The Shaffer Journal
Volume 6 Issue 4 April 2000
[Internet Stuff] [Hockey Puck] [Guest Meows! Cat Chat 1 2 3 4]
[The Mountains of Ao] [Poetry Corner] [The Dull Stuff] [Guest Articles] [In The Keys]

Kitty Talk
These journals are dedicated to Kitty GreyCat's spirit. She is at RainBow Bridge now. We all loved you, Kitty! Click the cat graphic to visit her Memorial page. Kitty born June 6, 1982. Died July 9, 1997.

This is Ebony doing the list of all birfdays, anniversaries, and holidazes: April 4th Toni’s birthday, 12th Michael’s birthday, 16th Douglas’ birthday, 17th Tax Day, 18th Art S. birthday, 23rd Alexis’ birthday and Easter, 24th Tony and Rhonda’s anniversary. April is good month!

This is Abby and I have a furr-raising tail to tell you about. I somehow got into the latched sock drawer. I love socks, you nose? I took one sock out at a time and put it in my special sleeping basket. On one of my trips for a sock, the draw must have shut on me and latched. The sock drawer is not nice, I meow! There is a lot of room under the drawer. I scratch and scratch. Human bean noticed me Abby was missing. When bean pulled the sock drawer completely out, I popped my head out in relief and jumped out rather quick like I did. I’ve since denied any wrong doing and did not thank human bean for supposedly saving me. Besides I think it only one of my human bean’s many responsibilities to me.

I Abby have a special cat place underneath the fifth wheel travel trailer. I go near the end of the trailer to my really dusty dirt hole. I woller and role and get dirt all over me. Being a white kitty cat, I nose I look like a site! Human bean tell me I is his doity kitty cat. He says birds are boids too. Why do bean’s have to talk funny, I ask!

I am Ebony cat. When Abby was losted in the sock drawer, I was purrring happy. Abby is always pestering me. She only has to get near me, and I growl my displeasure. Ifing I had a bad day hunting lizards, sometimes I paw wap her too. But Abby have you all believe that I just like abusing her. That is not true! Abby will hide and wait for me to come by. Then she jumps on me giving me a fright. What is a kitty supposed to do with such a cat? I don’t mind running and jumping, hissing and spitting, pawing and clawing, but only once or twice a day is all I need. Abby wants to play all the time. How am I supposed to get my catnapping in? Why, even outside, Abby is pestering me something pawful. She steals my lizards when I catch them. When she done wearing the goodie out of them, then she lets me have them back. Only decent thing left to do then is eat them! Poor me…

The dragon fly season is coming soon. I Ebony can’t wait neither. The mustyskitters are getting thick. Dragon flies are good for us that not like skitters. Another good thing for dragon flies is how they make poor Abby go more stir crazy than she normally is. That Abby cat jump and run, leap and twist, dart and prance all over the place trying to get her one of those dragon flies. I not have the heart to tell her that catching one is not at all fun. Those dragon flies taste pawful awful and fall apart easy!

Internet Stuff
We’ve used several features of the bCentral Service from Micorsoft Network. We ran an advertising campaign for the month of March on our domain at http://RunesofAo.com. The Ad Store Buy gave us 5000 ad banners. We plan to use bCentral’s Privacy Statement Generator for our new Privacy Policy on our domain. You have to assure the web visitor that their privacy concerns are paramount. Privacy issues are the next big legal hurdles for many to overcome.

We have been using the office application from Microsoft called Microsoft Office 2000 Premium. The features are quite nice. Other individual applications are better. WordPerfect for instance is much better than Word. Lotus Organizer is heads above Outlook. Microsoft Office 2000 beats them all by how well each application integrates with each other. Having my Personal Information Manager and my email application together working seamlessly is a real plus. I despise the idiotic quirks of some of Microsoft Office 2000, but it beats everyone with its package as a whole.

Our original website at http://geocities.com/les_novelist/ is still aggravating us. All my other GeoCities websites play nicely with FrontPage 2000, but my original Runes of Ao site won’t upload using the FrontPage 2000 domain upload feature. I have to resort to File Transfer Protocol or FTP to upload files to the server. At least FrontPage 2000 is smart enough to know which pages have changed and in need of refreshing server side.

In The Keys
My annual jury duty notice came in the mail. Last time I was there for three days at the courthouse behind the sheriff’s substation. I got paid for those days. The money was not much, but there was some money for my time. I hoped that this year that I would at least get called upon to be part of a jury. I sat there while three juries were selected. I was sent home once again.

