Happy Saturday. David and I are at the bar, to help decide the future of this establishment, In addition, we will try to unravel Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt—which I think will be easy.
Note: Before we get started, I need to mention that five door photos have been added to the TDWC gallery. These were “lost in the mail” but had been sent before the deadline.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “note.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
Stream of Consciousness Saturday by Linda G. Hill
If we were having a beer, we’d be in for an interesting day at the bar.
“Ha David. What’s up?”
“What do you mean, Dan?”
“It’s Saturday. You’re here at the bar ahead of me, but you don’t have a drink.”
“Paul said there would be a short delay.”
“Paul? The owner, Paul?”
“Yeah. Apparently, Cheryl has the day off while he tries to decide between three candidates to take Skippy’s place.”
“Have you met any of these wanna-be Skippys?”
“Do you see a glass of John Howell’s Bourbon in front of me?”
“No. I don’t see a Modelo, either.”
“Gentlemen. Welcome. I wonder is you might help me make a difficult choice.”
“Sure, Paul. What to we have to do?”
“I’ve got three candidates back there, and I’m going to trot them out and let them serve you your drinks. By the way, your drinks are on the house today.”
“Send in the clowns.”
“Steve! Come out and meet our two most regular customers.”
“Um, I prefer Stephan.”
“Yeah. I know but we’re all about the customers here, so let me introduce you to David and Dan.”
“Nice to meet you, Steve. I’ll have a John Howell’s Bourbon Special.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve never heard of that.”
“Dan?”
“Steve, Stephan, whatever, the drink is in the system. You can look it up. It’s a glass of Willette Reserve, a snifter of seltzer and a glass of ice. It’s named after the world famous time-traveling author, John Howell.”
“I’m more of a gamer than a reader.”
“I see. David likes two or three cherries in the bourbon.”
“So, in other words, a Manhattan?”
“No! It’s not Manhattan. It’s a glass of bourbon with two cherries in it.”
“And, Dan, what can I get for you?”
“A Modelo.”
“That keg kicked. I haven’t had a chance to change it yet. How ‘bout a Bud Light?”
“How ‘bout you change the keg?”
“Okay. This is a tough crowd, Uncle Paul.”
“Uncle Paul?”
“He’s my wife’s nephew, David.”
“Wonderful. Who else do you have?”
“Give him a chance.”
“Okay, Dan, here’s your Modelo.”
“Steve, it’s three quarters foam.”
“I’ll top it off once that settles. David, here’s your Special.”
“What the heck is this?”
“I mixed it and poured it into a large snifter. That should be easier to drink.”
“Paul!”
“Stephan, why don’t you wait in the back. Guys, I’ll have him work a couple of shifts during the week. I promise, he’ll be better next week.”
“I hope so.”
“Clarence, come on out and meet two of my regulars, David and Dan.”
“Hi guys.”
“Hi Clarence.”
“Please, call me Curley.”
“Did you once have curly hair?”
“No, Dan, it’s my last name. What can I get for you?”
“I’d like a Modelo, but the keg is fresh.”
“I’ll pour some into a pitcher until it settles. David, what are you drinking?”
“A John Howell’s Special.”
“So, you’re the one. I saw that in the system. That’s top-shelf bourbon.”
“This is off to a better start, Dan.”
“Here you go. A cold Modelo with a nice head, and a John Howell’s Bourbon Special. I gave you three cherries as a small bribe.”
“Thanks Curley.”
“Oh, and I’m supposed to give you this.”
“What’s this?”
“Paul can explain.”
“Paul. What the heck is this?”
“A table-side ordering system interface, or TOS. It’s the future of service.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s programmed for your station. Just look up what you want in our system, order it and a guy, or, if I spring for the complete system, a computer mixes and pours your drinks in the back.”
“Who delivers it, Rosie the Robot?”
“Don’t laugh, David. If this works well, the company does make an automated delivery cart.”
“Does this mean you’ll lower your prices?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Cuz we’re doing most of the work.”
“I’m not sure it’s going to work, but I’m getting sick of hiring people.”
“Curley, can we get another round?”
“Coming right up boys.”
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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