Ever wonder what to write about?

What do the witnesses say or think about the broken clock?

The person observing the broken clock:

Writer

Home Owner (husband)

Home Owner (wife)

Good son

Lazy son

Next-door neighbor

Bad neighbor

Good neighbor

Home Owner Association (HOA) Representative

Optimist

Pessimist

Realtor

Kid in the neighborhood

Jogger

Gossiper

Politician

Analyst

Visitor

Engineer

Designer

Battery Designer

Hardware Store Owner

Reporter

Weather Man

Consultant

Airplane Mechanic

Handyman

Yard Sale Enthusiast

Scrap Picker

Clock Repair Person

Frequent Shopper [I wonder if they got that on Amazon and for how much?]

Landscaper

Lighting Engineer

Project Manager

Historian

Teacher

Note – I will publish my responses to these different people at a later date.

I would enjoy seeing any responses from you.

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Know Watt

“Okay soldier, what is your name?”

“Kno.”

“NO! YOU TELL ME YOUR NAME!”

“Right, Kno.”

“What is your name?”

“Watt is my last name.”

“What is your last name?”

“That’s correct.”

“We’re going around in circles here. Tell me your first name.”

“Kno.”

“Give me twenty push-ups, soldier.”

The soldier did the push-ups. “Now, private, what is your first name?”

“Kno, Watt is my last name.”

“That’s what I asked, and don’t tell me no again. What is your first name.”

“I can’t tell you my first name.

“Why?”

You told me not to, and Wy is my sister’s name.”

“Okay, let’s do this the hard WAY.”

“That’s my cousin, Wei.”

“I couldn’t care less about your cousin.”

“Nice guy.”

“Nice to know.”

“My name?”

“That is what I’m trying to find out. Spell your first name.”

“K-N-O.”

“Oh, KNO. Now, I understand.”

“That’s my brother.”

“Who is your brother?”

“No, Who is my uncle. Nau is my brother.”

“Who is your brother?”

“No, he was my uncle.”

“Who was?”

“Yes.”

“Who was your uncle.”

“That’s right, he was a famous baseball player and played first base.”

“I think I heard about him. Did he have the same last name as you?”

“Who?”

“Yes.”

“Watt.”

“That’s what I asked you.”

“My last name is the same as his, Watt. My full name is Kno Watt.”

“I’m not playing this game any longer. I’m recording your name as ‘Kno What’.”

“You finally got it right.”

“Great, now move to the next station. Next!”

“Nxt, that’s my cousin, Wei’s brother.”

“I don’t give a shit at this point.”

“Shyt, was my wife’s maiden name.”

A high-ranking officer came over and asked the sergeant, “WHAT is taking you so long?”

“That’s exactly right, WHAT is taking me so long.”

“Don’t back talk me sergeant! I’ll repeat – WHAT is taking you so long?”

“Kno What.”

“Guard, GUARD. Thank you. Please relieve the sergeant of his duty, and take over.”

“Yes, sir. NEXT in line.”

“That’s me.”

“What is your first name, soldier?”

“It’s Nxt.”

Rascally Rabbits

“Pops, come quick, you’ve got to see what they’re doing.”

The Plan – He referred to it as “Operation Rabbit”.

He recruited his seven-year-old granddaughter, Eleanor, to help him prevent the many rabbits from raiding his garden.

He hoped that spraying several bottles of “Guaranteed Rabbit Repellent” around the area would stop the rabbits from entering the garden. After spraying three bottles around the perimeter, there was an overpowering and terrible smell. Still, he decided to go one step further and hang one of the bottles on the open metal fence to add even more deterrent.

That was the plan until reality set in –

Eleanor watched Pops run over to where she was standing by the sliding glass door.

To his horror, in the fenced-off garden, he witnessed two rabbits alternately doing some kind of dance, leaping up and down knocking the hanging bottle back and forth like a badminton shuttlecock.

A shadow of a cloud passed over and the spectacle stopped. A minute later, the sun came out and the rabbits resumed their newfound sport.

Eleanor was laughing at their antics, but he was not.

“Pops, what are we going to do now?”

After a deep breath, “First, I’m going to take a video of the rabbits playing with the hanging empty spray bottle, then I’m going to apply for a refund and finally, you and I are going to develop Plan B.”