Key West was treated to a visit by the George Washington, a mighty aircraft carrier. They stayed over the weekend. Sailors were everywhere and most stayed out of trouble. The prospect of another carrier coming for a visit has merchants salivating. The Navy would prefer the Puerto Rico operation’s area for training though.

The new Marathon City Council has been in the news and on cable television. I must admit that they don’t put me to sleep like the County Commission! They are young yet, just give them time. The Marathon Mayor went to the county commission and asked that the city get to have control over Boot Key Harbor. This is reasonable considering that Boot Key Harbor is inside the city proper. Let’s see what the city can do now.

And how about all that dust being stirred up by the work going on building the new Marathon Community Park. The new park is located directly across from 37th Street. A lot of foliage and palm trees were rooted out. I don’t know why they couldn’t save some of the greenery. There were even some very old trees that are now gone forever. Why can’t plans include the existing plants and trees? At least the ones worth saving.

The Buccaneer Resort’s main building burned to the ground. Reports say that black clouds billowed high into the air. Rescue and fire squads from all over, some over fifty miles away, came to help out. The Marathon Mayor announced that letters of appreciation among other things would be sent to everyone. Through the efforts and skills of those personnel no one was hurt, and no other buildings were affected. The resort stayed open and not one employee lost any work. I could see how this tragedy brought our new city closer together. We seem to have a definite identity now. Even some pride is showing through in spots.

Guest Meows!
This is Larry for Ariel. She and her two cats, Harry and Emily, gave us some wonderful Cat Chat articles this month. We are gratified that we can offer this regular article about some wonderful cats and their human bean with visits by a dragon! Please visit the Memorial Page for Ariel's mother. Click the cat wagging its tail graphic to visit their net home. Thank you. Now here is Harry, Chester, and Emily with Cat Chat:


Cat Chat 3-3-00
The Unwinter

Chester: Now, I know I haven't been alive through a winter before this, but I've been reading a lot about weather stuff, studying about flying, you know. And it seems like there hasn't really been much winter this year.

Harry: It's been plenty enuff winter fur me I meow! We had that little snow, and the more snow after that, and then that big snow with the freezing rainy stuffers on top what got Mom and Girlfriend stuck down at the bottom of the driveway.

Emily: Yeah, that's furry much enuff winter stuffers fur me! I hated getting my paws all cold on that nasty white stuffers. An more dan dat eben I hated not getting to go out atall cause it were so so cold!

Chester: Well, there has been that, I know, but we've had a lot of unseasonably warm weather this winter.

Harry: So what? Warm is good.

Emily: Yous should nose! Yous habn't hardly moveded from dat heater fur months! Heehee!

Harry: Well, I don't have a bunch of fat and fur to keep me all warm like some kitties I nose!

Emily: Hey!

Chester: Now, you two, enough of that! We were talking about winter.

Emily: Why do we want to talk bout winter? Winter is gone gone. Spring is springing an the little nanamils is comin outta there holeses and the boidies is hopping round-and not them big nasty crows either! Robins an stuffers like dat! Dat means there'll be baby boidies fallin outta nests all ready to eat soon! Yum! An I is not fat! Humph!

Harry: Emily is right. The sun is getting all warm and the flowers are growing. The sun feels so good on my fur! I'm glad winter is over!

Chester: But that's the thing. Winter isn't really over. It's not even supposed to be officially over for three more weeks.

Emily: So what? Spring decided not to wait, is all. I doesn't mind that atall! Now I gets to go outside and play and run round and smell all the good smelly things to smell. I lub Spring! It's better dan Summer or eben Fall, I meow! Spring smells better than Fall, wid eberyting all new and fresh, and isn't all hot hot like Summer. Spring is a furry good ting, I meow!

Chester: You cats aren't getting the point. It isn't Spring yet. We could still have cold weather-even more snow! I've been reading all about it.

Emily: More snow! Noooooo! No more snow! I don't want any more snow!

Harry: It's possible, I meow. I member some years when we's had snow way long after Spring was Spring...

Chester: You see?

Harry: But it don't happen furry much.

Emily: Well, I doesn't tink it will dis year. I tink Spring be here fur good.

Chester: What makes you think that? Like you know anything about weather!

Emily: Not eben da weader beans nose anyting bout weader! But I hab bin hearing bout dis ting dis year. It's somethin dat don't happen furry much, jus oncet ebery four years. See, dis year day says it be da Leap Year.

Chester: What does that have to do with anything? That just means that this year has an extra day, that's all.

