January 2007

VOL XV, Issue 1, Number 165

Editor: Klaus J. Gerken

Production Editor: Heather Ferguson

European Editor: Mois Benarroch

Contributing Editors: Michael Collings; Jack R. Wesdorp; Oswald Le Winter

Previous Associate Editors: Igal Koshevoy; Evan Light; Pedro Sena

ISSN 1480-6401

INTRODUCTION

   EMMA

CONTENTS

   Vignettes by EMMA

      The Chinchilla Fur Fiasco
      The Smelly Wedding Gift
      Che Saran Saran
      Ways of the World
      The Recital
      The Price of Passion
      Old Times End
      The Ladder of Success
      Only a Whistle Away
      Simple Calculation
      Word Perfect
      What Do You Know?
      Cages
      The Dinner

POST SCRIPTUM

   Biography

Given the pain, unfairness and tribulations that often seem to outweigh 
life's joyousness - it is sometimes uplifting to position disheartening 
events from the vantage of absurdity and irony. To retain my own sanity, 
I have attempted to convey such a position in these works.

Vignettes 

by 

EMMA


The Chinchilla Fur Fiasco
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Burkholder Anderson wore a bowler hat and walked with a cane. He ate 
caviar mixed with parsley and gourmet cheeses on crisp thin wafers. He 
was, of course, very careful not to spill the crumbs on the Persian 
carpet he had purchased at an Arabian bazaar.

Burkolder Anderson had only one problem. He was severely allergic to 
chinchilla furs. Unfortunately, many of his woman friends wore these 
dreaded furs to the Orion Country Club on Saturday evenings in winter. 
This was November, the evening before the Orion Country Club Fundraising 
Gala. Burkholder Anderson could not resist blinking uncontrollably at 
the thought of the chinchilla furs and the misery of a runny nose and
stuffed up sinuses.

The day of the gala arrived. Burkholder Anderson was ready. He donned 
his bowler hat and strode across his immaculate floor. He placed his 
cane beneath his arm and stepped out into the cool night breeze. He took 
several steps, then coughed and sneezed into his silk handkerchief 
before he caught sight of his neighbour, Mrs. Tony Grandmaison, walking 
toward a taxi. It did not escape his notice that Mrs. Grandmaison was 
wearing a despised chinchilla fur. He sneezed and coughed again and 
wiped his eyes with his handkerchief. 

It was at that instant that Burkholder Anderson concocted what he 
believed to be the perfect remedy for avoiding contact with the enemy 
furs. He would announce a contest for the most beautiful women's attire 
and insist that all the chinchilla furs be placed in a makeshift closet 
away from the main activity and far from the podium where many of the 
guests, including himself, would be giving their illustrious speeches in 
the pleasant absence of the hated chinchillas.

The gala evening progressed smoothly. The contest for women's attire 
added a touch of jest to an evening that was dense with passionate talk 
of charity and fundraising.

Burkholder had known just who to place in charge of the closet. Remy 
McClellan was a trusted handyman known to many of the guests. Unknown to 
Burkholder, Remy had just acquired a whistle with which to call his 
beloved dog. But Remy McClellan could not figure out how the whistle 
worked. As he sat guarding the chinchilla furs, he blew and blew the 
whistle but could hear no sound. How could a whistle work if it did not 
make any sound? After he had blown the whistle a dozen or more times, he
heard scratching at the door. He thought an illustrious guest was 
arriving late and opened it. Two-dozen neighbourhood dogs pounced into 
the closet, grabbing and tossing the chinchilla furs as they barked and 
ran hysterically around the hall.

Burkholder Anderson coughed, sneezed and blinked his watery eyes 
uncontrollably as the women ran around wildly, too, trying to catch 
their chinchilla furs, which were flying through the air.

When the chaos was over, the women regained their furs. In December, at 
the Winter Soire of the Orion Country Club, Burkholder Anderson was 
not blamed for any wrongdoing. Everyone agreed he had no reason to 
suspect the fiasco involving the makeshift closet and the chinchilla 
furs.

For his part, Burkholder Anderson was simply pleased that he had rid 
himself of the loathed carcasses for most of an evening but thanked the 
illustrious guests for their trust in his goodwill and, with that, he 
held a lemon slice to his nose, a new, and perhaps less hazardous, 
remedy for his sneezing, congestion and runny nose.



The Smelly Wedding Gift
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, don't get me wrong.when Clara and Archibald Squire received the 
wedding gift from their friend, Gwendolyn --- it was NOT smelly. Clara 
thought it was a lovely and original gift. Who else, but the poetic 
Gwendolyn, would think of giving strawberry bushes as a wedding gift, 
which Clara and Archibald could plant in their own garden. a gift that 
would grow and bear fruit for a very long time.

Clara and Archibald lived in the country. They worked long hours in a 
nearby city and drove one-and-a-half hours to work in the dark, before 
sunrise. They drove home late at night, after sunset, in the dark.

