Ron

“Let’s get technical, technical. I wanna get technical. Let’s get into technical. Let me hear your physics talks; your physics talk. Let me hear your physics talk. Let’s get technical, technical. I wanna get technical … .” I paraphrase. CRAP! I see @Bill W has beaten me to the punch! Hmm, it seems that when prompted we like minded think alike. (Also, humor is ‘effing’ humorous.)

Ron is still incredibly sad that his (insert: laziness) has resulted in his (insert: inability) to manage his time. With (insert: unlimited) time he (insert: may have/might have/could have/have had) offered the most (insert: fantastical/stupendous/thought-provoking) story and or stories you have ever had the pleasure of reading. You may even have had a (insert: pleasurable/emotional/questionably awesome) experience while reading his words. To have read one of his stories might well have been ... . Sadly, we will never know. Nevertheless, despite Ron’s (insert: unfortunate) and potentially (insert: devastating) injury to his reputation, I expect you will all have some (insert: phenomenal) stories to read.

Oh, my! Thursday-night antics... Edit: There, that does it. Even though I didn't recognize it at the time, the lack of a hyphen kept bugging me ... Back there, in the back of my mind. All is right with the world ... for now.

I'm glad to have finally gotten around to reading your story. You've written a nicely rendered vignette of youthful memories and the reality of life. I noticed one slip up in the second paragraph (so easy to miss) but not another one. Notwithstanding that single insertion, bravo!

I completely understand. Nevertheless, I personally look up words that I come across in the news or (gasp) a book I’ve been reading. Knowledge is power as they say, and others say, “You never know” so you may be able to work this word into a story of yours at some point. Or to paraphrase Taylor Dayne, “You’ve got to work. Work it girl.”, but I digress.

I was at the grocery this afternoon. Looking around in the 'Asian' aisle for inspiration, I picked up the Japanese version of Kewpie mayonnaise (which is supposed to be better than the American made version). And then I saw the Holy Grail of Holy Grails (I thought) because low and behold it was called, Yum Yum sauce. Seriously, it couldn't have been better named unless it was called Nom Nom sauce (Which, sadly, if you google the phrase will lead you to a dog food brand). Also, sadly, Yum Yum sauce turned out to be inaptly named. It should have been called Hum Drum sauce. That is until I added a heaping teaspoon of Italian goodness, chopped Calabrian peppers. This marriage of peppers and Yum Yum sauce made for a delightfully deeper colored and piquant dipping sauce for chicken breast. The moral of my adventure: Don't be fooled by names on bottles. Although, experimentation can be a means of invention and delight, especially if you're willing to take a culinary leap.

@Myr Good grief, man! You're a juggernaut with these 'Word of the Day' words, as it were. "Never give up! Never surrender!" - Jason Nesmith

Um ... . What do I say? Firstly, of course, thank you for your adamant admiration (Snort! Really? Oh! ... It's just too much! I couldn't!). Otherwise ... Reference the original, Bud.

I have met my enemy, and it is ... Laziness. That and too much news. I don't believe that it will be possible, despite my previously hinting elsewhere and otherwise, that I will be participating in this anthology as an author. If any of you got your hopes up , I apologize (deeply) for quashing them. Best to you all.

Well, I just want to add a ‘snort’ here. Just sayin’.

Oh, man! I have thoughts

@Mikiesboy Exactly why I wrote “I get your concern.” Without necessarily chiming in I’ve followed much of the journey you’ve shared here on G.A.. We can’t always be ever-present, but we care nonetheless. Now, go freeze some damn herbs — the right way.🤔

Ruth Buzzi (now deceased) is credited with saying, and I summarize: "Vegans outlive meat-eaters by nine years. Nine miserable, tortured, baconless* years." I get your concern, I do. And ... I know about the various 'options'. But ... but ... . *A.I. says that baconless is appropriate in this particular situation. Edit: Dang. One of those needed corrections. What do I know, right?

I have both dried and freeze-dried versions of parsley in addition to the fresh (currently). The non-fresh versions don’t necessarily stay green but turn nearly black in a dish — so, again not appealing as a garnish and I’m still not convinced that they add anything. Just plopping rosemary into the freezer may at a later date make a plausible addition to a stock but it’s not likely to be useful otherwise. Some say to chop it up and either freeze it with water in an ice cub tray or use olive oil as an alternative. I haven’t tried either option. But I do like rosemary so much better than parsley, and I find it much more useful.

On parsley… When I buy a bunch of parsley I use it once and then it sits in the fridge until I have to throw it out — this despite my snipping the ends, plopping it into a glass with enough water to keep the ends wet, and covering the tops with a plastic bag from the store in order that the tops don’t dry out, and repeating the process again and again. On top of that, I don’t see how the herb adds any significance to the flavor of most dishes I’m using it in. Parsley tastes green and slightly bitter but beyond those flavor profiles, what’s the attraction? Does it look pretty on the dish you’re making? I find its aesthetic appearance in contrast to its flavor debatable. What say you?

I've commented on both new additions to a Guest Prompt from the Way-Back of guest's prompts wherein @wildone gave us The impetus to: - Write a short story (at least 500 words) in first person without using the pronoun "I". Please, investigate the @Mikiesboy and @Inkognito additions to the Prompt, which can be accessed through the link.

Somehow, I have the feeling of being back in time, to a time when I had more than enough time to create a creature for the feature. But, now, I have very little time and so many ideas — the bane for writers.

I caught on rather quickly to the subject matter, but the execution was well done. You get a Bravo, too!

I liked it, my friend. You made a valiant effort in short time, but it’s not so easy to do. Remember: I’m is a contraction of ‘I am’ — you slipped that one in, no judgement.

Hmm, what’s that ball of string doing on the floor? Wait a minute… you’re no ball of string? You’re not fooling me!

"Boy, you've been a naughty girl you've let your knickers down." The Beatles were well ahead of the times.

Meanwhile — in Massachusetts: It’s meteorologically Fall. How is it that it’s still light outside at 7:00 p.m.? Beep, beep, beep. What’s that? Oh, yeah, it’s Frozen-DiGiorno (now baked) come to the rescue! Even a WAPO investigation (I mean a taste test) says, “Eat me”. Turn on that oven? “No, way! I’m turning on the toaster-oven — It’s twice as fast, and at a lower temperature!” And, and … What were we talking about? Oh, yeah: Friday Prompts. Go ahead, take on an opponent opportunity. 😉

My hometown pizza shop makes a damn good pizza. I can’t get one here in MA. I had a new favorite in Boston: Nicole’s Pizza. I can’t get that up here on the North Shore. I’ve tried a number of options here and nothing seems to fill the void. But, in a recent culinary investigation by the Washington Post which examined a varied grouping of frozen pizza DiGiornos Pizza came out on top. I’m inclined to agree with the WAPO testers.

Yes. Yes. I know it's only Tuesday but ... Turn it up! There are great, deep bass sounds near the beginning and dare I say some 'moist' sounds (snort ) further along.

I'm glad I gave the original post a thumb-up. I remain enthusiastic about short stories. One can achieve much of their objective vs. a much longer adventure, and all encompassed within far fewer words -- if you're willing to give up a bit of work. Oh, but that declaration is wrong! As is so often the case miniaturization is much more difficult than expanding upon an original idea with many words; there's more work to be done .... Edit: See, I had to remove a word and a space in time to further clarify this post. Ugh(!); Editing a short story, am I right?! Edit 2: Bows head — more editing for such a few words. It appears that I’m proving a point; short stories = hard.