“What are we going to call that?”

He thought about the BB gun he recently gave to her brother. “How about, Run Rabbit Run?”

One Little Me

Thanks for ‘One Little Me’

We have no choice in our birth.

It is up to others to decide if they want to commit to the responsibility.

I want you to meet little old Me.

~

My mother met someone when she was in her twenties.

They were more than casual acquaintances.

Along came Me.

They were not married, but he did marry my mother.

That to my knowledge, was the only thing he did.

Me was born, and they immediately divorced.

Me never met him, and to my knowledge, he never met Me.

Me was given his last name.

Later, Me learned his name and later stood outside the funeral home.

Looking back, I’m so happy my mother helped make Me.

~

My mother met someone else who really loved her.

They married and he adopted Me and my last name changed to his.

That makes Me lucky again.

The value of Me is not in what I have done professionally, although I love to write.

My real value is what I have created.

My first wife and I created a son. Without Me, he wouldn’t have been born.

Looking across the restaurant table, I see what he has created.

Along with a wonderful wife – two children. Which makes them my grandchildren.

It was then that I realized how happy my mother would have been to know the power of her decision to have Me. My wish is that she could have been there to witness this wonderful sight.

To Anyone Facing this Major Decision in your life –

Try to remember this story of One Little Me.

Panic Button

Rich was using the mouse to flip between several security monitors and camera locations, trying to keep his hand from shaking, as today was his first day on the job. He remembered his interview, Ms. Tsu Nami – Director of Security.

He could feel eyes watching. Late afternoon, he felt more comfortable and was observing three different screens showing the train on its return trip.

Five minutes after the others left for break, he witnessed at least four men on horseback charging the train. Zooming in, he noticed they were masked and had pistols pointing at the locomotive. Once the train had stopped, the robbers were rushing through the train stealing cash from passengers.

He could feel the sweat running down his lower back. He didn’t know what to do and considered the panel in front of him. Switches and dials along with a large yellow triangle that read ‘Panic Button’. He slammed his fist down and lights started flashing and horns wailed.

*.*.*

Ms. Nami pointed to the guest chair, closed the door, and picked up some paperwork. He considered being terminated.

A knock broke the silence.

“Yes?”

“Ms. Nami, your boss is on the phone.”

“Hello, this is Tsu.”

Two minutes later –

“No, sir, but I’m about to present him with those documents. Put you on speaker?”

“Robert, this is Mister Baxter.”

“Mr. Baxter, his name is Richard.”

“Richard, Dick, Rich, Ricky, or whatever, I don’t care what his name is. Do you know the consequences of your actions?

“I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again.”

“That’s a subject for later. Tsu, have you updated the documentation for new employee orientation/training?”

“Yes, I’ve started.”

“Good. On the subject of your meeting. We are changing directions. I want you to fill out the paperwork for ‘Employee of the Month’ and have it for my signature today.”

“I’m confused.”

“When I hired you, I had reservations that you would create a tsunami, just like your name suggested.”

“That’s not nice, sir.”

“Hush. I just came out of an emergency board meeting.”

Long pause –

“I’m now confirmed CEO/COO and your VP promotion is in the works.”

“I thought…sorry, please continue.”

“After Richard pushed that panic button, and all hell broke out, many of our passengers recorded the scene and uploaded it to the internet. It went viral! The Phoenix network stations broadcast the scene; police and Sheriff’s office vehicles, fire trucks, and the state police helicopter. Well, the AP picked up the story.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“No need. The reservation department was swamped. Train and hotel reservations are at capacity for the next five weeks. You will have to determine how many passenger cars the locomotives can pull. What I don’t understand is how Rich didn’t know that this ‘staged’ robbery was part of passenger entertainment. Please cover that in the new employee training. As a final note, give some thought to pushing that button once per year.”

“Will do, sir.” “And, RICH, welcome to the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel.”

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The first book in the Scott Tucker serial-killer mystery series is FREE December 29 through Monday January 1.

Do you remember the Boston Strangler? Well, in this book, the New England strangler is very active. If you discover who he is, look again as the murders keep happening! There are five books in this series, you have nothing to lose if you download this book.

