As hard as it is for me to believe, today is the second Saturday in May. We are well beyond one-third of the way through the year, and unlike a lot of A&W Restaurants customers, we know that one-third is larger than one-fourth. Anyway, here we are, moving closer to the unofficial start of summer here in the United States (Memorial Day) and time for another short break on my part. I may skip Linda’s prompt next week, but I’m here for it today, a cold rainy day in Connecticut. David and I seem to be alone in our favorite place.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “favorite place.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
Stream of Consciousness Saturday—Linda G. Hill
If we were having a beer, you’d be confused by the timing.
“So you won’t be here next week, Dan?”
“I don’t think so, David. But, I’m here today. Isn’t that what’s important?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, except that it’s my day to pay and you won’t be here when it’s your turn and when you come back, it will be my turn again.”
“Funny how that works.”
“You knew this when you let me con you into paying last week, didn’t you?”
“The thought might have crossed my mind.”
“I don’t care who’s paying, but I’d like to ring up a sale. The rain has the patio closed, and you two mooks are the only people in the place.”
“Curley, you may bring us the usual beverages, and I will be buying my young friend and myself a large meat-lover’s pizza.”
“I’ll get those drinks ready now.”
“Dan, is it my imagination, or are you taking more breaks than you used to?”
“You’ve always characterized these as my giving my readers a break—a welcome break, I think is how you phrased it.”
“There is that, but it seems different now. What’s up?”
“Two things. One, a break isn’t a break if you try to cram a bunch of normal stuff in. That’s what you do when you have a job.”
“Okay, I get that. What’s the second thing?”
“WordPress.”
“The comment stuff?”
“Yes. If I can quickly pop open my phone, read a comment or a blog entry and peck out a reply, it’s spontaneous—not like work.”
“But you can’t do that?”
“No. When I try to comment from my phone, it goes all kinds of bad. The only reliable way I can comment is on my laptop and opening that feels like work.”
“Here you go, David. Bourbon, seltzer and ice. Dan, here’s your Modelo. The keg kicked. I have to go change it.”
“Curley, wait a minute. This is John Howell’s Bourbon, right?”
“As far as you know, yes.”
“That’s odd. Curley’s never been in a hurry before.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like changing the kegs.”
“So, you’re taking this break, but you’re going to read, and apparently write stories for the Thursday Doors Writing Challenge.”
“Yes. I love that challenge. People are so supportive, I owe it to them to respond, and besides, I love the poems and stories.”
“You do have a talented group of friends out there.”
“Um…Am I included in that group?”
“No fishing for compliments allowed at the bar, Dan.”
“I see. What if one washes ashore?”
“Will you have a story tomorrow?”
“Yes, and it serves to introduce Brody Thompson.”
“The character in your book?”
“The very same.”
“Is it from the book?”
“No, it’s more like his backstory.”
“Does everything in your life have to have a backstory?”
“Yes, of course. Otherwise you’re taking things out of context. Like you just did with Curley.”
“What? What I did? What did I do?”
“You have no idea why Curley was in a hurry. You should ask him.”
“Did I hear you call me. The keg is connected and I put your pizza in.”
“David was wondering why you seemed to be in a hurry.”
“Nature called at the same time as the keg.”
I will post the Thursday Doors Recap, as well as an updated list of creative entries for the Writing Challenge. And I will have a short story attached to tomorrow’s post. Now for some photos from in and after the rain.
Yes, there’s a new book coming, but I’m still trying to sell the old ones.
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.
And, in case that caption of the bird on the railing put a bee in your bonnet, here’s Otis.
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