Well you walk into a restaurant, strung out from the road, You can feel the eyes upon you as your
shaking off the cold You pretend it doesn’t bother you, but you just want to explode... *
The act of bringing forth something new into the world. This is often taken for granted. When
we set out to create, we should keep in mind that we are the torch bearers of a long and wide
spread tradition. The artists, writers and bards of mankind’s colourful [an often tragic] history
gaze down on us from heights.
Imagine that.
Say, here I am, on the road again. there I am, up on the stage. Here I go, playing star again.
There I go, turn the page... *
[Editor’s Note: Christina is preparing an extensive article on diabetes for next month’s issue;
however she did take the time this month to pass along some useful summer-time advice]
The best thing for dehydration in hot weather is a bag of potato chips and a bottle of water.
!
! Forget the gator aid, it is for super athletes, not the general public.
! And please, don't feed bottles of it to your kids. it was m eant for adults.
Thanks.
Chris
World view
A Canadian Living in the USA - by Tom Rossini
Here in the United States , and more precisely Ann Arbor , Michigan ,
gas is currently at $4.00 a gallon. The Summer is a time when Michigan
residents traditionally load up trucks, trailers, RVs and boats for a trip up
north. But some residents may consider spending the long weekend closer
to home this year - although it's hard to say yet what impact the high
prices will have on travel.
• AAA Michigan spokeswoman Nancy Cain said a survey of Michigan drivers estimates
1.3 million state residents will travel this weekend.
• But Cain said most report they won't go as far, stay as long, or spend as much money this
year. Cain said the projected number of travelers is down by only about 2 percent.
• But since a trip by the AAA is defined is anything 50 miles from home or farther, Cain
said relatively close campgrounds or hotels can still qualify.
• She said it's clear that business owners up north are making efforts to bring travelers back
this year because they fear gas prices will keep people closer to home. In Traverse City
and South Haven, hotels are offering $25 gas cards for people who stay one or more
nights, Cain said.
(http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/gas_prices_to_curb_memorial_da.html )
Personally, I think that this is a bunch of hog wash. The way I see it is like this… most
vacation homes, weekend trips are a one tank trip there and back. So if the average tank is 20
gallons at 4 dollars that’s a gallon or $80. Now 2 – 3 years ago we were still lucky to pay around
2 bucks a gallon so we are now paying approximately 40 dollars more for the ride alone. Now
don’t confuse the issue – I am not talking about how gas affects us on a daily basis with our
commute to work etc but rather just to the cottage on the weekend. I understand how the gas
prices affect someone that drives a truck for a living, or how it affects the aviation world, but a
weekend trip to the cottage or out on the lake doing a few laps with a wave runner or skiboat….
It baffles my mind how people can honestly say that those extra $40 bucks is killing them
financially – but yet they have that cottage, or the boat, or the RV. You have already spent the
money on those items and whether the gas is $1 a gallon for 10$ a gallon the only effect on the
pocket book will be using the items.
The cottage, boat and RV all have operating costs – insurance, storage fees, maintenance etc
and the only real cost that is fluctuating is the fuel. So if I own a nice cottage on a lake 200 miles
away and it costs me $80 bucks to go there, that’s my only real expense. And personally if your
seriously having trouble getting that money together for a weekend trip…. Maybe you need to
sell / rent the cottage, boat and or RV and stay home and go to a local park / beach.
So, unless your name is Boss Hogg and you have a wallet that’s tighter then a ticks ass… quit
the bitching and have some fun ?
The views expressed within this article do not represent the views of the editor but rather the
author… but he wishes that Randy quits his bitching about filling his car for $90 bucks a week…
1. Have you always known that you wanted to be or, rather, were an artist?
As long as I can remember, I have been interested in being an artist. From an early age, when I
got a pen and paper in my hand, I couldn’t stop myself from sketching from my imagination.
Today as an adult, my habit of continuously sketching has continued. I have created sketches on
paper, napkins, paper cups and plates, whatever is available to me at the particular moment when
I am feeling creative.