Archibald put the gift of the strawberry bushes, which were wrapped in 
plastic filled with moist soil and manure, into the trunk of their car. 
Much as Clara and Archibald wished to plant the bushes. they did not 
have the energy to do so.

On weekends, they had a hundred and one chores to do, cleaning the 
house, mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, and if they 
had any spare time, Clara insisted they go to her mother's house in the 
city. When she complained that the bushes had not been planted, 
Archibald said "How can I plant them in the dark . when I can't see 
anything." Also, the Squires did not own a shovel.

Gwendolyn kept asking if the bushes had been planted - and said that 
strawberry bushes are almost indestructible.

Meanwhile, a jug of orange juice had exploded in the trunk of the car 
and, in the midst of the worst heat wave in ten years, the strawberry 
bushes, or rather the soil and manure, which had now become moist with 
fermented orange juice, began to develop a distinct and unpleasant smell 
that was growing stronger and stronger. Clara and Archibald argued about 
it but neither of them had the energy to take the plants out of the 
trunk. After three and a half weeks, the stink was so indescribably bad 
that even the smell of rotten eggs. was no match for it!

One day, Archibald was at work in the offices of the Commissioner of 
Official Languages. The Commissioner's secretary called Archibald to her 
desk. "I need your help," she said. "The Commissioner has to go to an 
emergency meeting in Montreal right away. His chauffeur is caught in a 
traffic jam at the other end of the city and will probably be too late. 
I can't get an airplane ticket. I'm asking you, Archibald, could you 
drive the Commissioner to the meeting?"

Archibald was silent. All he could think of was rotten eggs and for a 
moment he couldn't remember why. Then, he remembered why.

He tried to come up with excuses. He said he was a nervous driver . he 
had to get home early to feed his birds. his wife had dizzy spells and 
needed his help. But the secretary was convincing, and finally.he agreed 
to drive the Commissioner to the meeting.

Archibald walked slowly to his car. He felt like he was going to his own 
funeral. He thought about tossing the bushes into the garbage bin right 
then, but he knew that Clara would be devastated. He opened the car 
door. and got a whiff. of the worst stink he had ever smelled. His heart 
sank.Maybe the Commissioner had a cold and wouldn't smell it.

Archibald's mind was racing as he thought about what he should say:  
that he had just bought the bushes yesterday and voila, this morning 
they stank.that his sick aunt wanted him to leave the bushes in his 
trunk because she heard that old rotten strawberry bushes, wrapped in 
manure, cured people... or better yet, he could pretend he didn't smell 
anything."Smell, sir.I don't understand?"

As he drove up to the front door Archibald could see the Commissioner 
standing inside the lobby wearing an expensive blue suit and a fedora 
hat.

Archibald's knees started to shake. then.a miracle happened.the 
Commissioner's white Chevrolet sped up to the front door.driven by his 
chauffeur. The chauffeur got out and opened the door for the 
Commissioner. As he was getting in, the Commissioner tipped his hat to 
Archibald - perhaps a thank you for his offer to help. Archibald felt 
his whole body go limp.

When Clara and Archibald Squire got home at 11:00 p.m., Archibald took 
the odoriferous bushes from the trunk of the car and asked Clara for a 
large spoon. He planted the bushes in the yard .right in front of the 
shed.

Archibald came into the house and said to Clara "They're planted." Clara 
took a can of deodorizer from the cupboard and went to spray the car, as 
she had done many times before. She looked at the brown, withered bushes 
sitting lopsided on the lawn near the shed. and remembered what 
Gwendolyn had said about strawberry bushes being indestructible. She 
said to Archibald  "Won't it be nice to have strawberries in the 
garden. It is a lovely gift isn't it?"

Archibald thought about the three and a half weeks of smelliness. the 
arguments. the close call with the Commissioner. He hoped it hadn't 
gotten into the upholstery.that it wasn't permanent.that it actually 
would go away. But he didn't want to worry Clara so he simply said,  
"Yes, dear. a lovely gift.indeed!"



Che Saran Saran
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Martha and Hugh Hurtubise were distraught. On a Wednesday, in the fall 
of their second year of marriage, they had, by an accident of foresight, 
completely consumed the cylinder of saran wrap, which had served them 
admirably for several months. Hugh Hurtubise had had enough. With a 
sweep of his hand, he donned his paid cap and invited Martha to fetch 
his cardigan. An outing was in order. For a leg of deep fried chicken 
and a serving of home-fried potatoes could not go to spoil because of 
his mistake. Not when he was acquainted with the manager of a fast-food 
chain who could solve his problem forever.

Hugh Hurtubise boldly presented himself at the counter of the restaurant 
and asked if he could purchase an industrial-sized roll of protective 
covering. The manager, pleased to be of service, immediately acquiesced, 
without asking the reason for the request. Hugh Hurtubise paid cash for 
the merchandise and walked home feeling quite satisfied. On seeing the 
over-sized roll of saran wrap, Martha sighed in relief and promptly 
covered the chicken and potatoes that had lain in waiting.

