you are with Edison in 1879, do not make jokes about the Edison Screw. If you do, at best you better hope he doesn’t hear you. At worst, the joke carries a big laugh, and now you are unemployed. (You had no way of knowing, Francisco, that the Edison Screw is the standard set up for light bulbs and sockets. The joke was pretty funny though.)

4 If you are with Edison in 1879, do not trip and let the only bulb fall to the floor. (If you do, at best the carpet will prevent a disaster. At worst, the lab floor is made of concrete. (Well, there goes the demonstration, Franklin. Future generations of those who do not have General Electric to work for salute you.)

3 If you are with Edison in 1879, do not suggest naming the company. If you do, at best Edison will choose his own name. At worst, he will call the company after a significant advantage of the bulb. (Somehow the Less Gas Light Company doesn’t sound too good when you say it out loud, Frankie. Let’s hope he comes to his senses.)

2 If you are with Edison in 1879, do not try to talk him out of his idea about motion pictures. If you do, at best he will avoid you on the subject. At worst, you will be successful, and he will abandon the idea. (So where are you going with that tub of buttered popcorn, Freddy?)

1 If you are with Edison in 1879, do not suggest that he read from the newspaper on the first recorded conversation. If you do, at best he will choose his own literature. At worst. He will listen to you and select the classifieds. (So now the first recorded voice puts everyone to sleep, Fletcher. Mary Had a Little Lamb is so much better.)