Tag: thriller fiction

Thursday – A Little Personal – Fourth of July – With Twiggy, Lucy, and Bailey

~ John W. Howell ~ 76 Comments

“Hey, you guys. Come to see this.”

“What are we looking at, Little Stuff?”

“That Red, White, and Blue thing.”

“That’s our flag. Humans call it the Star Spangled Banner.”

“Can I hold it? Or better yet, get my mouth on it?”

“No Twiggy. This flag represents the land of the free. It is not for teething.”

“I do love how it smells though. So much like freedom.”

“I have one that is my size, Lucy. I know all about freedom cause I was born in freedom.”

“I know Little Stuff. Your mom was rescued from a breeder and here you are.”

Twiggy, Lucy, and Bailey

You guys want to take the flag.”

“No little stuff. This is your first Fourth of July so you keep it.”

“Good idea Bailey. In fact, you ought to run with your flag, Twiggy.”

Twiggy

“Okay, here I go.”

“Run, Twiggy, run.”

“You go, girl. Celebrate your freedom.”

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #181 by Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 42 Comments

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 #181

Pop Quiz by John W. Howell © 2018

“Now class. Since we all have been off for a few days, I think it is time for a pop quiz.”

“Aw teacher.”

“You have something to say, Johnnie?”

“Well, you know how hard it is to remember stuff over vacation. I think everything I learned fell out of me at the beach.”

“This is precisely why a pop quiz is in order. It would show what we need to learn again if we forgot.”

“But, teacher. What good does all this stuff do?”

“I’m surprised to hear you say that, Johnny. Just before vacation, you put your knowledge to excellent use.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Oh come on. You don’t recall standing at the top of the stairs encouraging the rest of the class to follow you.”

“I recall that, but don’t see how learning fit it.”

“Didn’t you learn to navigate the stairway?”

“Yes but—”

“And didn’t you learn to measure your pace so you could last?”

“I did but—”

“When you reached the top what did you do?”

“Thanked you for helping me get there.”

“Exactly. So about that pop quiz?”

“Okay teacher. I guess it won’t hurt.”

“Thank you, Johnny. Alright, class. For today’s pop quiz we are going to run to the top of the stairway. The last one up gets a failing grade.”

Top Ten Things Not to Do If You Have Fallen Behind on Social Media

~ John W. Howell ~ 57 Comments

 

 

The inspiration for this list came from Linda Leinen who is the author of the terrific blog Task at Hand. 

We were commenting on one of my Top Ten posts, and she wondered, “have you ever done a Top Ten Things To Do for people who are trying to get caught up online?” I indicated that I could do the reciprocal of that thought and here it is today. Thanks, Linda for the question.

Linda has had amazing experiences, and a visit to her blog will be rewarding.

Here is the list. (Anyone who might think this list is serious please be advised, it is a broad satire statement regarding our phobic belief that social media is indispensable)

10 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not make up an excuse like, “I have been so busy being successful with my new bestseller, I just haven’t had time for you little people.” If you do, at best you’ll lose a few followers. At worst, you might wake up to the sound of crickets on all your social media accounts. (Where did all those followers go Ermanno?)

9 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not panic and accept a friend request from just anyone. If you do, at best you may have a long list of people you don’t know. At worst, you might accept a friend request from Tiny the WWF champ just after his online romance fell apart. (You gotta hope the one hundred direct messages from Tiny is just a fluke for today, Ervin. Heaven knows you don’t want to unfriend him.Ever.)

8 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not think by posting more you will be back sooner. If you do, at best it will just make the problem more intense. At worst, now your followers will think you are having some kind of psychological break and will hit unfollow faster than a duck on a June bug. (Never thought more is less did you, Esbjorn?)

7 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not just delete all the comments to which you are unable to respond. If you do, at best some will not notice. At worst, a large group of followers will think you passed away and will start a go fund me campaign for a memorial. (That is if you are well-liked, Eskil. More than likely there will be a host of unfollows)

6 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not check yourself into a treatment center. If you do, at best you’ll be discharged immediately as a nothing wrong here person. At worst, you’ll inadvertently make up some mental problem which will take ten weeks of group therapy before you are set free. (That will teach you to run away from your problems, Este. Now what?)

5 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not run away to a cabin in the woods. If you do, at best you’ll aggravate the bears. At worst, while you are off the grid, a new social media form will be invented and when you return you will be hopelessly behind this one as well. (Ever hear of Moore’s Law, Eumaeus. You are now in the dark ages.)

