It’s Saturday and, in case you haven’t been paying attention, it’s February. Yep, the long winter slog that is January has come and gone and now we have the short sprint into March. Well, one day longer this year. JusJoJan is behind us, so that leaves David and me to deal with Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday Prompt:
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!
Linda G. Hill
If we were having a beer, Cheryl would be joining us on the customer side of the bar.
“Hi Cheryl. What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t…”
“Shouldn’t I be getting you a John Howell’s Bourbon Special?”
“Well, um, allow me to start over. Cheryl, what a pleasure it is to see you on this side of the bar. Are you joining Dan and me for a cocktail?”
“Much better, David. I am. Dan invited me.”
“I see. I think. Is this about your book?”
“No, although it’s still for sale, hint hint.”
“I’ll get right on that. Here’s Dan. Maybe he can explain.”
“Hi Cheryl, thanks for coming in early. Hi David.”
“Early? Dan, could someone please explain what’s going on? And what to you mean early? What time is it, anyway?”
“It’s not what time, David. It’s what watch?”
“Skippy? I should have known.”
“Yes, of all the gin joints in all the world, you had to walk into mine.”
“What’s going on here, and why don’t I have a glass of bourbon yet?”
“I’m sorry, David. This is my fault. Skippy, please make Cheryl an Old Fashioned and set David up with his cluster of glassware. I’ll have…”
“A Modelo. You’re the easiest customer ever, Dan.”
“Okay. Now that the order is in, can I get that explanation?”
“I switched with Skippy. He’s working the day shift and I’m working tonight. Dan suggested I come early and join you guys for a drink.”
“That explains that. What’s up with Skippy? I’ mean he’s acting weirder than usual, and that’s going some.”
“The important thing is he is acting.”
“What do you mean, Dan?”
“Here’s your beer, Dan. Cheryl, I did my best to make this the way you like it. David, here’s your bourbon, your snifter of seltzer and a glass of ice.”
“Thanks Skippy. I’m still not sure what’s going on.”
“I’m acting in a play tonight. The producer at our little stage group gave me a part.”
“What play?”
“Everybody Comes to Rick’s.”
“The Casablanca Rick’s?”
“Yes. ‘Everybody Comes to Rick’s’ is the play the screenplay for Casablanca was adapted from. Warner Brother’s finally let it be preformed as a play about twenty years ago.”
“Who do you play? Let me guess, you play Ugarte.”
“The guy who gets shot early on? No, my part is actually a little bigger. I play the bartender.”
“Sascha?”
“Yes! And in the play, I have a few more lines than the bartender in the movie.”
“Do you give Rick a kiss after he lets the Bulgarian guy win at roulette?”
“I do!”
“Well, feel free to practice your bar-tending, but I’ll take your word for the fact that you can do that.”
“It’s a significant scene. Sascha is Russian. The idea was that an American would never do that.”
“Well, I just remember the scene. Rick helping that poor couple. It’s my favorite scene in the movie.”
“I always thought you were a romantic at heart, David.”
“I don’t know about that, Cheryl, but it’s unexpected from Rick. Especially after telling the woman to ‘Go back to Bulgaria.’ What’s your favorite scene?”
“The one Skippy quoted – ‘Of all the gin joints in all the world…’ He’s so hopeless.”
“I like Sam in that scene, ‘Boss ain’t you goin’ to bed?… Ain’t you planning on goin’ to bed in the near future?… You ever goin’ to bed?”
“Sounds like that’s your favorite scene, too, Dan.”
“No. Not my favorite, but it’s a good scene.”
“What’s your favorite?”
“It’s nothing that significant, David. I like the scene where the German couple are having a brandy and the guy asks his wife for the time: ‘Sweetnessheart, what watch?’ and she says: ‘Ten watch.’ My mother loved that line, and she used to repeat it every now and then.”
“That’s a great scene. The movie had so many good lines. I love when Captain Renault explains that the German Major has been shot, and tells his men to ‘Round up the usual suspects.’ He was great in that role.”
“I also play one of Captain Renault’s officers.”
“Double duty, Skippy?”
“We don’t have a very big group.”
“Yeah, but then Ilsa gets on the plane with Laszlo.”
“You still waiting for Bogey to go up the stairs with her, Dan?”
“I am, but now that some eight-year-old can make that happen with AI, I don’t want to see it.”
“It’s a classic movie, Dan. You have to love it the way it is.”
“I know, Cheryl, but I bet if it stared Lauren Bacall, he’d have gone up the stairs.”
Dan’s favorite scene
Cheryl’s favorite scene
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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