Night followed day and the industrial-sized roll of saran wrap continued 
to protect the Hurtubise leftovers. One large piece, one small piece, 
one medium-sized piece; imperceptibly the roll diminished. Year followed 
month and still the Hurtubise leftovers owed their longevity to the 
industrial-sized roll of saran wrap. Martha and Hugh Hurtubise grew 
older and older. Hugh Hurtubise was now bald and Martha had grown plump 
from eating too many leftovers. Still, after scores of leftovers had 
been preserved, the industrial-sized roll remained almost constant in 
diameter. Decade followed year and still the industrial-sized roll of 
saran wrap diminished only imperceptibly.

One day, Hugh Hurtubise bent down to tear a piece of saran wrap from the 
industrial-sized roll. He gasped, fell, and died in the Hurtubise 
kitchen with a medium-sized piece of saran wrap in his hand. Martha 
Hurtubise, devastated by the death of her husband, lived on for only a 
few months.

Every summer, to commemorate their parents, the Hurtubise children visit 
the graves, with flowers wrapped in saran wrap from the industrial-sized 
roll.



Ways of the World
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bertha was often distressed. At ungodly hours of the morning, she would 
telephone, on impulse, the Centre for Crisis Intervention, which offered 
counselling on a rotating basis. By an unfortunate quirk of fate, 
Gilbert's telephone number was just one number removed from that of the 
Centre.

The Centre's line was often busy, and Bertha was prone to distraction: 
during the early hours of the morning, she often misdialed the number 
for the Centre, and connected with Gilbert's line instead. When she 
interrupted Gilbert's sleep, Bertha did not identify herself but simply 
hung up the phone and dialled again. She would spend all night dialling 
and misdialing the number for the Centre for Crisis Intervention.

Gilbert received phone calls at 2:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m., and 
5:00 a.m. He found it more and more difficult to get up for work. Bertha 
began calling the Centre four, five, six times a night, often misdialing 
and accidentally ringing Gilbert's number. Gilbert began missing days 
from work because he could not wake up after nights of interrupted 
sleep. He developed hypochondria due to extreme fatigue.

One night after the phone rang, Gilbert took an ounce of scotch to 
steady his nerves. He found that the whiskey helped him to sleep. Often 
as Gilbert was falling asleep, the phone would ring. He began taking two 
ounces of scotch and found that this calmed him considerably. In the 
early morning when the phone rang, Gilbert would take three ounces of 
scotch.

Meanwhile, Bertha was growing less and less distressed. She phoned the 
Centre less often, giving Gilbert some peace. Gilbert, on the other 
hand, had developed a compulsion for scotch and often drank three or 
four ounces while waiting for the phone to ring. One morning, Gilbert 
went to work in a state of drunkenness. He was fired from his job and 
began staying at home drinking bottles of scotch.

Bertha had gained some level of stability. She now called the Centre 
only occasionally. Gilbert no longer received phone calls in the early 
morning. Now constantly inebriated, he became totally isolated and often 
longed for the mysterious caller to call.

Gilbert became more and more distressed. He could no longer tolerate the 
day without a bottle of scotch. In the grips of despair, he stumbled to 
a bridge near his home and jumped off, ending his misery.

Bertha recovered and began volunteering at the Centre for Crisis 
Intervention. She wanted more than anything to help people grow.