4 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not attempt to compensate by eating ice cream. If you do, at best the time spent eating gets you further back. At worst, your ice cream bill and your extra pounds go up in equal proportions. (It doesn’t help to eat ice cream while you are on a stationary bike, Eurypylus.)

3 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not call the suicide hotline. If you do, at best they will hang up. At worst, you’ll get someone who has a difficult time understanding the severe nature of your angst and will start cracking jokes about your condition. (You have to admit, Eustis. Your problem is pretty minor compared to that of other folks.)

2 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not place a 911 call for help. If you do, at best the line will be busy. At worst, the officers dispatched to your house will hand you a citation for a false emergency. (Of course, Everard there could be a minor miracle where one of the officers is behind in social media as well. If so you are saved.)

1 If you have fallen behind on social media, do not think all those busy folks who stay current with you are going to simply ignore your faux pas. If you do, at best you will experience the sound of silence. At worst, you will have to curry forgiveness by inventing an excuse that is ironclad. (The only reason that is not debatable as to its harmful interference with your social media obligations is to tell everyone you are recovering from brain surgery. Of course, Evyn you can’t fall behind again.)

Views of the Neighborhood – Harvey Update

~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

I did say I would not be showing the damage of Hurricane Harvey since I felt it too personal. Today I am giving you a view of those places that will in all probability not be repaired and the owners have gone elsewhere.

Harvey

This home is vacant. Note the color of the sky. That is a haze produced by the blowing sands of the Sahara desert in Africa.

This is a shot of the house that I took before Harvey. I was highlighting the rope on the fence. You can get a good idea of the normal sky color too.

Here are some homes that are being moved to a different location.

I did not realize there are businesses that will buy your home or RV and take it away.

Here is a lot that no longer has a house.

Another house ready to be moved. I was touched by the flag left by the owners.

Here is another lot where the house has been relocated. The car is still there.

This will most likely be torn down.

This was a popular restaurant in Port Aransas. Not sure it will open again.

On a positive note, this convenience store and gas station was totally destroyed but is being rebuilt.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt “Cheers”

~ John W. Howell ~ 33 Comments

Stream of Consciousness

 

It is Stream of Conscious Saturday once again and this weeks prompt is “cheers.” Linda Hill says we can use is any way we want. (Don’t you just love the freedom of choice?)If you would like to join in go to Linda’s blog and read how. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-30-18/

Cheers by John W. Howell © 2018

“What are you looking for?”

“I’m trying to find some old episodes of Cheers.”

“I think you might have to go to YouTube for that.”

“I thought there was an On Demand channel with some of them.”

“I think you are out of luck there.”

“Yeah, I think you are right.”

“What do you want to do tonight?”

“How about going to the Bull and Finch.”

“The what?”

“The Bull and Finch. It’s the bar that was used as an outside shot for the show Cheers. I think you will get a kick out of it.”

“I thought the bar used was named Cheers.”

“Yeah, the owner changed it to Cheers, but it used to be called the Bull and Finch.”

“That sounds like fun. Why don’t we?”

“I’ll call the airline.”

“The airline? What for?”

“The Bull and Finch is in Boston.”

“And here we sit in LA. Great.”

“Ah don’t worry. five hours and we are there.”

“Will we make it by closing time?”

“Let’s see. They close at 10:00 PM Eastern time. It is now ten o’clock in the morning Eastern. A five-hour flight. An hour to the airport. An hour to the Bull and Finch when we land. We should be there by seven. Plenty of time. You in?”

“This sounds exciting. Of course, I’m in.”

“Okay. Hold on I’m calling. Hello American. I need two seats on a flight that gets us to Boston by six tonight. You do? That’s great. Yup Hold on. I need your credit card.”

“My credit card? I thought this was on you. it was your idea.”

“Yeah right? I was just trying to cheer you up so to speak.”

“How much are the tickets?”

“Twelve hundred.”

“Forget it.”

“Yeah, American. We won’t need those tickets after all. Sorry. Goodbye.”

“So what do you want to do tonight?”

“I already made my choice. You decide.”

“How about a glass of wine, some dinner, and a movie?”

“Sounds okay to me.”

“Cheers then.”

“With coffee?”

“It is only seven in the morning.”

“Cheers to you. We can do it all again tonight.”

“What?”

“The cheers thing with wine.”

“Oh that. Yes, we can. I thought you were talking about that ridiculous trip to Boston.”

No. That can wait until tomorrow.”

