A wonderful poem by Linda Allbritten, a very good friend ...

Linda Allbritten, whom possibly some of you will remember as the co-host, with her husband, Roger, of Showemall Writer's Block, where many first began to get out feet wet on the internet.

                    Out of Their Element

                     The usual into the car,

                     out the electronic door

                     kind of day,

                     until the flashing lights 

                     of a Boulder city fire truck

                     warned people to pull over.

                     Was it an accident, 

                     a heart attack victim?

                     No, it was a humble Hereford steer

                     at the corner of Pearl and Ninth,

                     making a futile attempt 

                     to blend with the herds of people 

                     who stopped to point 

                     and stare in wonderment.

                     Head lowered in imitation 

                     of the woman ahead of him,

                     he followed in her footsteps 

                     through the flashing walk signal,

                     while she remained 

                     sublimely unaware of a 

                     thousand pounds of beef behind her,

                     trying so valiantly 

                     to find his way home, 

                     and knowing instinctively 

                     that he never would.

                     But the steer moved on, 

                     up the hill,

                     a trail of drool streaming from his lips,

                     while firemen 

                     stood helplessly by 

                     not knowing what to do 

                     with a low-tech animal

                     in a high-tech world 

                     where even a mouse 

                     is electronic.

Linda and Roger are remarkable people, and no one knows that better than I do.