The Recital
~~~~~~~~~~~

Matilda sang with gusto. From the bottom of her huge diaphragm, she 
belted out notes that were powerful enough to challenge even the stoic 
chandelier that adorned her parlour. At seven o'clock every morning, 
Matilda practiced the soprano scales, beginning with the C major scale 
and ending with a solfeggio that would attack the ear of even the most 
ardent opera lover.

Jack was not an opera lover, and his apartment faced the gusty soprano's 
parlour window so that the music from her exuberant arias often made its 
way to his unappreciative ear.

Jack tried consulting the authorities but found that policemen were not 
sympathetic to the plight of a modest craftsman who had no love for the 
grandeur of the past.

Day after day, Matilda exulted in the masterful tragedies of Verdi, 
Puccini, Rossini; acting, crying, singing to her heart's content.

Jack fumed.

One day in the month of March, Matilda began practicing for an important 
recital, which, if successful, would mark a turning point in her career. 
At 7:00 a.m., she began her singing regimen, complete with tenor and 
contralto accompaniment. Matilda sang louder than ever before. With the 
tenor by her side, her voice rose to the heights of glory, making no 
apology to the awakened Jack, who fumed under his poised moustache. He 
watched her from across the alley.

Jack knew that the time had come. Without making a sound, he walked to 
the closet in which he stored his hunting equipment. With a steady hand, 
he located the rifle and checked the barrel to ensure that it was 
loaded.

Without flinching, he walked to the window and pointed the rifle. He had 
a clear view of the robust Matilda. Jack did not contemplate the 
consequences of his action: he only knew what had to be done.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Matilda belted out the most 
acute cadenza of her career. Jack was startled. From across the way, he 
watched as the crystal beam on Matilda's chandelier shattered causing 
the massive fixture to come toppling onto her head with full force. When 
he heard the screams, he knew that she had died instantly. Jack moved 
away from the window and watched the commotion. The grand finale had 
cheated him.



The Price of Passion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Betty loved Herbert beyond reason. Herbert had been her second love. The 
first had fizzled after an intimacy had frightened her lover into 
marriage with a girl of a much simpler constitution. Herbert was 
decidedly strange. He despised women beyond all measure but Betty knew 
that he loved her. Occasionally, Herbert would smile at Betty and she 
would burn with carnal lust for his savage disposition.

Herbert did not know that Betty loved him. He was indulgent in matters 
of sex and often engaged in casual flirtations. Then one day, Betty 
lusted after Herbert with all the energy of her resilient, if somewhat 
slight, frame. Herbert, bewildered by the attack, assented to the 
ravishment with an abandon that seldom surfaced in his demeanour.

After the encounter, Betty and Herbert separated. Herbert lived the 
lonely life of a misanthrope and Betty continued to imagine the ecstatic 
existence she could have had with Herbert. Zealously, she wrote long 
letters of passion to Herbert. Herbert did not reply to her advances but 
Betty, undaunted by the rejection, began to fabricate more and more 
elaborate fantasies about Herbert's undying love for her.

One day, Herbert was arrested for committing an uncomely act of lust. 
Betty, shocked by the aberration in Herbert's character, vowed 
nonetheless that she would not abandon him. Herbert was sentenced to 
life imprisonment and Betty continued to write passionate letters of 
love, which she sometimes sent to Herbert. Herbert continued his 
silence.

Then a riot broke out in the prison and Herbert was stabbed by a fellow 
inmate. Betty read about his death in the newspaper. Undaunted by the 
demise of her lover, she prayed every night, knowing that Herbert's 
spirit was by her side. Betty grew old and she began talking aloud to 
Herbert's spirit.

One day, Betty was polishing the portrait of Herbert, which she kept by 
her bedside. Unknown to Betty, the nail that had supported the painting 
for many years was faltering and suddenly, unable to tolerate the 
weight, it gave way causing the painting to fall to the ground and 
shatter. Betty could not bear the pain of loss and died at that moment, 
falling onto the bed in abandonment.

Betty's family attended a meeting at which the dispensation of her 
wealth was to be announced. Convinced that her pursuit would continue in 
the afterlife, and to everyone's bewilderment, the will contained two 
sentences: "At last, I am again with Herbert.  May I rest in peace." 
Betty was buried in the family plot and to this day those who visit her 
grave wonder at the words carved on the tombstone of the old spinster: 
"Herbert Forever".



Old Times End
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gertrude believed that premarital sex was unacceptable. She often 
lectured her nieces on the follies of unwed copulation and was a leading 
member of The Committee for a Religious Environment, which preached the 
sinfulness of unsanctified fornication.

When one of her nieces wished to live, unmarried, with her beloved, 
Gertrude tried very hard to be tolerant. She donned her spectacles and 
braced her lips in a manner that would not convey her displeasure: "It 
is not for me but for God, the Almighty Father of Heaven and Earth, to 
judge your action," she stated and rested her case.

One day, an elderly gentleman approached Gertrude with the intention of 
befriending her. Gertrude interrupted his greeting with a soliloquy on 
the evils of premarital intercourse. The gentleman, frightened by the 
staunchness of Gertrude's manner, quickly disappeared into the lobby of 
the nursing home where he was safe from Gertrude's attack.

Gathering his courage for another attempt, the elderly gentleman sat 
beside Gertrude in the sitting room and began a discourse on the wonders 
of spring. Immediately, Gertrude stood up to face the timid suitor and 
launched into a sermon, in oratorical manner, on the perils of 
unsanctified carnal knowledge, waving her arms for emphasis. The 
gentleman grabbed his cane and ran into the lobby.

In a final attempt at befriending the tyrant, the elderly gentleman 
winked at Gertrude while passing her in the hall. Gertrude stopped the 
man and placed her hands on his shoulders. She looked straight into his 
eyes and with raised voice began a homily denouncing the modern social 
order, which is grounded in promiscuous sexual mores. The elderly 
gentleman, in an uncharacteristic fit of rage, lifted his cane and, with 
a blow that matched Gertrude's puritanical fervour, belted her across 
the posterior. Gertrude had never experienced such sexual dominance and 
pursed her lips in an effort to hide her surprise.

The gentleman became Gertrude's constant companion. Still staunch in her 
doctrine, she sometimes allows her beau to hold her hand as they sit 
together reminiscing on the rapture of youth.



The Ladder of Success
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilma was bent on getting ahead. Even during her undergraduate days at 
Rhodes, she had had a thirst for ambition. At secondary school, she was 
elected class valedictorian and participated in several debates, which 
won her recognition as an orator of distinction. Later on, during her 
university days, Wilma outranked in grade point average even the most 
