Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – Morning

A picture of a string with drops of water- the logo for SoCS

 

Saturday morning is the time to collect thoughts, drink coffee, and enjoy the blessings of life. Saturday morning is not the time to sit and wait for some human-made machine to decide it knows better than its master when the aforementioned coffee should be delivered. Being powerless means spending time begging, cajoling, threatening, and bargaining with a hank of a stuck-up contraption that obviously thinks it has more privilege than a millennial.

Finally, the cough and sputter raise my will to live. Yes, the coffee is being proffered through two tiny spouts into my double-walled glass mug. The dark brew is topped off with a brown sugar color head that just begs to be sipped. Halfway to my lips, a rumble and shake cause the miracle elixir to slosh onto a bare foot. Not wanting to lose the rest, hopping around on one foot needs to be delayed. The extreme danger of caffeine withdrawal also delays the desire to rant and use curse words that would make ears bleed.

A huge sip of the soothing liquid steadies all systems so that the cause of the disruption can adequately be investigated. A look out of the newly installed rear window causes the eye to want to run into the yard for a closer look. But, showing restraint, it stays with me while the brain sorts out the details.

There, in the backyard, standing upright, is a gigantic rocket. Its color can only be described as slate blue. Near the top are the words ACME 9. It is apparent that this vehicle descended and made a perfect landing in my yard. What is not apparent is who the heck decided that this morning would be a perfect time to land this thing here. As if in answer to the question, a small parachute drifts to a soft touchdown next to the rocket.

Picking up the parachute yields an envelope attached. It is from Linda Hill, and the message inside reads. Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “morning.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

If you want to enjoy, visit Linda’s blog and read how easy it is to join in. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2022/11/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-nov-19-2022/

Morning by John W. Howell © 2022.

“Good morning.”

“Don’t start.”

“What?”

“Teasing me about the prompt and my introduction.”

“Oh my. Did we get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

“Quit using the prompt, and everything will be fine.”

“Quit using ‘morning?’ Why.”

“Cause I already finished the prompt.”

“But we usually underscore it by throwing the prompt around down here.”

“We don’t need to do that today ’cause I nailed it.”

“Okay. Well, we’ll let the others, judge.”

“Others?”

“Oh, stop. Don’t make me turn you to face the missing fourth wall.”

“We never look over there.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Just take my word. You could have done better.”

“Wait a minute. How many ways can you use ‘morning?'”

“You could be creative like ‘Morning has broken like the first morning.'”

“Thanks, Kat.”

“Or ‘Angel in the Morning.'”

“I get what you are saying. I could have even put a video at the end of the post.”

“Now you’re talking.”

“It’s past morning and time for the pub.”

“Your turn to buy.”

“Wait a minute, I bought last time.”

“Yeah, only cause you wanted more than I could afford.”

“Okay, call Uber, and I’ll post the video.”

“Done.”

“And done.”

 

102 comments

    1. Thank you for sharing the post today, Michael.

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  1. Sometimes the morning hours can be really cruel. Nothing works without coffee!;-) Thanks for sharing your thoughts, John! Enjoy your weekend! xx Michael

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Enjoy your weekend as well, Michael. Thank you.

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  2. He seems a little more agitated than usual this morning. Probably needs stronger coffee.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you are right. This is a French Roast. Might need Colombian.

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  3. It’s three in the morning here. Instead of sleeping, I’m reading bogs. Thanks for the great use of the prompt.

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    1. Thanks for letting me know you liked it. I’m glad I scheduled it for 2:00 am your time, Lauren.

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  4. Good morning John…. Nice prompt…you did nail it! Tell me how do you neighbours cope with Saturday mornings.
    Great video by the way 💜

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    1. My neighbors are quite used to the ruckus here. One complained once and I pointed out the tower machine guns and that’s the last I heard from them. The city came out since he complained and when they heard I was a writer they gave me an exemption from the code restrictions. I promised not to mention them in any posts. See, Willow now you got me started. I need to drink more coffee. Good afternoon to you. 😁

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      1. And a good one to you too 😉💜💜

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      2. Thank you, Willow

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  5. Well done on the prompt, John and nice music to go along. Shake it off and grab a Voodoo Ranger.