Friday John Ku – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell ~ 59 Comments

Dirty Beach

 

In about eight hours we will be able to bear witness to the holiday celebrations. Next week is the fourth of July. Since the fourth is on a Wednesday, we here on the coast have two kinds of vacationers. The first will arrive Friday evening and stay through Wednesday. The second will come on Tuesday and remain through the weekend. In each case, they will haul their fireworks, wood, Keystone beer, and extended families. What this means to us is sleepless nights, wood smoke-filled days, and plenty of trash. When the holiday is mid-week, the mayhem goes on for at least nine days. A Monday holiday only destroys four.

We never look forward to a relaxed holiday and are joined by 3000 of our neighbors who look forward to the day after labor day. I can hear you now. “If you don’t like it, John, then move.” I guess that is pretty good advice. I think I will try to make the best of it and stay in my room. Ha ha ha. Today’s John Ku describes me well.

Grumpy Old Man by John W. Howell © 2018

Sitting on the porch,

Choking on fire starter fumes. . .

Wishing it would rain.

 

Podcast Interview of Gwen and John by Annette Rochelle Aben

~ John W. Howell ~ 36 Comments

Annette Rochelle Aben was very gracious to have Gwen Plano, and I on her Tell Me a Story podcast on The Magic Happens Radio Network. We are discussing the collaboration that took place on The Contract between heaven and earth. Here is the link to the site.

http://www.themagichappensnow.com/tell-me-a-story-with-annette-rochelle-aben

Once clicked you need to scroll down until you reach this position.

Tell Me A Story

About Annette.

Annette

Annette’s Bio

I was born writing! At least this is how it seems. I had the good fortune to be published while a sophomore in high school so continuing the journey by publishing books has been a natural course of events.
It is my pleasure to announce that the book I have just released is # 1 Best Seller! And that is: A Haiku Perspective 2018 which is available in both Kindle and paperback formats! Enjoy celebrating a year of my life as told using the framework of Haiku style poetry.
Angel Messages Two – songs of the heart, is a book filled with beautiful photos and remarkable tanka poetry. People LOVE this book because of the comfort it provides. Many have gifted it to others and been thanked over and over again.
A Tanka Picture Book is exactly as the name suggests. I took photos of a variety of everyday objects, works of art and nature, then wrote a tanka poem for each. I suggest this book for all the right reasons. It will entertain, provoke thought, stimulate conversation and be a great addition to your library!
I have chosen to release my annual haiku collection in time to celebrate National Poetry Month, in April. A Haiku Perspective 2017 is filled with smiles, laughter, wisdom and creativity, all cleverly disguised as haiku poetry. Enjoy!
My book, GO YOU some encouragement when you need it, is a pep-talk in a book! Each page gives you a quick way to start your day, help you through a moment or even provide someone else words that can inspire them to a better life. We can all use a cheerleader, when one isn’t available, this book fits the bill!!
Most of the books I have published here are centered in poetry, Haiku poetry to be exact. Much of the feedback I receive about the haiku poetry is that people can really understand the messages and they appreciate that the poems are short and sweet!
Angel Messages – a wing and a prayer is my first book about Angels. Filled with photos, prayers, poems and prose of and about Angels, this book will delight any Angel lover in your life. Check out the reviews, people are drawn to the inherent inspirational nature of this book and as result is fast becoming their favorite. You can have it right away using the Kindle option or order a paperback copy (or two) and carry it with you wherever you go.
I mentioned that many of my books are filled with my poetry and several of them combine that with my love of taking pictures. Books that feature poetry and photos include Perspective, it’s all about replacing one thought with another, PhoKu, visual perspective haiku and BooKu, Halloween haiku. Perspective has a wide variety of pages that can feature prose, poetry and nature photographs, while PhoKu is filled with the photographs I have taken in nature with Haiku poetry added to them, hence the title: PhoKu. BooKu is a “behind the scenes look at how Halloween decorations feel about their jobs. All three of these books are available in print and Kindle formats.
A Haiku Perspective 2015, and A Haiku Perspective 2016 are haiku poetry books. When I first experimented with the haiku writing format, I have no idea I would enjoy it as much as I do. These days, I am writing haiku daily and finding myself thinking in 17 syllables. You can find these books in both print and Kindle formats
There are several other books planned for release this year alone, So please, check back frequently to see what I have published and share what YOU are doing! Cheers!!