diligent student, several times winning honourable mention from the 
dean. Now, as a tenured professor of theoretical physics, she outshone 
in excellence even the most competent male scholar.

But Wilma had one ambition she had not met. She wanted, more than life 
itself, to be the first female to walk on Mars. Secretly, she submitted 
curriculum vitae to the Board of Space Explorations, which recruited 
potential astronauts from the student body of the university. Her 
application had been rejected because, the letter stated, in spite of 
her outstanding academic credentials, at her age, physical training 
would be considered dangerous to her health.

Wilma scoffed at the letter and began a rigorous program of exercise 
based on her knowledge of body mass. For many months, Wilma exercised 
three times a day. Then she started a weight reduction diet, which she 
had also designed. She applied again to the Board of Space Explorations 
giving figures revealing her level of physical fitness, but still the 
Board rejected her application.

At night, Wilma lay in bed imagining the wonders of outer space. The 
prospect of walking on Mars filled her with excitement. Wilma continued 
exercising and dieting in hope that she would be accepted by the Board 
of Space Explorations as a candidate for the first mission to Mars.

One day, a missile was launched with the purpose of landing on Mars. 
Wilma followed the event on television as she did her sit-ups to prepare 
herself for her own mission. She clipped from the newspaper every 
article about the event to paste in a scrapbook she was keeping on space 
exploration to Mars. Still, she exercised vigorously and ate only foods 
that would increase her resistance to the nausea induced by suspended 
animation.

The first man walked on Mars and Wilma continued to prepare for her 
mission. She grew old and retired from the position of professor of 
theoretical physics. Still, she submitted applications to the Board of 
Space Explorations. One day, Wilma was jogging to prepare herself for 
the mission. She felt a pain in her chest, coughed, and fell to the 
ground, stone dead.

When Wilma's family was clearing the apartment of her belongings, they 
found in the mailbox a letter from the Board of Space Explorations, It 
stated simply: All positions for FEMALE ASTRONAUT: MISSION TO MARS have 
now been filled. Thank you for your continued interest in the space 
program."



Only a Whistle Away
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gerald loved to sleep. When the birds chirped their welcome to the 
rising sun, Gerald snored his merriment in counterpart harmony. When the 
children shrieked during afternoon games, Gerald joined in with grunts 
of affection as he lay somnambulant. When the traffic buzzed at the 
midnight hour, Gerald snored his way into his own hub of liveliness, 
lost in an abyss of unconsciousness.

Gerald's wife had long since been aggravated by Gerald's "condition". 
After twenty-five years of marriage, she placed her umbrella under her 
arm and dragged Gerald to the doctor for a full medical check up. After 
a thorough examination, the doctor stated that Gerald's only problem was 
"chronic anxiety". "He must find something to live for," said the doctor 
as he left the room.

"Find something to live for!" Gerald's wife stammered as she banged the 
sleeping the sleeping Gerald across the arm with her umbrella.

In an effort to follow the doctor's prescription, Gerald's wife enrolled 
him in "People for Peace", which organized peace rallies against the 
Gulf war. Gerald dragged himself out of bed to attend a meeting at which 
a famous world leader was going to speak. The Guest gave a passionate 
speech that brought tears to many members of the audience. Gerald 
responded to the rhetoric by increasing the decibels of his snore.

Gerald's wife was exasperated. "Do your civic duty!" she stammered, 
banging Gerald over the head with the umbrella.

In an effort to wake Gerald from his travels into the deepest 
somnolence, Gerald's wife accompanied him to an erotic movie that was 
guaranteed by the most reputable critics to arouse him from slumber. 
Gerald sat at the cinema lost in the avenues of his own illusion, sound 
asleep.

Gerald's wife was incredulous. "Do your manly duty!" she stammered, 
banging Gerald across the chest with her umbrella.

One day, Gerald's wife bought a loudspeaker, which she placed beside his 
bed. Every fifteen minutes, she would loudly shout his name into the 
loudspeaker, impeding Gerald from sound sleep. During a fit of agitated 
snoring, Gerald made a whistling sound. The loudspeaker amplified the 
whistle. Still asleep, Gerald began whistling a melody. Awakened by the 
lovely sound, Gerald sat up in bed whistling tune after tune. Gerald's 
wife heard the music and ran into the bedroom to find Gerald wide-awake 
for the first time in twenty-five years. Crying for joy, she hugged her 
husband, knowing that his condition had finally been cured.

Gerald began whistling at local competitions and soon became the 
National Whistling Champion. He spends all of his waking hours 
practicing his newfound talent. The umbrella now hangs over the door 
with a sign that reads: "Life is just a whistle away!"



Simple Calculation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma was very wise. She read books about the great philosophers and 
often quoted the ancient sages in her discourses on the meaning of life. 
Emma hoped to become immortal through her art and painted in the rapture 
of sleeplessness during fits of inspiration.

One day, Emma was baffled by a drop that fell from the ceiling. She 
immediately went to the library to find a book on the atmospheric 
conditions producing condensation. Meanwhile, the drop fell from the 
ceiling, right onto the canvas that bore her greatest masterpiece.

Emma became more and more disconcerted with the falling drop. She read 
several books from cover to cover. But did not learn how to stop the 
drop from falling onto her canvas. Emma went to the library to find 
books on related subjects: "Rainfall in the Spring", "The Construction 
of Tectorial Structures", "Moisture from Granular Surfaces" but none of 
these books revealed to her the mystery of how to stop the drop from 
falling onto her masterpiece.

Day after day the drop fell, colour upon colour fell to the floor. Emma 
called the university librarian for suggestions on how to stop the leak. 
The librarian, also baffled by the drip, referred her to an architect 
who might help her with her problem.

Emma consulted the architect in a two-hour meeting. He suggested that 
she modify the exterior structure of her house so that the drop would be 
diverted by means of a metal pipe along the roof to the back of the 
building, then fall into a bucket fastened to the left side of the patio 
wall. He sent several experts to her house to effect these changes. 
Still when the work was completed, the drop continued to fall.

Emma took a course in interior design, hoping to find a way to stop the 
drip. She told her interior design instructor about the problem. The 
instructor, also baffled by the drop, suggested several ways of 
modifying the interior of the room. He sent several experts to the house 
to reconstruct parts of the ceiling so that the drop would be diverted 
to a fissure on the exterior surface of the building. Still, when the 
structure of the room was modified, the drop continued to fall.

In despair, Emma consulted a renovation specialist in the hope of 
securing advice that would stop the leak. The renovation expert 