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    1. Excellent idea, Dan. 😁 Thanks

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  6. Great response to the prompt, and I love “Sunday Morning.” As I read/listened I had a recurring thought. With all your coffee stories, you could partner with a local brewer (or a brand you frequent) and earn some real money by offering marketing via your stores. Book or weekly episode with a brand/store name, you could do it easily. 😊

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    1. I think I would love a supply of VooDoo Ranger for sure. Thanks, Gwen. 😁

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  7. I knew you had nailed it early, but it sure would have seemed strange if you hadn’t carried on! Good work, John.

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    1. Thank you, GP. I think you may be on to my formula. 😁 It would have been strange.

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  8. Wonderful!

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    1. Thank you, Chris.

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  9. Don’t forget to wipe up that mess before the wife rises, or you’ll be in mourning.

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  10. Now I have Cat Stevens stuck in my head. That’s a good thing, gracias.

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  11. Great post! Loved the song. Hadn’t heard it in a while. Nice to listen again.

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    1. I agree, Jill. Thank you. 😊

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  12. petespringerauthor · ·

    Well done, John. Developing a list of songs with “Morning” in the title or lyrics would be interesting. I imagine the list would be rather extensive.

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    1. It would be pretty long. Thanks, Pete.

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  13. I do believe that you and Kat and Chris have embraced the challenge of morning. I hope you all find your best dirty shirt for the Voodoo Ranger…

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    1. Thank you, John. I have just the shirt.

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  14. That intro was one of your best, a tour de force of a shaggy dog story! For the SoC itself, this was my favorite line: “Don’t make me turn you to face the missing fourth wall.” Love it!

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    1. Thank you, Liz. You say the nicest things.

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      1. You’re welcome, John.

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  15. “…has more privilege than a millenial…” Too funny, John, and that was just the first paragraph! Love all the song references! Happy Saturday!

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    1. Thank you, Jan. Happy Saturday to you.

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  16. Oh dear, John, you just got rid of the safe and now you have a rocket in your backyard.

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    1. The pitfalls of having Warner Brothers characters as friends. Thanks, Robbie

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  17. You answered the brief perfectly as usual. That Kris Kristofferson song, I am unaware of it and that was so… Touching. Had me in tears.

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    1. Aww. I love his music and like this song. Tears are a good thing. Thanks, Pamela.

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  18. WOW…Sunday Morning Coming Down says it all for too many people. I’d have to go from tea to an Expresso if I ever had a Sunday morning like that! Great post, John. 📚🎶 Christine

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    1. Thank you, Christine. I’m glad you liked it. 😁

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  19. Good job, John! It’s not morning here, but it’s coffee time. 🙂

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  20. Great music, too.

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  21. Ah, classic tune!

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  22. Great job today, John! The Kristofferson tune was new to me. “My cleanest dirty shirt.” LOL! Thank you for brightening my day and for your sweet email. Happy Saturday sung to the tune of Running Bear by Johnny Preston. xo

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    1. Thank you, Jill.

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  23. I may have seen one too many early morning cartoons, John. When I saw the words “ACME” and “rocket” together I got up and ran out of the room. Since nothing has happened in the last ten minutes or so, I decided to come back to the computer and read the rest of the post. A well-done morning, sir.

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    1. Ha ha ha. Good one Bruce.

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  24. I can’t say I’ve ever had a prompt dropped by parachute. Maybe I should try coffee.

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    1. I think maybe that is why. I would stick to tea if that’s so. 😁

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  25. Why do I think Wile E Coyote parachuted down? Your millennial comment was spot on. Great post, and of course…inquiring minds want to know more.

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  26. You did nail it! Well done, John.

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    1. Thank you, Deborah.

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  27. It’s getting close to Sunday evening, but there’s no prompt for that here & now.
    So, I’ll bank a good morning for Monday am.
    What’s going to happen to the rocket in your yard? How do you get rid of that?

    Kat? A new pal? Or are you just renaming the old pal?

    Seems to me you pay most of the time, when it’s pub time.
    I could be wrong.

    Haven’t heard a Kris Kristofferson song for quite a while. I like it.
    This one makes me think of the movie”Pat Garret and Billy the Kid”.
    Did you see that one. It’s a Sam Peckinpah film, and has the amazing Rita Coolidge in it.

    🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀

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    1. The rocket in my yard has to stay there till next Saturday when I can deal with it. Kat is for Cat Stevens the singer of “morning has broken like a new morning” Here is the link https://youtu.be/3jbQ-v5RRE4 Yes I misspelled his name. I always liked Kris’ music. I have not seen “Pat Garret and Billy the Kid.” Cool emoji of a rocket 🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀

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      1. Oboy! I can hardly wait to see how you deal with the rocket, man! hehehe
        I really like Cat Steven’s songs. Haven’t heard many.
        Bob Dylan and James Coburn are also in the movie.
        It’s wonderful what one can hitch up to a team of oxen!
        🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀 🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀

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      2. And go to the moon as well. 🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀

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      3. 🌕🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🌑 ox ox ox

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      4. Three little ones. Oh my.🌕🐂🐂🐂🐂🐂🚀🌑 ox ox ox

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      5. I know! ox ox ox 💋

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      6. Finally got it straight. ox ox ox 🥃 👀

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  28. Wow, John, from coffee to the pub; nothing like a productive day! 😊🍻 Great job on the prompt, and the opening was just as entertaining as always. Loved the video, too, but hadn’t heard that song in a long time either. Oh, and a rocket in your backyard? My life should be as exciting. 😀

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    1. Well it does keep me busy (life that is) Thanks, Maggie.

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      1. Hi John, you responded to me, Lauren. 😊

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      2. Sorry Lauren. Don’t know why I wrote Maggie.

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  29. When Saturday comes I always remember your wonderful coffee areas, dear John. There is no life without it, for sure!🙂🙂🙂🍺🍤🍤🍤☕

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    1. It is a must. At least for me. Thank you, Maria.

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      1. Same here, dear John! Coffee is the basis of creativity as well as a good strong Earl Grey tea.🙃😁 🍻🍤🍤🍤

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      2. I agree. Love Earl Grey too. 😁

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      3. Oh, it is a classic Russian taste, by the way! We are soul mates, dear John! 🙂 ☕☕☕🍰

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      4. I could have told you that. I think one of my lives was spent in Russia. (or maybe even Poland)

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      5. 😁😁😁 You might be Russian & then Polish! Why not? Our soul is travelling…In fact, our passions now are mostly our recollections of the past. And from time to time you visited Versailles. I like this route. 😎😎😎☕🍰
        PS: As soon as my Brazilian is fine, I’m going to learn the Polish as one of my intentions is to reconstruct the family tree. Meanwhile I’m preparing the text-books.

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      6. Goodness you have an immense amount of brain power. Way to go. Here is some Earl Grey 🫖 and cake 🍰

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      7. 😂😂😂 That’s very kind of you, dear John! Thank you!

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      8. It is the truth.

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      9. 🍻🍤🍤🍤🎉🙃

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  30. There must be days where that machine is more of a nemesis than a saviour!
    I love me some Kris…

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    1. I love me some Kris too. Thanks, Dale. The machine has a mind of its own. 😁

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      1. So good. And machine – not cool! 😉

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      2. Well it is Italian after all.

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      3. There is that. And we know how volatile they can be 😉

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      4. Reminds me of an Alpha Romero I used to drive for a friend. The dang thing would lose brakes or a gear with no notice. I wrote about it in The Last Drive. I did lose a girlfriend when the car needed a shove. (Last straw kind of thing)

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      5. You drove for a friend…. there is more story behind that phrase! Yes, I remember! Well hell…. she wasn’t being fair. It wasn’t your car, after all!

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      6. The friend’s wife hated the car and he didn’t want to sell it so I drove it. Let’s just say the car was the last straw. 😁

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      7. Ahhhh…. I see now 😉

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      8. Was a 1959 convertible. Chick magnet for sure.

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      9. No doubt… though I am sure the driver had something to do with it, too 😉

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      10. Once she gave me my walking papers.

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      11. Haha! Oh well…

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  31. Why is it that hot morning coffee feels wonderful going to the inside, but inflicts pain on the outside? I enjoyed the post.

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    1. It is all in the brain. Thanks, Kurt.

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