A little bit about my writing. For those of you who have been supporting my writing, you know I love to write short flash fiction. I also fell in love with the original James Patterson novels, and when I commenced writing novels, I tried my best to write in the style of short chapters with varying points of view. If you like that style of writing, I think you will like these novels.

The hardest part of being a self-published author is ‘Being Found’. Making this novel free is an opportunity to get more attention to my writing. If you find you are enjoying this free book, please do me a big favor and tell your friends about the free download period on Amazon. The link to the e-book, including the preview is located above in the picture, or please click the following –

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I wish you an even better New Year.

Thanks for your support!

Dick

So Called Hug

I had a life-changing decision to make, and the privacy of the train car would help.

It all started with an inappropriate hug. Well, that’s their polite way of saying what happened, but to me, it was my ‘coming out moment.’

It has been five years since Mom and I left the man she called my dad. I was thirteen, and my memories are in some distant place. Soon after we left, we connected with Fantinis’ Travelling Circus. Mom worked on the high wire act, and I helped wherever.

My mother’s favorite expression is, “Things happen the way they are supposed to.” She added I was the treasured blessing of one.

It was impossible not to notice how she turned heads. She was beautiful, with long blonde hair, and great legs. The Ring Master was quick to notice her ability to attract attention and used that to the benefit of the circus. Now, at eighteen, I could feel his eyes feasting on me and felt some strange new power.

Mom and I could pass as sisters. I was wearing her clothes, including her bras. We both realized I had matured from a scrawny teenager into a woman.

My thoughts were interrupted by the train rocking. The elephants must be loading. I heard one of the males acknowledging his new environment. This was our first train ride, heading from Williams, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada. We were booked for multiple shows over two weeks, and if we were lucky, more.

I needed to focus on my decision. The Ring Master offered me a significant increase in salary if I consented to add what happened at the rehearsal to the act. He said it would fit perfectly with a circus act in Vegas. Mom smiled when the Ring Master proposed the upgraded routine and raise. She said it was going to happen sooner or later.

The monkeys were the “Balancing Act,” and I was their ‘eye candy.’ They balanced themselves as well as objects. Our act was successful, and I never had any problems with the monkeys. They were; Dickie, Flippy, and Seana. They all had their personalities, and that should have warned me.

It was our final dress rehearsal. My lace robe almost covered my new two-piece. I’m not sure if anyone would notice the Robin’s egg-blue color. When I took the lace robe off, Dickie threw the three plates he was balancing and charged at me. He was on my back in a second, and I felt his tongue on the back of my neck and soon the cool air on my exposed breasts. I could feel his excitement and noticed everyone had stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on what was happening.

Now to focus on the decision facing me. If it was up to Dickie, I knew what his decision would be. Now that I made my decision, the only other problem is how to find a better way to end his so-called “hug.”   

Our Loss

Ferrell’s famous one-in-a-million shot of JFK’s son saluting his coffin.

BORN JOHN

ASSASSINATED

OUR LOSS

Winter is Coming

Photo courtesy of K.S. Brooks (www.indiesunlimited.com)

Winter is Coming

It has been months, and I have been waiting patiently for it.

The heat of summer has long passed, and now we can feel the cool nights and brisk days.

I’m one of the lucky ones. Not sitting alone on the side of a mountain, I have many friends keeping me company here in the deep forest.

It is remarkable that there are so many and not an enemy amongst us. Oh, for the rest of the world to understand how to live together in peace.

We also survived several seasons without destructive wildfires.

None of us are looking to be the most beautiful, collectively, we try to take your breath away.

I witness that dark beautiful green accented by gold trim and my needles tingle.

We are proud that nobody needs to care for us. Mother Nature has done her blessed magic for all these many years.

The many breezes bring the scent of pine needles with the hint of recent rain. Those breezes lift our branches, so we can wave to one another with a rhythm only we notice.

My roots were again nourished, and I feasted on salt and other mighty earth minerals.

I’m now tall and feel the warmth of the sun, which makes my brittle branches flexible once again.

It’s finally coming, and with it that white blanket to lend some warmth on those freezing winter nights.

To us, this is not just another season, it shows we’re still very much alive.