suggested that the front and the back of the roof be elongated and 
runners be placed across the top so that the drop would be diverted from 
the centre left-hand slope to the basal lining of the roof, therefore 
falling down the side of the building. When the work was completed, the 
drop continued to drip.

One day, a roofer who was in the early stages of Alzheimer's, 
inadvertently re-shingled Emma's roof instead of that of a neighbour who 
had hired him.  In the process, he repaired a hole under a bulge in the 
shingles and installed a piece of missing tar paper.

When Emma returned from the library, she found that the drip had 
subsided. Certain that the "miracle" was a belated success of the 
architect, interior designer or renovation specialist, she immediately 
called all three of them in great joy. "Thank you for your expert 
advice," she told them. "You have solved the biggest problem of my 
life!"



Word Perfect
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zelda had the greatest respect for her professor. The man delivered 
passionate speeches, without notes, in an oratorical style that fit his 
dramatic carriage. Believing that she was incapable of fulfilling her 
dream, Zelda approached the professor to discuss her plans of pursuing 
advanced university studies. Her idol spoke with words of great wisdom. 
Zelda did not comprehend their meaning but knew that he was the wisest 
of the wise and spoke with the keenest wit. Zelda pondered his words 
and, with hesitation, began her first year of graduate studies. She did 
not know if she was properly following the advice of the master. Zelda 
timidly applied herself to her studies, continuously pondering the words 
of the eminent teacher.

Still, she did not know what the great master had said.

Zelda cautiously completed the second year of studies. Still, she 
pondered the master's words and they were incomprehensible to her.

Believing that she would soon discern the meaning of the words, Zelda 
shyly advanced to the third year of studies. She mulled over the words 
of the great teacher but did not understand the point he had made.

Resigned to defeat, Zelda edged into the fourth year of studies, still 
not knowing if she was following the advice of her teacher. Upon 
graduating with honours, Zelda tentatively moved into fifth year, the 
postdoctoral program. She did not know if she was following the words of 
wisdom. Dubiously, Zelda attempted yet another year of postdoctoral 
studies. She thought of approaching the master to discover the meaning 
of his words but did not have the courage to ask him to explain.

Finally one day, after stealthily completing the seventh year of 
graduate studies, she telephoned the university to ask for the great 
sage. After a pause, the secretary stated that the professor had died 
six years previously. Fitfully, Zelda crept into the eighth year of 
graduate studies.



What Do You Know?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mom and I are close. My boyfriend's always saying I need to get some 
distance from her. Sometimes, I have this feeling she's this huge 
balloon I can't stop melting into. I know it's crazy, but it's like 
there's this magnet pulling me closer and closer to her and I can't stay 
separate. I thought she knew everything.

The ball started rolling when the first Gulf War was on. The way I see 
it, I was coming to the end of  my own personal war. It was the old 
story of good and evil. Evil being Tom, the mechanic at the garage where 
my mom used to get her car fixed. The guy liked me, I knew it. I thought 
he didn't have the guts to act on it, you see. And I must admit I 
thought about him quite a lot because, well, he was cute with a bit of a 
rough twist to him. But I never thought for a second he would do what 
the papers said. I mean, the guy was actually charged by the cops with 
molesting young kids. I mean, imagine making up a horrible lie like 
that.

Now when the stuff came out in the papers I asked my mom, "Will Bush 
invade, do you think?"

"He hasn't got the balls," she scowled like she always does when someone 
says something stupid.

I tend to believe my mom because she follows what goes on in the world, 
especially that part of the world because her new husband comes from 
there and he tells her everything.

A few days later, Bush invaded.

So with all this stuff in the papers, I figured Tom was a lost cause and 
I ended up going out with a guy I'd just met who was a sweetheart. But a 
week or so after we start going together, my thoughts start going 
haywire. I start thinking "Is he like that Tom guy?" I mean, he's just 
as smart and cute and everything and he seems to like kids a lot.

Anyway, I think this over in my mind but I don't say much in case he 
gets mad, see. I mean, the guy hasn't done anything after all so why 
should I mouth off at him. Then I read in the papers that Saddam has 
started this oil slick so many miles long. Everyone thinks he's trying 
to destroy the world -- that he doesn't care about anything.

When I talk to my mom about it she says, "It's propaganda! Some 
people'll do anything to make him look like a bad guy!"

Right then, it was like something snapped in my head. It seemed to me 
like the whole world had completely gone crazy. I started wondering if 
my boyfriend was that Tom guy. I mean he could have had plastic surgery. 
They couldn't find him after all, and my boyfriend has the same colour 
of eyes. What had I got myself into?

By now, my boyfriend was almost crazy with worry. He was trying 
frantically to get me back on track so he asks me if Tom is tall or 
short. "He's short" I say without even pausing. "See" says my boyfriend. 
" I'm tall. I can't be him, can I?"

A few days later the headlines read: "Something Evil Has Been in 
Kuwait". They're these people talking about torture and all these 
inhuman things that have happened to them. I cringe when I read it. But 
how could Tom be guilty? The guy was great. He was as funny as anything. 
He was smart too - and had a good job and everything. He was a great guy 
that some sick punks lied about.

My boyfriend says Tom's not acting like a man that's innocent. He says, 
"why doesn't the guy stand up and scream bloody murder, if he's so 
innocent!" My boyfriends's a nice guy but he doesn't understand some 
things. When they do something like that to you, what can you say?

I didn't know if my mom was following Tom's story in the papers but when 
my boyfriend mentions they only gave him three months, my mom winces: 
"Damn courts," she says under her breath.

By this time, I'm thinking the war seemed awfully stupid. I mean, some 
people can make anything make sense. They won't admit they're wrong even 
if people are suffering like crazy. Then, the war's over.

I ask my mom, "What do you think about that?"

"I think it stinks," she says.

"You still think Saddam's a hero?"

"Yes," she says, as if she's got no doubt.

"But it's pretty clear he's a nutcase. That's what the papers say."

"What about Bush," she says. "What's he?'

I think about this for a while. I know there are two sides to every 
story but when the papers say 17 countries think Saddam is bad news for 
the whole world; maybe, just maybe, they know something. Mind you, I'm 
not saying Bush is a hero either.

The way I see it, there's a lot of different ways of seeing things and 
everyone's entitled to their opinion; but when people start getting 
hurt, you've got to wonder if you're on the right track. I mean, 
everybody's just plain wrong sometime. You know what I mean?



Cages
~~~~~

