Today I had to play the school volunteer.

And I have no problem with that. Here in China, the parents play an ACTIVE role in the education of their children.

So, today, I got up and went to the school and donned on the zippered volunteer vest. And so, so dressed up in my ritual regalia, I stood outside and directed the traffic near the school, and made sure that the kids and tykes would be safe as they went to the school.

It was only for an hour.

I smiled. Waved. Said good morning to everyone.

And then it was over.

And I went into the guard-box, and took off the vest and joined my wife at our local restaurant.

That was today’s event.

Today, for you all…

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Creole Chicken with Rock Shrimp Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 whole skinless and boneless chicken breasts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons seeded, finely chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons seeded, finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup peeled, seeded, chopped fresh or canned Italian plum tomatoes
• 1 pound rock shrimp or crawfish meat (small regular shrimp can also be used)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. In a 12 inch nonstick sauté pan over high heat, heat the oil. Add the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
2. Transfer the chicken to a platter.
3. In the sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic, and bell peppers, and sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the flour; cook 30 seconds longer, stirring constantly.
5. Add the white wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Add the cayenne pepper, Creole seasoning, bay leaves, chicken stock, tomatoes, and chicken. Bring the sauce to a boil; cover. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through and tender.
7. Add the rock shrimp; cover. Cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
8. Remove the bay leaves.
9. Divide the chicken among four plates and pour equal amounts of sauce on top.
10. Garnish with the parsley.
11. Serve.

Pictures

Hannah’s Dreary Day.

Submitted into Contest #288 in response to: Set your story in a place where the weather never changes.… view prompt

Chinese TikTok is WAY Better 哈哈哈

Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Wish for Endless Sunshine: A Tale of Melting Animals, Ridiculous Solutions, and Feline Wisdom

Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of scorching sunbeams, melting barnyard friends, and one very determined cat who proved that even the brightest ideas can burn you if you’re not careful. Today’s story is one of wishes gone awry, slapstick mishaps, and a hen who learned that too much of a good thing can be, well, too much. So, grab your sunscreen (or perhaps a parasol) and a sense of humor, as we dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Wish for Endless Sunshine: A Tale of Melting Animals, Ridiculous Solutions, and Feline Wisdom.

The Wish for Endless Sunshine

It all began on a particularly gloomy morning when Doris the Hen, the farm’s resident drama queen, decided she’d had enough of the dreary weather. “I can’t lay eggs in this gloom!” she clucked, fluffing her feathers in frustration. “What I need is sunshine. Endless sunshine! Then I’ll be the most productive hen in the history of hens!”

Unbeknownst to Doris, Zephyr the Genie, the farm’s resident cosmic hippie, was floating nearby in his vintage lava lamp. Hearing Doris’s lament, he emerged in a swirl of psychedelic smoke. “Whoa, heavy vibes, sister,” Zephyr said, adjusting his round tinted glasses. “You seek the eternal glow of the sun? I can make that happen. But beware, man—too much sunshine can be a real bummer.”

Doris, too excited to listen to warnings, clucked, “Do it! Grant my wish!”

With a dramatic flourish, Zephyr waved his hand, and the clouds parted. The sun blazed down on the farm, brighter and hotter than ever before. Doris clucked with delight. “This is perfect! I’ll lay eggs every day! I’ll be a legend!”

Sir Whiskerton, who had been napping on the barn roof, opened one eye. “This can’t possibly end well,” he muttered to Ditto, his ever-eager apprentice.

Ditto tilted his head. “But what if it’s amazing? What if we never have to deal with rain again?”

Sir Whiskerton sighed. “Rain is underrated. But I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

The Heatwave

At first, the animals enjoyed the endless sunshine. The cows basked in the warmth, the pigs rolled in the mud, and Doris laid eggs at a record pace. But as the days turned into weeks, the farm began to feel like a giant frying pan. The grass turned brown, the pond dried up, and the animals started to… melt.