No I have not gone to school. I took a couple of art classes in high school but I am primarily self-
taught.
Artist: Tariq Rafiq
Title: "Optical Transformation"
Date Created: March 2006
Media: Mixed
Size: 13 x 19 in
3. Who was you biggest influence or source of encouragement, as a child, in pursuing art?
My biggest influences as a child were both of my parents, who were both very artistic. My
mother was a very gifted artist. My father is also a very talented photographer. But they both had
traditional careers and they created art / photography on the side. As far as encouragement is
concerned, they encouraged me to follow a more traditional career such as being a doctor,
lawyer, engineer, businessman etc. But art was in my genes, my soul, my blood so I couldn’t
imagine doing anything else with my life.
5. Do you use any special tools and techniques to create your art?
Yes I use a lot of different tools and techniques to create my art. I use different kind of paint
brushes, knifes, fine needles, magnifying glass for fine detailed work and other tools.
A lot of things inspire my art. I can’t just name one. I am inspired by the work of great artists, my
responses to everyday experiences in life and the people in my life. In addition, I get inspired by
the visuals around me, my travels and last but not least my music. God have given me a gift and
painting comes to me naturally. Over the years, I have drawn so much that my brain is consumed
with ideas. When I start a sketch or painting, I start off with an idea and then the painting takes
me somewhere else. After a while the painting seems be controlling my thinking process and my
hand. My art is an expression of my
subconscious mind.
Fantastic piece! The abstract disassembled rendition of the pyramid takes on an almost futurist
identity as a vehicle for traversing the desert-like dreamscape. Ancient man and our future
descendants meet across the surreal void.
Artist: Tariq Rafiq
Title: “The Eclipse”
Media: Mixed
Date Created: February 2006
Size: 13 x 19 in
During my career as an artist, I have been influenced by many artists including masters such as
Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jonathan Borofsky, Joan Miro, Max Ernst, Archile Gorky and
Yves Tanguy.
10. If you could meet any living or dead artist, who would it be?
Over the years I have not been very good at marketing myself like I should have. Some artists are
very good at marketing themselves, constantly approaching galleries, entering competitions and
promoting themselves. I haven’t had the time to do all that over the years, because I have been
too busy creating new work. But since joining Facebook in Dec 2007 and creating my group “Art
From Edge of the Mind” the worldwide response to my art has been incredible. I have been very
fortunate to have had the chance to meet 100’s of artists and art lovers from all over the world. I
seriously need to devote more time and energy into promoting myself, my work and finding new
venues to show my work. Practice what I am preaching in the answers to the questions above!
No I usually don’t find it hard to stay motivated and inspired when I am working on a piece. If I
am working on a piece that I am having difficulty with, I put it aside and start working on a new
piece.
I have been doing my work full time for the past several years. But with today’s really tough
economy, I will probably have to get a job in addition to creating my art. Most people today are
struggling with the housing market, high gas and food prices, not to mention losing their jobs and
homes. When money is tight, the first thing people cut out is going out to eat, buying new
household items and traveling. So unfortunately lots of people can’t buy art today, no matter how
much they like the piece and how much they want it. Today people are more occupied with fu-
filling their daily needs opposed to their daily wants. That’s one of the main reasons that I
recently made high quality Limited Edition Giclee prints of 80 of my most popular images. An
art lover today might not be able to afford an “Original Painting” but they will be much more
likely to afford a “High Quality print”.
Artist: Tariq Rafiq
Title: "Invitation to an
Awkward Gathering"
Date Created: February 2008
Media: Mixed
Size: 13 x 19 in
I enjoy visiting art galleries, art show openings, museums, traveling, going to see a good movie
or show. In addition, I enjoy getting together with my friends and family, going out to eat and
finally listening to my music.