It was the summer of 1976. I had just finished my last year of high 
school and was eager for my first job in the "real world". I had been to 
City Hall that morning and had filled out an application for "student 
employment".  I remember the phone call like it was yesterday. It was a 
bright sunny day. Summer had just begun. I was in the kitchen of my 
mother's house. The man's voice was baritone and fatherly. He said he 
had reviewed my application and had a job for me. I was ecstatic. "Don't 
get too excited," he said. "The job's not that great". I was ecstatic 
anyway. He said something about the "spay and neuter clinic". I had been 
a very sheltered and indulged adolescent, and had never had a pet. I did 
not exactly know what "spy and neuter" meant but I had an open mind. I 
jotted down the address and the following day presented myself to the 
receptionist for my interview.

The young woman was wearing pink. She had blond hair tied back in a 
ponytail and was wearing glasses. She looked very professorial and I 
felt comfortable with her. Even during the interview I didn't quite know 
what the job was about. I tried my best to make a good impression and 
look knowledgeable. When the woman said "cages",  I immediately 
mentioned that my friend's dad worked at a psychology laboratory and 
that I had helped him look after the caged animals for a few weeks. 
Being an industrious young person, I wanted the job and figured I would 
find out soon enough what it involved if I got it.

I was informed the following day that I had been selected from among the 
candidates. I was to be paid three dollars per hour, which was the 
minimum wage that year. I was to start tomorrow. I immediately called my 
mother at work to inform her I now had a summer job. She was duly proud.

The following day when I arrived at my place of employment, I was shown 
to the back room where the cages were located and the young woman 
interviewer proceeded to show me how I was to clean the cages using 
paper towels. I was quite taken by surprise (to put it mildly) by the 
sight of the sedated dogs and cats that lay lethargically in their cages 
after having been spayed and neutered.

I thus began my unhappy stint as a cage cleaner. I tried to bring myself 
to empathize with the unfortunate dogs and cats under sedation but my 
fear got the better of me. I had neglected to tell my interviewer that I 
was quite afraid of cats even when they did not look like they were 
dying as they now did under sedation.