Emily: I tink it means lots more dan dat! I jus bet dat it means we's jus leaped right past da rest ub ole nasty Winter!

Chester: That's just plain silly! Your head is full of fluff! You can't leap past winter!

Harry: How does yous nose that? I think Emily makes a lot of sense. After all, if all Leap Year was was a year where there was an eggstra day added to it, then they would call it Eggstra Day Year. But they call it Leap Year, so we must be leaping over something! And since that eggstra day was just a couple of days ago, I just bet that that means we've leaped past Winter.

Emily: Yeah! Leap Year means dat we hab more Spring and less Winter. I guess dat makes dis da year ub da Unwinter! Heehee!

Chester: Well...I don't know...

Harry: What, do yous wants more Winter? Yous crazier than a doggie ifn yous do!

Chester: No, not at all! I like the warm sun, and the nice breezes that help me fly better. I'm just afraid this isn't going to last. I'm afraid we're going to have more Winter, no matter what you cats think.

Emily: Dat's da trouble wid yous, Chester. Yous tinks too much. Me, I's gonna go out an enjoy the nice warm Unwinter! Heehee!

Cat Chat 3-10-00
Fuzzy Bear and the Violet

Emily: Yous guys is always saying I am fat, but I bin lookin at some old pitchurs dat Mom has ub oder kitties what hab gone to Rainbow Bridge, and dar is one fur sure dat were fatter den me!

Chester: I find it hard to believe any kitty could be fatter than you! Heehee!

Emily: Yous is jus an ole meany, you! Hisssspittt!! So there! Anyways, I nose dar were a kitty fat as me or fatter. I eben sorta member him. His name was Fuzzy Bear.

Harry: Oh, I member Fuzzy Bear. Yous are right, Emily. He was a bit broad in the beam, and not much taller than yous are. And at least as fuzzy! He was a nice kitty. He never tried to claim that he was head of the house, like Miss Priss alays did. He got along with everybody. His special friend was Tinker, cause they were both great hunters, and they both liked doing stuff like getting in Mom's drawers ifn she let them open.

Chester: What did Fuzzy Bear look like? That's a funny name for a cat, isn't it? Did he look like a bear?

Harry: Oh, I don't nose why Mom called that. She alays says that beans have to pick names fur kitties that fit the kitty. And he was fuzzy. I don't nose where she got the bear part, but Mom is funny sometime, yous nose?

Emily: Yeah, she is. Beans is all funny. Here, Chester, see, here's a pitchur of Fuzzy Bear, an here's anoder one too. Dis big fluffy brown tabby here...

Chester: He looks like a friendly fellow, though a bit chubby.

Emily: See! I told yous! Fuzzy Bear was fatter den eber I bin, wasn't he, Harry?

Harry: Well, he certainly wasn't a little cat. And he did have a broad butt...even if it wasn't as broad as yours...

Emily: Hisssspiitt!!

Harry: Heehee! OK, I'll tell yous both just how broad Fuzzy Bear's butt was. This is a funny story. You nose how Mom alays has those African violets in pots?

Emily: Yeah, I nose all bout Mom's in da house plants. She moveded some ub dem when I decided to scritch in da dirt. But she shoulda nosed I would do dat, cause she put dem all right where I sits to look out the window. What is dirt in pots fur cept fur scritchin in?

Harry: Fuzzy Bear had his own idea fur that, fur sure! See, back then, Mom had a special place fur her in the house plants, like she does now. In fact, it's the same place, since she moveded them. And she used to have this big African violet in a big pot, almost as big as that funny-looking prickle thing she has.

Chester: That is a big house plant. I asked Mom why she doesn't let it grow outside, because it's so big, and she said that it would die outside because it's the wrong climate for it.

Emily: Dat were my favorite plant to dig in, cause it has like no leaves or nothin at the bottom. Just lots of fun dirt! Heehee!

Harry: Well, like I said, Mom had an African violet in a pot almost that big, and it was on the table by the back kitchen window. It was a bigger table than the one she has there now, and her other plants were up hanging from the ceiling, so there was plenty of room to jump up there. Fuzzy liked to look out that window. But as he got bigger and bigger, there wasn't enough room fur him and the plant...

Chester: Oh, no! He didn't knock it off the table, did he?

Harry: Mweeheehee!! No, even worse than that! He sat in it!

Emily: How is dat woise dan knockin it ober? Sitting on stufferes don't hurt it.

