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Mary was a friend of mine via her marriage to my friend David. Here are two samples of Mary's writing in two different veins. The poem (Apr 1992) was written for me, I'm pretty sure - never quite knew what I did to deserve it!

 
      Sitar Johnny's Greatest Hits

      Even right here,
      gray-haired women
      reclining on chipped concrete porchsteps
      with stainless steel walkers propped beside them,

      purse lips
      to blow dusty dandelions away,
      and watch young men who've stripped off
      t-shirts, who've bared pale chests,
      loft frisbees through blue air.

      The women cheer.

      The band strikes up.
      Sitar Johnny plucks each high note
      of their favorite tune and, high above,
      by plan or springtime chance
      parachutes open each after each.

      In air bright with pollen
      ladybugs drift on shiny dotted wings.

      The women cheer again.

      They all stand up.
      A bus roars by, and they're off,
      agile with the walkers
      flocking after the double-decker beast.

      A gust of wind:
      with open palms they shield
      their eyes from seeds, paper, lint--
      ladybugs snag in their knitted shawls.

      Quick careful fingers--
      the women flick the red beads off,
      then stare where the bus disappeared;
      dark eyes dilate;

      at any moment they might
      metamorphose into cacti, or curl
      into a wave.

Here's a tidbit run by the Washington Post, taking a lighthearted look at some of the web's wacky wonders, from back in the "old days".

 
      Thursday, March 19, 1998; Page D06 
     
      LISTEN TO THE ANIMALS
     
         Do you ever wonder if you're treating your pet too much like a 
      person?

         Well, just ask.  Cyberark hosts a series of pages devoted to 
      interspecies telepathic communication.  None of the approved 
      Interspecies Telepathic Communicators appears to be local.  But many 
      offer pet-and-person therapy over the phone, either with a photograph 
      or "through the attunement of the energy field."

         The linked page "A Circle of Dolphins" includes dolphin-swim tours 
      to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.  "This is not your average 
      whale watching trip!"  No kidding.  Facilitators offer not only 
      snorkeling guides but also "personal messages from the dolphins."

         For the skeptic, testimonials are included.  But they all come from 
      the human side.
     
         -- MARY T. LANE

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Parents, if you're considering tutoring or supplemental education for your child, you may be interested in my observations on Kumon.