Please visit Annette on Amazon and at The Magic Happens

Thank you so much, Annette.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #180 with Keith Channing

~ John W. Howell ~ 50 Comments

In Keith’s words, “Using this photo 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 #180

“Hey, Ralphie. Take a look.”
“What is it?”
“It’s one of them boats that goes out in the sound looking for whales.”
“Seems kind of dumb to me.”
“Yeah me too. I can’t see spending all kinds of time on a tub like that when all you have to do is look out toward the horizon and see all the whales you want.”
“Well, maybe those folks want to see a whale up close.”
“I’m suposen’ that could be true alright.”
“For the life of me, I can’t see what is so exciting.”
“I’m with you. You seen one whale you’ve seen them all.”
“Especially those big ole grey things.”
“Can you believe how those rubes ooh and ah when those hulks break the surface in one of those amateur grabs for attention.”
“I guess they think that is a hard thing to do.”
“How about when some dope asks the captain if they can pet a whale?”
“I know right? You would think the whale was a pet dog or something.”
“Well them folks have nothing to fear. Most of those big guys eat Brill and not humans.”
“Yeah. I would like to see some tourist try to pet a shark.”
“They might come away missing a limb for sure.”
“You ever had human?”
“God no. I smelled one and was convinced to stay with my fish diet. Don’t think I could handle that heavy protean. How about you?”
“I was running with a pretty bad crowd and happened on a swimmer. I was tempted but glad I took off.”
“See we are the best.”
“I still don’t see why they call us killer whales though.”
“Yeah. Go figure. Want to follow that boat and put on a show?”
“Might be fun. A couple of jumps ought to do it. Let’s go.”

Top Ten Things Not to Do While Making a Top Ten Things Not to Do List

~ John W. Howell ~ 47 Comments

 

Top Ten things not to do

 

10 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not search the internet for top ten ideas. If you do, at best your creativity will be stilted. At worst you’ll start duplicating others work without knowing it. (Looks like that plagiarism charge is going to stick, Elder. There goes the old writing career.)

9 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not ask Tiny the WWF champ to preview the ridiculous stuff you wrote about him. If you do, at best Tiny left his reading glasses at home. At worst, Tiny just left his self-esteem support group and is now taking everything you wrote literally. (I wouldn’t worry about getting your shredded paper back, Elia. I think I would begin to make book for the door.)

8 If you are making a top the things not to do list, do not check with a loved one to see if it is funny. If you do, at best you’ll be disappointed with the response. At worst, you’ll get a reminder about how beautiful it would be if you had a real job. (You can’t expect everyone to like your stuff, Ellery. Keep looking maybe you’ll find one person who does.)

7 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not stare at people who will eventually end up being on the list. If you do, at best one may ask you, “Are you looking at me?” At worst, you might be taken for a stalker and have to explain yourself. (As you can see the police have no interest in your list making career, Elson.  They just want you to come quietly.)

6 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not make the subject so obscure no one will get it. If you do, at best your readership may drop. At worst, you will be explaining your meaning for the next ten years. (So why do you suppose nobody got the Top Ten things not to do in a Barnyard, Emery? I thought it was fascinating.)

5 If you are making a Top ten things not to do list, do not make a list so familiar that everyone will think you did these things. If you do, at best you’ll look like a fool. At worst, the FBI opens a file about you, and you get this strange feeling you are being followed. (Don’t look now, Emilin but there is a black SUV at the end of your block.)

4 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not think the subjects will come to you if you drink more. If you do, at best you can run one you published before. At worst, you will actually hit publish without waiting until the morning after to proofread the work. ( You know those seven words George Carlin said can’t be used on the radio? Well, Emrys you used each one in your post. They aren’t allowed there either.)

3 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not think you have to be practical. If you do, at best your work will be as dry as unbuttered rye toast. At worst, you’ll get mail from folks more practical than you telling you how your list is impractical. ( just shows to go ya, Endymion, you can’t please all the people all the time. Gotta stick with fiction.)

2 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not stop until you have ten things. If you do, at best you’ll look like you had a bad night. At worst, folks will be looking for the tenth item and will assume you are holding out on them. (Okay so it is not such a big deal, Enrico but some of your regulars are talking boycott. Who advertises ten and then publishes only nine? Crazy people that’s who.)

1 If you are making a top ten things not to do list, do not think you will be discovered some day. If you do, at best you’ll still work in the dark. At worst, you will create a false expectation that your lists are the key to fame. ( Looks like another day has passed without that million seller, Ericson. Looks like you need to make another list.)