Harry: Oh, but it did. Yous see, the more he sat on the violet, the flatter the leaveses got. And the leaveses, they didn't like being sat on not atall! The leaveses are furry delicate things, see, and Fuzzy's butt was squishing them but good! And too, cause Fuzzy was always sitting on the leaveses when it was all nice and sunny, they didn't get no sunlight, and they didn't like that either, cause plants needs sunlight to grow.

Emily: Eben I nosed dat! Dat's why Mom puts dem ole plants in da bestest sunny windows! I don't nose why she hab to hab in da house plants anyways. There's plenty ub plants outside.

Chester: Humans like having house plants. It something to do with how plants keep the air clean or something, and they look pretty.

Emily: Humph! We is prettier dan any ole in da house plants, or any outta da house plants eider!

Harry: I agree, But Mom does like her violets even tho they never bloom and they're spossed to, I meow!.

Chester: So what happened to the violet? Did it just get flatter and flatter?

Harry: Well, see, Mom kept tryin to keep Fuzzy from sitting on the violet. And yous nose, that kinda stuffers don't work with us kitties!

Emily: That's fur sure! We sits where we wants to an dat's dat!

Harry: So after a while, the leaveses, they got all gray looking, and then Mom just gave up trying to make Fuzzy not sit on the violet cause she nosed that it were a goner. And after a while longer, there wasn't nothing there but just a pot of dirt. Then Mom went and throwed the dirt out and put the pot away and Fuzzy had to just sit on the table. He didn't like that so much, cause it wasn't as soft as the violet, but really, he was getting so broad in the butt that he kinda draped over the edges of that pot. He wouldn't have fit in it much longer.

Emily: See! I tol yous dat Fuzzy were fatter dan me! Heehee! Dat's a good story, Harry. So, violets is good to sit in? Maybe I oughta try it.

Harry: I think yous better think agin bout that! Them violets are in Grandma bean's ceramical pots, an you nose how Mom is bout stuffers what belonged to Grandma bean. Ifn yous break one of those pots she'll be chasing you around the house yelling fur days!

Emily: Um...I think I'll just go sit on my chair instead. Who wants to sit on some ole violet, anyways!

Cat Chat 3-21-00
Boxes Everywhere

Harry: Something is up round here. There is boxes eberywhere, and they's not getting emptier neither! They're getting all fulled up!

Emily: Yeah, Mom eben tooked my special box and fulled it up wid stuffers! But more empty boxes keep comin in, but then they gets all fulled up too!

Harry: And more than that is happenin! Mom pulled down alla the curtains offen the windows all over the house! The worst thing is the secret bedroom. It was all dark and cozy with blankets and curtains and stuffers on all the windows. Now there's nothing at all up, and it's all bright with the sun. And the whole room is fulled of boxes, boxes everywhere! We doesn't nose what is going on!

Chester: If you cats listened to Mom and Grandpa and Girlfriend talk you'd know what was going on. Mom has bought a new house and we're moving.

Emily: What does yous mean, we're movin??!! I's not movin anywheres!

Chester: Oh, but we are! We're all moving to the trailer right above us.

Emily: But...I don't want to move anywhere! This is my home-house, an I bin libing here alays and forever!

Chester: Not forever. You weren't born here.

Emily: Yeah, well, dat don't count cause I were just a baby then and didn't have a territory and stuffers like dat!

Harry: I agree. I hate to move. We done it three times since I was borned. It's a turrible thing, getting used to all new stuffers. What does Mom want to go and move again fur?

Chester: We need a bigger place, and Grandpa is getting too old to mow this big lawn. We'll still have our territory. We're just moving up to the next yard. We go up there all the time.

Harry: Well, yeah, that's part of our territory, but the house isn't! I don't want no part of a new house! I'm too old fur this!

Emily: Me too! (sniff)

Chester: Em, you're not too old.

Emily, Yeah, well, but I still don't want no part of a new house! This is our cozy house, We've got all our smells and fur here. What will we do in a new house widout out fur an smells?

Chester: We'll make our smells in the new house, and you two can put down fur-that sure won't take you very long! It will be fun! New places to explore, new places to hide in. We're even going to have a new couch!

Harry: What's wrong with our old couch? It's taken us years of clawing to get it right. Fur and whiskers! Think of all the kitties what have gone to Rainbow Bridge that worked so hard to get that couch clawed just right. And how is Peanut gonna find me? This was his house too, yous nose!

Chester: Peanut comes to you as much as the house. He'll find you.

Harry: How can you nose that? You never nosed Peanut.

Chester: No, but I know that he knows what's going on better than us here on Earth. Don't worry about Peanut and the others. They'll know where we are.