Artist: Tariq Rafiq
Title: "Fear of Ultra Madness"
Date Created: October 2004
Media: Oil
Size: 12 x 16 in
18. What advice would you have for a young artist starting out today?
First of all you must love the process of creating art. So many artists around the world create such
wonderful work, but unfortunately they will never get to show the world their wonderful work or
get the recognition that they deserve during their lifetime. I would advise young artists to follow
their passions and create art as much as possible, which will result in them developing their skills
and techniques. But supporting yourself as an artist is very hard in today’s world. I would
encourage artists to go to school and learn a trade so they can support themselves financially
while creating their art. While in school, I would encourage artists to also take some art classes to
learn the fundamentals of art. I didn’t receive any formal art training so it took me a long time to
learn the fundamentals of art. A true artist has a passion burning inside of them to create art and
they will create art just for the sake of creating, not for the sake of financial rewards. Of course if
down the road if you get financial rewards and recognition that will be an added bonus. Above all
believe in yourself and in your art.
I just finished a 5 week show in Washington DC. It was an incredible opportunity. I had the
chance to curate my own show and design my own space. The show created many opportunities
including a radio interview, a TV interview with Voice of America, as well as chances for
participating in upcoming gallery shows. I have several group shows coming up in 2008. I am
also busy working on plans for some solo shows in the future.
Artist: Tariq Rafiq
Title: Samurai Warrior
Date Created: November 2007
Media: Acrylic/Oil
Size: 16 x 20 in
I would like to be remembered as the artist that always took chances with his work and the artist
who always tried to reinvent himself and his art. I believe in always taking chances, because by
taking chances you can grow as an artist. I would also like to remembered as the artist that helped
other artists get ahead in their careers and the artist that made a difference in this world by giving
back to his community to the best
of his ability.
The tumble-weed
rolls by...
dried skeleton brittle.
A vulture sits,
starving -
with no prey, upon One Eye. Vulture Sketch - by R. J. Pare’
Radiation
fixed 'em all -
even the cockroaches.
Tearing her gaze away from her new home below, Amy observed the setting her apparent
wrong turn had led her. The zoo had been included in recently published information and history
books; she remembered reading about it when she decided to move to Pittsburgh just a few
months ago. Its beauty was long gone. Its multiple hills of various heights were plain and empty,
aside from the occasional tree stump infiltrating the bareness; both the concrete and asphalt of
the parking lot and sidewalk were cracked to the foundations. The distant ticket booths Amy
could just make out from the road were missing their roofs completely, allowing the inside of
the cubicles to deteriorate as the ever-changing weather of the city pounded down day after day.
Amy sighed as she surveyed the lot. The old zoo was shut down for repairs, and had been for
the past five years. Orange cones and yellow tapes blocked her car from entering the lot; another
set of the colorful markers was laid out before the crumbling ticket booths.
Still, she flipped her key to the left and let the engine of her car sleep. She needed to enter
that zoo and find help. The small businesses around the zoo had all closed, leaving their tiny
buildings as empty and useless decoration. The G.P.S. in her car was malfunctioning, leaving her
without assistance. Since all cars carried G.P.S. systems, very few places sold maps. Even if she
knew which direction to try heading to next, it would take far too much time.
However, the construction workers would surely know their way around the city; even if they
didn’t carry old maps to hand out to confused drivers, they could give reliable directions.
As she stepped out of her car and touched her flats to the concrete, Amy felt the air press
down onto her back through her white blouse. The gloom seemed to rush forward, and as it did
so, it overcast the sun directly overhead and swallowed the gleam of her car into its belly.
With a slight shudder, Amy clicked on her key ring. The car behind her beeped as it locked;
she hesitantly began the trek towards the entrance, each of her jeans’ legs swishing against the
other to fill the silent void.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a careful ten-minute walk over the pieces of sidewalk and up a towering escalator, Amy
could see inside the actual zoo. On the left side of the continuing sidewalk, two separate gift
shops sat on either side of a small plaza. The signs in front of all three had faded away, leaving
them nameless. Each sign still wore part of a name of a food or toy they once had sold. As she
strolled past the third of the buildings, she spotted the Merry-Go-Round, a relic of the past. Dust
covered the horses, elephants, giraffes, and lions that lived on its wheels. The paint on all had
worn away, and parts of legs and backs had been chipped away to reveal rotting wood. A pile of
metal across the sidewalk from it represented what was left of a brief train ride.
