Saturday morning coffee is not a simple item that one wants. It is a crucial part of living that one needs to survive. A steaming cup with a bit of half and half is all that is necessary to continue down life’s path. Reaching for the half and half, a strange feeling came over me. The carton was too warm, and one sniff told me that the use of this would curl my hair. Then it hit me. Not only was coffee without half and half a catastrophic event, but something was obviously wrong with the chiller.
Holding my nose and taking the first sip was interrupted by the familiar Westminster chime of the doorbell. The Hounds of Hell took up their ear-bursting refrain and were redirected by a fresh knucklebone tossed into the soundproof room. Slamming the door brought the sound of silence, which spread like a relief wave over the household. Checking the windows for cracks brought me to the security monitor. Sure enough, centered in the view was a big-eared elephant. “You look like Dumbo,” was my greeting through the intercom.
“Letter for Mr. John,” was the reply. To prevent shutting down the security system, the suggestion was made to drop the letter on the porch. The elephant was having none of that. A mouse in his hat held up a sign. We work for tips. Heaving a sigh, the security system shutdown process has begun. The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. The control panel simplifies the shutdown process of the security system. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.
“Here’s your tip.” Handing the elephant a bag of peanuts and the mouse a wedge of cheddar, they smiled and, in turn, gave me the letter. The elephant started flapping his ears. Before long, both were airborne and out of sight.
The letter is from Linda Hill and reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “curl.” Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2025/07/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-12-2025/
Curl by John W. Howell © 2025
“Well, that was a mess.”
“What do you mean?”
“Warm half and half?”
“I just wrote that because then I could use the word curl.”
“Which is the prompt?”
“Correct.”
“A cheap way to do it.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, come on. You made up the story about the half and half. Feels like cheating.”
“Okay, Einstein. Tell me what part of this post is not made up?”
“Um. I think you have me. Time to curl our fingers around a nice cold VooDoo Ranger.”
“Sure, change the subject, why don’t you? Uber?”
“Right over there.”
“Wow, a 1972 Chevy Camaro Z28. Now we are talking.”
“I thought you would like it. I’ll sit in the back.”
“That’s nice of you. So there is always one thing. What is it with this car?”
“Nothing really. All we have to do is pay for gas.”
“Oh, that’s doable.”
“I thought so. Of course, it burns Nitro-methane.”
“How much does that cost?”
“$45.00 a gallon.”
“I almost hate to ask the mileage on this beast.”
“We won’t be going top end, so I would say 5 miles to the gallon.”
“That’s 90 bucks just to get there.”
“But in style, my man, and very quickly.”
“I have a headache.”
“A couple of Voo Doo’s will fix that.”
Reminder
