We are here at the bar for the last time in January 2023 – boom, January is almost gone – how did that happen? David and I are taking it easy. There is a dwindling amount of sports to watch, but the beer is cold and the chowder is hot. We will eat, drink and, well, you know how that goes. We will also wrestle with Linda G. Hill’s final Stream of Consciousness Saturday and Just Jot It January prompt for January 2023:
“Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 28th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘throw in the towel.’ Use the phrase ‘throw in the towel’ somewhere in your post. Enjoy!”
If we were having a beer, you’d be checking up on me.
“You skipped yesterday’s JusJoJan prompt, Dan.”
“I know. I was going to join in, but I had to take my car in for service.”
“That’s a ‘My dog ate my homework’ excuse, Dan.”
“It’s true. I had an eight-thirty appointment.”
“Yeah, but you’re not telling me the whole story.”
“What story?”
“You left out the part about leaving early enough to stop at Great River Park.”
“Well, I always stop at Great River Park when I’m in the area, David. I still enjoy being by the river.”
“Aaaannnnnnnnnd…”
“And I stopped at Maddie’s for breakfast. But none of that counts.”
“Of course, it does, Dan. It’s time you could have been working on the prompt.”
“In my head?”
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Dan. I know you had your iPad with you. You never go to the dealer without that thing.”
“OK, OK, technically, I could have responded to the prompt. To be honest, it bothered me.”
“The prompt was ‘Amenities?’ It was from Kim, wasn’t it? Don’t you follow her? What is it about amenities that bothers you?”
“It’s not the thought of amenities in particular. I’m sure I could have found amenities to write about.”
“I agree. You could have written about the amenities at the park. The amenities at Maddie’s, or the lack of amenities at the dealership.”
“Like working restrooms?”
“Huh? I don’t follow, Dan.”
“The restrooms at the dealership were out of order.”
“That would have been a great post. Why didn’t you write that? In fact, why don’t you write it now, Linda doesn’t mind if you’re late.”
“Because when I look at that word, all I see is ‘Men’ and ‘Ties’ and I hated having to wear a tie to work everyday just because I was a guy.”
“Do you really want to start down that road, Dan?”
“What road, Cheryl?”
“The ‘what men had to wear versus what women had to wear’ road.”
“Time to throw in the towel, Dan. You have a rack of ties—which, technically, you didn’t have to wear for years before you retired—she has an entire wardrobe.”
“You’re probably right, David. How about the ‘Cold Modelo’ road, Cheryl. Is that safe and toll-free?”
“It’s safe, as is the ‘John Howell’s Bourbon with all the amenities’ road, but I will be collecting a toll. Are you buying.”
“No, David’s buying.”
“David? Me? Why am I buying?”
“Because I bought two weeks in a row due to the week John Howell visited.”
“Busted again, Dan. John Howell bought the drinks and the pizza. Here’s your beer, your bourbon, seltzer, ice, and cherries.”
“She’s right Dan. I think it’s your turn to buy.”
“But I’m buying next week. So, how ‘bout we switch?”
“What’s so important about next week? Why can’t we keep our normal schedule?”
“Damyanti is coming to visit.”
“Damyanti Biswas? That’s so cool. Since we need to serve her from the top shelf, you can buy.”
“I thought you’d see it my way.”
“Is she going to talk about The Blue Bar? That’s her latest book, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. She’s going to talk about that and about her writing journey.”
“That sounds great, Dan. It will be good to see Damyanti again. You boys want some food?”
“I want a bowl of chowder, Cheryl, and since David is buying, give him anything he wants.”
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
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