Welcome to the first adult beverage of November. Tuesday is election day in the U.S. and we are all so tired of election messages that Davd and I are looking forward to our weekly escape more than ever. Nothing more will be said of politics, so feel free to join us as we ponder another of life’s little mysteries and attempt to address Linda’s prompt. But wait, there’s more. Read to the end for an make that two important announcements.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “chill.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
If we were having a beer, you’d be worried about me.
“Hi David. Happy November.”
“You’re late.”
“Yes, yes, I know, but in the grand scheme of things, what’s three minutes?”
“And now, you’ve violated one of my rules.”
“What? You have rules about being on time?”
“No, I have rules about using clichés. ‘In the grand scheme of things’ is a tired expression that belongs in the drawer with ‘Back in the day’ – ‘At the end of the day’ – and ‘Think outside the box’ – to name a few.”
“Well, since you guys aren’t likely to think outside the six-pack, as it were, can I assume you’ll be having your usual libations?”
“Yes, Curley, but ‘As it were’ is also on my list.”
“I didn’t hear it, but there seemed to be an implied ‘Just so you know’ at the end of that sentence, David. Is that on your list, too?”
“It is, but I’m well aware that you’re in charge of the cherries.”
“Nice save, David. I’m surprised you didn’t add, ‘No offense intended’ to the end of that apology.”
“We’ve covered that statement before, Dan. It’s usually offered by a clod who has just said something offensive. And that wasn’t an apology.”
“Sounded like one to me.”
“Then the problem lies with you. That was a simple statement of fact.”
“I see. Demonstrating the logic behind your decision not to offend further.”
“Correct. Now, would you care to explain why you’re late.”
“I’m here. Isn’t that enough? And, since this conversation is bordering on the pedantic, should that be ‘Why you were late?’”
“Here you go. A John Howell’s Bourbon Special, two cherries and a cold draft of Modelo Especial in a nicely chilled glass.”
“Thanks Curley. Cheers, Dan. And, no, my question was correct. You weren’t only late to the bar today, you’ve been late for everything this month. Well, last month.”
“Autumn is a busy time for me. It always has been. When I was working, I took most of my vacation time in October and November.”
“That must have made your employer angry.”
“It did, although I never understood why. They gave me the time off, why would it matter when I used it?”
“Accrued vacation is a liability.”
“Huh?”
“If you died, they’d owe your estate payment for the vacation days you had earned.”
“Could we use a different scenario — perhaps one where I got a new job, and they owed the money to a living and vibrant me?”
“Have it your way. In any case, the sooner you use your vacation, the sooner that liability is off the books.”
“What about places that give employees unlimited vacation?”
“They can take unlimited days off — most Americans don’t take very many — but they earn no vacation days. Thus, no accrual.”
“Ah. So, they give the appearance of being generous while saving money — at least on paper.”
“It’s the only money that matters, Dan.”
“What about the guy that actually takes all the vacation days he wants. Don’t they they lose money on him?”
“Yes, until they fire him for some other reason.”
“You are font of disturbing facts and opinions today. What has you…hmm, let me see, “Your knickers in a twist,” cliché – ‘Hot under the collar,’ cliché – ‘Ready to blow a gasket,’ cliché – ‘All bent out of shape,’ cliché — Oh hell, why are you in such a sour mood today?”
“The news. I’m tired of watching the news.”
“Easy fix, stream some Star Trek. I’ve been revisiting the Original Series.”
“But you’ve seen those episodes a hundred times, Dan.”
“And you’ve seen tonight’s news a hundred times. It never really changes. The only difference is that Star Trek is entertaining and makes me think mankind will eventually figure this all out.”
“Are you really that optimistic, Dan?”
“As Teagan would say, posilutely!”
“Speaking of that funny flapper, how ‘bout you cheer me up and buy me some of her stuffed mushrooms?”
“Anything to put a smile on your face, my friend.”
OK – I promised you two important announcements:
First, if you check out the gallery, you will notice that annoying blur is gone. One very kind Happiness Engineer went above and beyond the call of duty and sent me the CSS code to add to my site to remove the blur from the Gallery Block. If you use the Block Editor, and if you are using the Gallery Block, and if you don’t like the blurred area under your captions, send me an email – nofacilities at gmail dot com and I’ll send you the fix. Please let me know if you’re comfortable with manipulating the Appearance Settings of your blog. I’ll tailor the instructions to your comfort level. It takes about 30 seconds.
Second, and far, far, far more important, our favorite bartender (no offense, Curley, and sorry, David for using that expression) Cheryl has released ‘The Dreamcatchers’, Book two of the Forever Never series. If you enjoyed the first book in this series, you will certainly enjoy this one. Most of your favorite characters are back, and the story will keep you engaged and turning page after page. Cheryl published a release blog post yesterday — you can read that post here.
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.
No Facilities 
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