Amy looked up the separate branch of the cracking path to a large, long building that clearly
had been a center of organization for the zoo workers. It sat unlit; its doors were locked, the
windows covered with a layer of filth. It didn’t appear worth the effort to walk up the hill to it.
She walked forward instead, down another slope.
As she walked down the hill underneath a bridge, she shivered yet again. The entire zoo had a
feeling about it that she didn’t quite understand, or like. As she crept through the darkness, a car
rumbled overhead, making the unstable ground tremble.
Back out in the faded sunlight that reluctantly glanced over the branches of dead trees, she
walked past the first exhibit. Behind grimy glass slept a mechanical cat, curled into a ball with
its head upon its impressively large front paws. The patches of white fur that had not rotted away
from its metal structure were littered with black rings. Beside the exhibit, a faded green sign had
white letters slapped across it:
SN W L PA D
Amy eyed the sleeping machine meant to represent a snow leopard. The so-called
construction of the zoo clearly had not reached a point of recognition. The animals were not
activated. The grounds were cracked as the lot, and the land as dead as the hills outside the zoo
gates. She had to wonder what any workers inside of the zoo were laboring on.
She strolled past the snow leopard, not realizing it had opened blue eyes. She continued on
towards a large enclosure that contained a gap between its fence and its land. The sign for this
section had fallen to the ground, and was covered in a dry but thick layer of mud.
Stepping onto one of the wooden steps beside the fence, she peered down the gap, and gasped
as she saw the metal paw of a striped cat poking the ground deep within the man-made ravine.
What had once been a pond for the machines was nothing but rock for them to walk and pace
over. The enclosure inhabitants, several tigers with visible metal legs and orange and black fur
backs, were analyzing it and growling in loud rumbles. A bold machine reached his claws up
onto the rock and tried to grab hold, hoping to scale up the cliff.
Startled, Amy backed away. This zoo was supposed to be shut down for construction and
maintenance! How could its animals be walking?
With a quickening heart rate, she ran. She ran away from the tigers, back towards the dark
tunnel beneath the bridge. As she did so, a loud roar deep within the zoo rushed over her ears.
Then there was a loud crash of metal upon concrete; though further away than the tigers, it was
an impressive sound. In fact, the tigers could be heard clattering out of their ravine towards the
back of their exhibit, trying to hide from the cause of the crash.
Amy screamed, confused, frightened, and unable to stop her expression of the emotions. Past
the snow leopard exhibit she ran. She didn’t look inside and therefore didn’t notice the ripped
hole in the weakened chicken wire around the enclosure.
As Amy ran under the bridge, what she saw as the first sight of life within the zoo appeared.
A blonde man in a forest green suit was standing on the path above the pile of train track. At the
sight of her, he yelled, gesturing for her to run closer. Amy was confused; she wanted to run for
the exit, to leave the zoo; the directions she needed were forgotten in her panic and desperate
desire to leave the place far behind.
She then slammed to an abrupt and painful stop as she saw the reason he wanted her to come
to him; exploring the wooden animals on Merry-Go-Round was the mechanical snow leopard. In
its sleepy state, however, it didn’t seem to notice her. Instead, it crouched and slid underneath
the silent, wooden animals towards the dust and rotten trees and bushes, looking for small
animals. Its multiple joints clicked against each other rather loudly.
Amy looked at the man again, still breathing hard and praying the snow leopard would not
notice the jerky noises. He gestured slowly at the building she had written off earlier; despite the
lethargic movements meant to clear the snow leopard’s attention, the man’s arm trembled in
nervous desperation.
Amy took in a breath and began to run. A piece of wood snapped behind her as the machine
turned to her. The man grabbed her hand, and the rough material of his glove hit her skin.
Ignoring her gasps, he pulled her along to the top of the hill, where he pushed her into the long
building and slammed the door. He looked down the hill; the snow leopard was still standing on
the Merry-Go-Round. Without a care for the humans, it continued its search for weaker game.