Harry: Well...maybe you're right. But I still don't want to lose our nice couch.

Chester: But you'll have a whole new couch to claw on. And we'll have room to move in Girlfriend's couch too!

Emily: Really? Is it a nice couch? Is it ever had kitties own it?

Chester: Yes, I think so. Girlfriend likes it a lot, and I know she had a kitty or two.

Harry: Well, we'll fix that! We'll make our own smells all over that couch. I guess if Girlfriend likes it, it's got to be ok. Girlfriend is moving with us, isn't she?

Chester: Of course! Why else would we be moving her couch in there?

Emily: Hmmm...so, we'll have new couches to claw on...what about our beds? Mom's not leaving our beds too, is she?

Chester: I think she's taking the bed in the secret bedroom, but selling the bed in her room.

Emily: But that's my bed! She can't sell my bed! I won't let her!

Emily: A high bed? How high?

Chester: So high Mom needs stairs to climb up on it!

Emily: Really? Oh, that sounds fun! I can jump up way high on it and way down and way high up again! Heehee! Oh! An ifn it's so big, can we get under it?

Chester: We sure can! It will be a good hiding place! Especially on stormy nights.

Harry: We can alays use a good hiding place on stormy nights! I guess there will be all sorts of closets and corners to sniff around in, huh? And prolly more of Girlfriend's stuffers, too, since yous said the place is bigger.

Chester: Yes, lots more of that. And the carpet is so so soft and nice!

Emily: Yous bin in dar?

Chester: Yes, I went up with Mom the other day. It's a really nice place. I can't wait to get time to look around really well!

Harry: There sure will be a lot of stuffers to look round into, fur sure. A nice soft carpet sounds nice. This one is kinda hard and flat. Hmm...isn't there a nice deck up there? Way up offen the ground, so as we can see out way far? There's lots of squirrels and birds up in that yard-and not just those big crows either!

Emily: Dat's right! Dar be lots of little fun boidies up dar what I can chase and eat, maybe! Yum! And closets to hide in...didn't you say closets?

Chester: I didn't, but of course there will be closets, full of Mom's and Girlfriend's clothes and stuff.

Emily: Maybe this won't be too bad after all. It sounds kinda fun, akshully!

Harry: Well, maybe it won't be too bad. At least we'll still have our territory. And Mom and Girlfriend and most of our stuffers. I still want the couch tho.

Emily: We'll hab to meow at Mom bout dat. I bet maybe we can get her to take it wid us!

Emily: Eben better, we'll meow to Girlfriend bout it! She'll do anyting fur us!

Harry: Good idea. We better start working on her right now, before Mom gets us all moved!

Cat Chat 3-27-00
Turrble Smells

Emily: Mom hab bin makin deese turrble smells in our house lately. They's so bad dat my eyes hab been burnin. I can hardly barely sleep on my bed atall!

Chester: Yes, she was refinishing the bathtub and sink in the main bathroom. Even with the windows open and the fan blowing the air out, it about took my breath away! I don't know how she stood being in there painting with that awful stuff!

Harry: Well, she sure couldn't stand it much, cause she slept in my bed fur three days! It's a furry little bed, and there isn't really room, what with her moving her legs round so much. Seems I'd just get settled and she'd move. I figgered, after the first day, that that was that, but then she went and made the turrble smells all over again! Why'd she have to go and do that?

Chester: She said it needed two coats. Mom sure does like to paint things! I figured that would be all over with since we're moving into a new house, but she's painting even more!

Emily: She say she's sprucin up da place so as she can sell it fur lots ub cat food money. What's it mean, sprucing?

Harry: I think it means she's making the place look nicer so as someone will want to buy it. Now that tub is so shiny it most hurts my eyes to look at! At least the smell is gone.

Emily: It's all slickery too. I liked it better da oder way.

Chester: Well, we won't have to worry about it too much longer. We'll be moving soon.

Harry: No kidding! The house is all crazy! And Mom is still painting stuffers. She made the coffee table all funny and rough-like. She asked Grandpa how he liked it and he said like wasn't quite the word he'd use! Heehee!

Emily: Grandpa doesn't like the way Mom decorates our house, I meow. He were complainin bout the Star Wars thingy she hab hangin on our wall, saying how like he hopes she's not goin to hang it up in our new house. Well, it's our house, after all! Ifn Mom an Girlfriend wants stuffers up on da walls then they should hab dem, I says!

Harry: I agrees. Next thing yous nose, he's not gonna want to have our cat food bowls out on the floor!

