The coffee has been delayed. Checking my watch for the fourth time does not seem to help. Finally, within the bowels of the pesky machine, I hear the faint rumbles that assure me that soon the liquid soothing syrup will be streaming out of the spouts. Sure enough, here it comes.

After a deep sip, the mind thaws, and memory turns to the clock. The setting is simple, February 3, 1924. The place is Washington, DC. The duration is two hours. Checking my clothes before pulling the plunger ensures the dress is appropriate for February in Washington. No use freezing on my watch is the thought.

The plunger pull causes us to end up at 2340 S Street NW in Washington. There are uniformed police everywhere. Listening carefully to the officers, the cause of the commotion is Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the US from 1913 to 1921, has died. We are in front of his home, where he passed at 11:15 this morning.

President Wilson did have a stroke in 1919 that left him all but incapacitated. He and his second wife Edith and his doctor kept the public from knowing the absolute truth. It is said that Edith was, in fact, acting in Wilson’s absence. He retired from the Presidency in 1921.

The alarm sound precedes a trip to the couch. My phone tells me I have a text. It is from Linda Hill (who else?) It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “watch.” Use it as a noun or a verb; use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

If you want to see what other bloggers do with this prompt, visit Linda’s post at this link: https://lindaghill.com/2024/02/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-3-2024/

Watch by John W. Howell © 2023

“Wow, that Wilson thing was serious.”

“Yes, it was. There was no succession plan enacted.”

“if that were on my watch, I would have told someone.”

“The cabinet knew but went along with the President’s wishes.”

“Well, I’m glad nothing Earth-shattering took place.”

“The only thing that seemed to be affected was the ratification of the US membership in the League of Nations never happened.”

“Why was that?”

“Wilson, who favored joining, was too ill to negotiate his position, and those opposed in Congress had their way, so the US never joined. Maybe it didn’t matter after all since the League disbanded in 1946. So you may be right. Nothing Earth-shattering.”

“This political talk has made me thirsty.”

“You get thirsty when we aren’t even talking.”

“There’s Uber.”

“I don’t see it. Just that strange-looking truck.”

“That’s it. A vintage 1950s home delivery truck. Isn’t it sweet?”

“I guess you could call it sweet. I would love to know where you find these things.”

“Discount Uber is the place. I watch for the best specials.”

“Okay, I’m game. Let’s go.”

“One other thing.”

“Yes.”

“He has block ice to keep the milk cold.”

“And?”

“Hello. What else does very well when cold?”

“VooDoo Ranger?”

“Bingo.”

“You are the best.”

A big gulp of coffee reaches the brain in less time than is reasonable to hope. With the cobwebs gone, it is time to fire up the clock. The choice is to continue to make 1923 mistakes or finally move into 1924. Someone needs to make the call, and it has to be me.

Okay, the clock is set for January 27, 1924. The location is Moscow and the time allowed is two hours. When the plunger is pulled, we find ourselves in Moscow. Dressed like it is Texas with flip-flops and shorts, the temperature turns my knees blue. It is currently -35 degrees F (-37 C), and someone should have reminded me that we need to dress for the destination and not the origin. Lesson learned for next time.

We are in Red Square, and thousands of people gathered for the state funeral for Vladimir Lenin, the co-founder of the Soviet Union. Lenin’s body is delivered to Red Square, accompanied by martial music. The crowds listen to speeches from Mikhail Kalinin, Grigory Zinoviev, and Joseph Stalin, but notably not Leon Trotsky, who had been convalescing in the Caucasus. Later, it is learned that Stalin had given Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral on purpose.

Lenin’s body is embalmed for long-term viewing and placed in a mausoleum on Red Square. He died on January 21, 1924, at 18:50, in Gorki, at age 53, after falling into a coma. The official cause of death was recorded as an incurable disease of the blood vessels.

As the funeral is completed, the alarm goes off, and back on the sofa is my destination. My test tone tells me Linda Hill has sent this week’s prompt. Here it is. Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 27th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “make the call.” Use it as an idiom, or use it literally. Have fun!

To see what other bloggers have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s blog. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/26/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2024-daily-prompt-jan-27th/

Make the Call by John W. Howell © 2023.

“Wow. Lenin died 100 years ago.”

“Well, he was buried 100 years ago.”

“To be technical. Yes. Is he still there?”

“There was talk about taking him out of the mausoleum in 2018, but it didn’t happen. Yes, he is still there.”

“Well, that’s good. I guess someone had to make the call on that.”

“Yeah, that was Putin. He put his foot down.”

“I guess that would be the final foot.”

“I think it would. You ready for the pub?”

“Sure am. Uber’s already here. It’s in the parking garage.”

“Okay, let’s walk over.”

“Here we are.”

“You’re kidding?”

“It was this or a horse wagon. I had to make the call.”

“I guess it is better than a horse wagon. You know we could pay full price and get something comfortable.”

“What fun is that?”

“We doing lights and siren?”

“Is there any other way?”

“VooDoo Ranger, here we come.”

A fresh cup of coffee from Her Majesty The Coffee Queen and the day can begin. It is refreshing to have a close-up and personal relationship with such royalty. After a couple of sips, thoughts turn to the clock. Opening the cabinet door and reaching for the clock means we will be taking a trip. Time to close up the doors and get to it. The clock is set to January 13, 1923. The location is Washington, D.C., and the time is two hours.

No sooner than the plunger is pulled, and we are there. The first stop is Warren Harding’s cabinet meeting, which has been happening for some time. The subject under discussion is whether or not the Post Master of the Grand Canyon is allowed to keep his dog. It seems there is a law against doing so, but the Post Master has appealed to keep him there. The decision reached is to let the President decide. With that, the cabinet meeting is adjourned.

Moving to the House of Representatives, we arrive just in time to hear Representative Upshaw of Georgia, who is attempting to make Washington dry, present evidence to Acting Prohibition Commissioner Jones in which he charged that there was an “official House bootlegger” who had a monopoly in plying his trade in the House office building. Just as the bootlegger is to be named, the alarm goes off, and the living room couch is the landing zone. It looks like 100 years haven’t changed a thing in Washington. My text tone says Linda Hill has sent me one. Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 13th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “close up/close-up.” Use the verbal phrase “close up” and/or the noun/adjective “close-up” somewhere in your post, or write a post in the spirit of the phrase. Have fun!

If you want to see how others handle this prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link: https://lindaghill.com/2024/01/12/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2024-daily-prompt-jan-13th/

Close Up/Close-up by John W. Howell © 2023

“Well, you got the prompt in.”

“You didn’t like the story?”

“Is it true?”

“All of it. Talk about a waste of time.”

“Sounds like not much happening around Washington ninety-nine years ago.”

“Meanwhile, Hitler is parading around showing off his 5000 brownshirts in protest of the French occupying the Ruir in Germany.”

“Okay, but who knew? Why did you go to 1923? You usually do one hundred years.”

“I made a mistake. It was like filling out a check in the new year and putting last year on it.”

“Yeah, I’ve done that. I hope you didn’t make any more mistakes while you were there.”

“Nope. Kept my hands in my pocket.”

“Good for you. You should get a reward.”

“Paid for by me?”

“Of course.”

“You call Uber?”

“Yup, and he is here.”

“Where?”

Over there.”

“That’s the Halloween bus from Views of the Neighborhood.”

“I know. I loaned it to the Uber driver for a price break.”

“Well, at least it has cold VooDoo Ranger on board.”

“A close-up look will point out a killer sound system.”

“Time to close up the dialogue and get on board.”

“Pubster, here we come.”