“I’m melting!” Rufus the Dog wailed, his fur drooping like a wet mop. “This is worse than the time I sat too close to the fireplace!”

Porkchop the Pig, who had been lounging in a mud puddle, groaned. “Even the mud is hot. This is a travesty!”

Doris, meanwhile, was too busy laying eggs to notice the chaos. “Look at me!” she clucked, proudly displaying her latest egg. “I’m unstoppable!”

Sir Whiskerton, who had retreated to the shade of the barn, flicked his tail. “This is a disaster. We need to cool things down before we all turn into puddles.”

The Ridiculous Solutions

The animals, desperate to escape the heat, came up with a series of increasingly ridiculous solutions. Rufus the Dog fashioned a hat out of ice cubes, which melted within minutes, leaving him with a soggy head and a puddle at his feet. “This is the worst hat ever,” he muttered.

Porkchop the Pig tried to build a fan out of hay bales and feathers, but it only succeeded in blowing hot air around. “I think I made it worse,” he said, fanning himself with a leaf.

Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow attempted to create a “cooling mist” by spitting water into the air, but it evaporated before it could do any good. “This is so not groovy,” she mooed.

Even Ferdinand the Duck, who usually loved the sun, was struggling. “I’m a waterfowl, not a sunfowl!” he quacked, hiding under a wilted sunflower.

Sir Whiskerton, realizing that the animals’ efforts were only making things worse, decided it was time to intervene. “Enough!” he said, leaping onto a hay bale. “We need a real solution. And fast.”

The Plan

Sir Whiskerton gathered the animals in the shade of the barn. “We need to find Zephyr and convince him to undo the wish. But first, we need to cool down the farm.”

Doris, who had finally noticed the chaos, clucked, “But what about my eggs? I’m on a roll!”

Sir Whiskerton flicked his tail. “Doris, your eggs won’t matter if we’re all puddles. We need balance. Sunshine is good, but so is rain. Too much of anything can be harmful.”

Doris sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But how do we cool down the farm?”

Sir Whiskerton thought for a moment, then grinned. “We’ll create shade. Lots of it.”

The Shade Solution

The animals set to work, using whatever they could find to create shade. Rufus the Dog dug trenches and filled them with water, creating makeshift cooling stations. Porkchop the Pig built a canopy out of hay bales and old blankets. Bessie the Tie-Dye Cow painted the barn roof with reflective paint, and Ferdinand the Duck used his feathers to fan the animals.

Sir Whiskerton, meanwhile, tracked down Zephyr, who was floating in his lava lamp near the dried-up pond. “Zephyr,” Sir Whiskerton said, “we need you to undo the wish. The farm is melting.”

Zephyr adjusted his glasses. “Whoa, bummer, man. I told Doris that too much sunshine could be a drag. But hey, balance is key, right?”

With a wave of his hand, Zephyr reversed the wish. The clouds returned, and a gentle rain began to fall. The animals cheered as the temperature dropped and the farm returned to its usual rhythm.

The Moral of the Story

As the rain cooled the farm, Sir Whiskerton gathered the animals for a final word. “Today, we learned an important lesson. Too much of a good thing can be harmful. Balance is essential—whether it’s sunshine and rain, work and rest, or even eggs and… well, not eggs.”

Doris nodded. “I see that now. I was so focused on laying eggs that I didn’t realize the harm I was causing. From now on, I’ll appreciate the balance of nature.”

Sir Whiskerton flicked his tail. “Well said, Doris. And remember, the farm is a team effort. We all need to work together to keep things running smoothly.”

A Happy Ending

With the farm restored to its usual rhythm, the animals returned to their routines. Doris continued to lay eggs, but at a more reasonable pace. Rufus the Dog traded his ice cube hat for a shady spot under a tree, and Porkchop the Pig celebrated with a mud bath that was just the right temperature.

As for Sir Whiskerton and Ditto, they returned to their favorite spot on the barn roof, where they napped contentedly, knowing they had once again saved the day.