Chester: I don't think he'd go that far, but he does seem to have some odd ideas about how a house should look. Like, he likes the way the new house looks with the furniture the people have in it who are moving, but that stuff isn't like our house at all! It's too fancy, like you're not supposed to sit on it!

Harry: Mom says that that's what Grama bean's house was always like. Like it looked like no one even ever lived there! I guess that's how come Grandpa thinks that's how a house should look, since he lived with her fur so long. Emily: Yeah, but he don't keep da place lookin like that now, I meow. At least, that's what Mom says alla time. He don't notice the dirt and stuffers. Now Mom, she notices the dirt, she jus ignore it! Heehee!

Chester: It's clean enough for all of us. But it's funny hearing Mom talk to Grandpa about his tub and stuff. She says, Daddy, your tub is blacker than mine! That's a bad sign! And he says, oh, that ring just gives it character! Hahaha! He is a funny fellow, Grandpa is!

Emily: Grandpa makes turrble smells all ub his own, but they doesn't last fur days. They goes away purrty fast. Course, I guess ifn he were here alla time it would get purrty smelly! Mweeheehee!

Harry: Yeah, he calls it passing gas. Mom alays makes a fuss bout it, and then they both laugh. Grandpa smells worse than our litterhouse sometime!

Chester: Mom says it's just part of his charm. Heehee!

Emily: Speakin ub smells, does yous think Mom is gonna make any more turrble smells for we moves?

Chester: I don't think so. She has more paint, but that is to paint stuff outside, I think.

Emily: What bout our new house? Is there gonna be turrble smells there?

Harry: Well, like I said, I've moved before. Everything smells strange, but not turrble. We'll have lots of sniffing to do, I meow!

Emily: And lots of makin it smell like us too! When does we gotta move?

Chester: Mom says she is going to start to move stuff up there Thursday, but we won't be really moved til next week.

Emily: Oh! Well, that's fureber aways. I's sorta wantin to see our new house, sorta. I'm sorta sceered, tho.

Chester: Mom says she's going to bring yum-yums up there for you when you go and look around. That should make you more comfortable.

Emily: Yum-yums?? I think I can maybe go up there ifn there's yum-yums!

Harry: What bout me? I don't like yum-yums!

Chester: I bet she'll bring you some milk up there...

Harry: And maybe some Whiskas too? I maybe could be OK looking round ifn there was a bowl of Whiskas fur me to nibble on.

Chester: I'm sure she will. It will be fine up there. And there won't be any more turrble smell!

Cat Chat is © 1999 - 2008, 2009 Ariel, Emily, Harry, and Chester the Dragon. All rights reserved worldwide. This column may not be reprinted in part or whole without express permission of Ariel.

Poetry Corner
“Yon Garden” 3.14.00 by L. E. Shaffer © 2000 L. E. Shaffer

From a lifetime away
Far above even thought
When time was young
And we loved so much

Happy times thrum
Like mystical music
Drum and rhythm
Soul and spirit

Hearts joined alive
Thriving in a world
So bright and full
Love shining as the sun

Then suddenly you leave
To play in yon garden
Waiting there patiently
Looking with a glance

There at the door
Expectant and cool
Warm memories
Words on the mind

And through the door
Walks the one hoped for
A child stands in joy
The one stops and stares

They rush into
Each other’s arms
Crying in that bliss
Created in that moment . . .
© 2000 L. E. Shaffer

Hockey Puck
Raymond Bourque of the Boston Bruins is running out of career. He wants a shot at winning the holy grail of hockey, the Stanley Cup. The Boston Bruins did not stand in his way. Bourque was traded to the Colorado Avalanche who are going to the playoffs. He contributed the first night with a score and has not stopped. He is on a hot streak and carrying the club into the Stanley Cup playoffs. We hope he gets his cup finally.

The Florida Panthers want to get back to the Stanley Cup finals. With Pavel Bure scoring and leading the team, they have an excellent chance of doing just that. The Panthers started out very slowly in March, but did manage to win some key games. They fell out of first place falling into the number five seed in the playoffs. They hope to get into the top four so they can enjoy a series or two with home rink advantage. The last part of March has been much better for the team. They won a five-game road stand 3 games won to 2 games lost. They came back home and beat some good teams. They lost to last year’s Stanley Cup champions, the Dallas Stars, but the Panthers showed every indication of hitting their stride going into the upcoming playoffs.

Guest Articles
We don't have any guest writers this month. So we are going to display an article from Larry called Target Practice.

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