To give insult to injury, even as I did my finest work, the young woman 
interviewer seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the condition of the 
cages. I soon learned that the cage cleaner before me had actually been 
a Vietnamese-Canadian veterinarian who spoke little English and could 
not get his papers recognized. He had apparently been a cage cleaner 
"par excellence". One day he showed up to give me some lessons as to how 
I was to carry out my duties. I was becoming more and more disconcerted, 
as I believed in my heart of hearts that my competence as a cage cleaner 
was being questioned.

Fortunately for me, the English-Canadian veterinarian who did the 
spaying and neutering had mental difficulties and was having a dispute 
with management. One day, about three weeks into my employment, he 
simply got up and left the clinic and refused to return until the 
dispute was settled. The clinic was duly closed. As I had been hired for 
the summer, City Hall felt responsible for me so I was immediately sent 
over to "Roads and Sewers".

I was to work there as a receptionist. Being young and naive, and having 
had no office experience, I did not prove by any standards (even those 
measuring summer students) to be a competent receptionist. To begin 
with, I was somewhat embarrassed to greet callers with a friendly "Roads 
and Sewers" and sometimes found myself shortening it to "Roads".

When I took a call, I immediately called over to Bernie, who was at the 
front desk, and repeated what the person had asked. He told me what to 
say and I would say it to the person at the other end. If the person 
said something else, I would immediately tell Bernie what he or she had 
said, and he would tell me what to reply. And so, the summer went on 
with me acting as intermediary between Bernie and the callers. I soon 
concluded that being a receptionist was somewhat like being a parrot and 
it did not fit in well with my image of being an excellent student.

In July, I had an opportunity to go to Italy with my mother. She had 
organized a charter and I would have been able to go free of charge. I 
decided to stay at my job with the City and dreamed of how impressive I 
would look to my relatives in Italy when they were told that I was a 
municipal employee in far-off Canada. I don't know if I made the right 
decision. The important thing is I stuck it out. I guess what I can say 
about my summer of 1976 is that it was "interesting". I went back to 
school that year with a little bit of experience under my belt. I didn't 
get rich but despite everything I hadn't quit and that meant something.



The Dinner
~~~~~~~~~~

Only twenty-one and the ground sucked her in like a ripe orange. It was 
August. Not yet the cruel season.

She died smiling. "Lovely day!" she uttered, gagging, slowly turning 
blue, unable to breathe, then collapsing onto the table with the side of 
her face in the potato salad. The guests were horrified.

"Isn't that Chablis?" asked the acquaintance, wiping the corner of her 
mouth with the napkin.

"Yes at $20.00 a bottle." Randy took a sip of wine and bit into his 
salad. "You wouldn't know it."

Mrs. Hanes thought out loud. "What time is it?" She flustered to wipe 
the wet table. "This won't do!" The dinner party looked at the body 
lying sprawled on the table, mouth open in a mocking smile, eyes looking 
straight ahead at the filet mignon. There was no question that this 
incident was, altogether, inconvenient.

That was her death, a non-event. But perhaps it was true that her time 
had come. The outburst, after all, had made her life complete.  Living 
on would possibly have been

anti-climactic, and to think that a broken violin string could stir so 
much emotion.

Every evening at exactly 5:10, the girl would take out her violin and 
tune the strings. Then she would play the C major and C minor scales, 
after which she would play either a certain piece by Tchaikovsky or a 
certain piece by Bach for exactly ten minutes. Then she would put away 
her violin and get ready for dinner. The excitement of this practice was 
necessary to prepare her for the meal.

On this particular day, she had taken out her violin at exactly 5:10 and 
tuned the strings. Then she had practiced the usual scales. As she was 
playing the Tchaikovsky sonata, however, the A string popped and grazed 
the side of her face. She was unable to continue the practice.

Mrs. Hanes, who was dusting the living room furniture at the time of the 
accident, was deeply disturbed by the sound of the popping string and 
went into an epileptic-like seizure as she always did when she lost 
control of her emotions. The doctors said it was psychological.. Randy, 
whom everyone knew never lost control, accidentally passed air in the 
excitement. The acquaintance began shouting curses at the girl.

The girl, unable to tolerate the confusion, rose and began chanting as 
she skipped around the conspirators:

"I know, you know. They think they know but they don't. They don't 
know."

That evening, she had choked on a morsel of bread and died. At the 
funeral, when the casket was lowered into the ground, Mrs Hanes wiped a 
tear from her eye. She turned to the guests and whispered,  "We just 
didn't know." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Biography

EMMA, born Renata Battistella, is a resident of Gatineau, Quebec in Canada.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Ottawa and in the
mid-1980's won the deSouza literary award given by this institution. She is
an avid enthusiast of radio and good music.

  All poems copyrighted by their respective authors. Any reproduction of
  these poems, without the express written permission of the authors, is
  prohibited.

  YGDRASIL: A Journal of the Poetic Arts - Copyright (c) 1993 - 2006 by 
  Klaus J. Gerken.

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  World-Wide Web site http://users.synapse.net/~kgerken.  No other 
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  Distribution is allowed and encouraged as long as the issue is unchanged.

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