And so, dear reader, we leave our heroes with the promise of new adventures, new lessons, and new opportunities to embrace the beauty of balance. Until next time, may your days be filled with laughter, love, and just a little bit of feline wisdom.

The End.

Richard Wolff: This Mistake Will DESTROY Us For Decades!

Faye stood in the rain, in front of her dance studio. She needed a distraction from his death. She tried to run the last few steps, but her shoulder gym bag got in the way. The chill of the rain cut through her, soaking her to the bone. She reached the door and found the rain-soaked biometric keypad unresponsive. Frustrated, she fumbled through her backpack for her key fob. When that failed, she resorted to pressing the entire backpack against the card reader until the door finally slid open.Faye walked across the wooden “ballet classroom” floor. This dance studio had an anti-gravity generator under the floor. Gravity could be adjusted from zero to 100 percent of Earth’s gravity. Her jumps could make her float about three times longer than normal. She wore her dance leotards and a red skirt below knee length. As her dance progressed, holographic images of sea creatures softly invaded the large studio area. With a little practice, she had timed her routine to interact with some of these images, hitching a ride on a passing dolphin, sliding off the back of a great whale, and being cuddled by an octopus. The familiar sea creatures from her home floated around her, offering a soothing presence amid her turmoil.Faye had not visited Kram’s apartment since his death. The memories were too painful. Instead, she asked Jai to retrieve Kram’s robotic cat, so she wouldn’t have to face his residence. One of the perks of being a Commander, his residence bordered a 20-acre aquarium. In most of the rooms, the illusion of being underwater was architecturally designed. Glass walls looking into the aquarium were a haunting reminder of the tranquility Kram loved. Faye blamed MOTHER, the AI directing Kram and the Dragons, for his death. MOTHER had not allowed the Dragons to protect Kram, and Faye could not shake the bitterness and grief. As she danced, memories of Kram’s smile, their last conversation, and the heavy weight of his absence pressed on her heart.The slits in her red cloth dress opened and closed to allow her body the freedom of movement. The gravity was still at 100 percent for her warm-up routine. She stretched and bent over and over.The large picture glass window framed the image of the outside cityscape. The fading light and rain obscured the view, creating an ethereal atmosphere. The window slightly fogged around the edges.She asked Cortina to elevate the level of the music over the rain. She started moving with short dance steps; she exercised and stretched. Sometimes she jumped and quickly descended down to the floor. “Cortina, gravity to 80 percent.” Another jump, but she seemed to rise and fall in a slow-motion glide, as if suspended in liquid air.She took several quick dance steps across the floor and jumped into the air as her red skirt floated behind her. She flipped and twirled and landed gracefully. She quickly spun and ran in the opposite direction, trying to repeat the last movement. She jumped again, only to float across the wooden floorboards. She hid her face in her hands and laughed, a rare moment of levity breaking through her grief.The first holographic giant whale glided by her. She reached up, fingertips grazing empty air. Determined, she ran hard and leaped, but the slow-motion air glide let the whale slip through her grasp again. Landing in disappointment, her routine improvements kicked in; she initiated several ballet-type moves and ended with a spinning sidekick. Her red dress flowed behind her, floating gracefully as she executed a precise kick, a testament to her military training. Another two kicks in quick succession reminded her of Kram and how he would tease her while training. The incessant kidding stopped the day he failed to block her sidekick, and she knocked him unconscious.For the first time, she had a nice memory and smiled. Two dolphins played in the air above her. One, two, three quick steps and she jumped to touch one and missed, only to float back down to the wooden floor.Her graceful ballet moves were now punctuated with sharp martial arts moves as she breathed more heavily. “Cortina, gravity to 50 percent.” The window had more fog covering it now as the patter of raindrops increased, creating a soothing rhythm against the glass.The exercise routine continued into the evening. Darkness enveloped the studio, the glass reflecting the interior lights. From the outside, one could see Faye dancing and floating among ethereal aquatic creatures.A combination of ballet, kickboxing, and self-defense were beautifully choreographed. She was consumed with swirling, spinning, and dancing punctuated with precise attack motions. She became more fluid in her dance movements as the dolphins seemed to tease her. She finally caught a dolphin’s back dorsal fin and glided around the room in tow. There was a harmonious balance of beauty, aggression, and love, her red-slitted dress cascading down her body.Her dolphin even took her up to the passing whale, and she stroked its colossal flipper. As the whale continued to pass by, it lightly slapped her with its enormous tail. She faked a tumble in the air and for the first time, she laughed out loud.Faye floated down to the floor, grabbed her gym towel, and dabbed her face. The holographic images had faded, and the room had darkened. Her training time had expired. She noticed pulsating red lights outside the studio window for the first time because of the fog on the window. The room glowed red, then went dark. A short pause, then the room pulsated red, only to dim again.

Faye knew it was a hovercraft, but the city had many. She was not concerned and had slipped on an overcoat to protect her from the rain. Her red dress was slightly longer and protruded from the bottom edge of the jacket. She picked up her gym bag and slung the strap over one shoulder. She nudged the bag away from her body, using her hip to adjust the strap placement.

There was a heavy knock on the studio door from the outside, pulling her out of her thoughts. Faye’s heart raced as she froze in place. Behind her, the red glowing navigation lights briefly illuminated the room. The red glow faded and then softly lit the room again. Faye hesitated as her eyes turned to the large window. The window was totally fogged from her workout breath. Now she had become cautious. Two weeks ago, Kram was killed; is she next? Her mind raced with possibilities, each more unsettling than the last.

She turned to walk toward the door. She reached the door. With a slight flip motion of her shoulder, the shoulder strap slid off, and the gym bag slapped to the floor. Her eyes quickly turned to search the darkened image hovering outside the window. The navigation lights pulsed and subsided. Again they glowed and dimmed, like a heartbeat.

Returning her focus to the door, “Cortina, 20 percent gravity.” Her left-hand phaser glowed blue as it powered up. She took several steps toward the door and pushed herself upward. This move brought her to rest against the wall, right above the doorway. She sliced through the air with her free hand gesture to open the door.

The door swished open.

Two darkened silhouettes stood in the rain; one was a hulking battle warrior. He had a large blaster resting over his left shoulder. The smaller person was female and had a smaller weapon slung behind her. Both were unrecognizable in the darkness.

Faye’s powerful jump had expended itself, and she was floating downward, upside down from the top of the doorway. Her blaster was poised for action.

The pulse of the red glow from the hovercraft illuminated one-half of the darkened figures.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, shockingly illuminating the complete figures.

An old tattered cross banner hung from the warrior’s armor. The second wore a skull faceplate.

These are her friends. They are from her unit. Their boots bore a dragon insignia. They were there, alongside Faye, trying to save the Commander.

The blue glow diminishes from Faye’s hand phaser as she lowers her hand and slowly crashes to the floor. “Cortina, gravity to 100 percent and play 5 minutes of whale song for me.” Faye stands up and walks over to her bag. With a single swing of the strap, she hoists the strap up over her shoulder. Whale sounds spill into the outside and pierce the darkness. She steps through the doorway as the gym door swooshes closed behind her. The rain starts to soak her hair. The first two dragons are walking toward the hovercraft. The red navigation lights still slowly flash a cadence. Faye is standing in front of the studio and thinks, “We used to walk in the rain. If Kram were here, the rain would be warm.”

Pepper-Glazed Cajun Chicken

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 6 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Instructions

1. Sprinkle chicken with Cajun seasoning.
2. In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning about 10 minutes, until chicken is brown.
3. Remove chicken; set aside.
4. To drippings in same pan, add green onions and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Add vinegar, jelly and broth; cook, stirring frequently, until jelly melts.
6. Return chicken to pan; spoon glaze over chicken. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, turning chicken several times, about 5 minutes, until chicken is fork-tender.
7. Transfer chicken to serving platter.
8. Increase heat to medium-high and cook glaze until it thickens slightly. Spoon over chicken.

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