As he locked the doors behind him, the man looked back at Amy. “What are you doing in the
zoo?” he demanded, clenching his gloved fists. There was an element of fear behind his
concerned, deep voice.
Amy stuttered as she leaned against the chipped and faded white wall of an education center
lobby, recovering from the shock the machines had delivered.
“Looking…for…directions…” She took a breath and tried to continue. Her voice slowly
stabilized. “My G.P.S. system isn’t working, and I took a wrong turn…I had hoped I could find
help here.” She realized her hair was loose from its ponytail, but refused to adjust it in front of
the man. She felt as though she had to prove she could handle whatever was unfolding within
the zoo, without a sign of what he would view as feminine weakness.
After a brief moment, the man responded. “This part of the city was abandoned for a reason.”
“Construction, I thought,” Amy said, convinced she was heading for the correct answer.
“Ha!” The man laughed, his head tossed backwards to expose his Adam’s apple in his throat.
“Construction – what a joke! More like malfunctions!”
“Huh?” What a ridiculous and dumb response, Amy realized. But it was all she could muster
at the moment. She felt more lost than she had back on the streets in her car.
The man crossed his arms and drew in a deep breath, looking at Amy directly. “The zoo
you’re standing in lost funding when a machine malfunctioned eight years ago. They had to
close the place down three years later after that, since the population of visitors dwindled.
People were too afraid of the machines.” He laughed again. “Too afraid of the creations that
came about when they asked for the removal of real animals in the zoo. They just didn’t think it
was worth seeing live animals anymore. Stuffed ones in museums began to suffice. In a
museum, there’s no risk to loss of life and limb in freak accidents. You’re only viewing the dead
within a cold hallway to match the creature. There’s no organic or synthetic wiring running the
beast and waiting to malfunction one way or another.
“So the place shut down. The owners decided to say the entire place was under construction.
Really, though, they’re just waiting for the fear to die down. They’re saving their money until
the reopening, too, so they can get extra funding to replace everything with better technology.”
The smile of humor and hope disappeared. “But here’s my problem. Do you know how this
place knows when to run and activate its animals?” He didn’t wait for Amy to shake her head
no; of course she didn’t.
“Heat sensors. Once someone walks past the front doors, the park stays active until they walk
out. It counts how many people come in, too, and waits until the last one leaves. I…have my
own way of avoiding being counted by the sensor. You, though…” He glared down. “You
walked in and activated a zoo of machines that have had no maintenance in years. Even better:
the machines were built to be animals, down to their last bloody instinct. They’ll be feral
mechanical animals by now, there’s no doubt in my mind---”
A crash against the door brought a scream from Amy’s throat. The man yelled as well.
Outside, two lionesses struck at the door with metal claws far stronger than those of a real lion.
Their legs were patched with yellow fur, while their metal and wired backs were almost
completely exposed.
“What do we do?” Amy asked. Her voice trembled more than her knees.
“Hell if I know. No one’s been stupid enough to walk in here before!” the man responded in
frustration and worry.
A gaping hole appeared in the door as one of the metal paws slashed straight through the
softer metal. Amy screamed again at the sight of the large paw pulling away for another swing.
She stood against the wall, unable to stop herself from trembling.
Then the clawing stopped. There was a screech outside. The man peered between the grime
covering the door window. Outside, a smaller piece of machinery ran from the two lions to
another old sign that once welcomed visitors. The small machine jumped onto the large wooden
sign, screeching as a child would. Once still, the shape of the petite machine could be made out.
It was catlike and dotted with patches of white and gray fur. Its impressive, long, black-and-
white ringed tail was dabbed with white fur.
“The lemur’s escaped,” the man stated calmly; his voice was steady, which reinstalled some
of Amy’s confidence in him. “I’ll have to round them up now. Still, the little escapee helped us
out.” He looked back at Amy. “You need to get out of this park. We’ll both be safe once you
escape!”
Amy stared. He expected her to run out the door, past the mechanical lions? They had already
sliced through the posts that held the structure up. As the sign collapsed, the lemur ran back
under the bridge, screeching; the lionesses followed, their exposed paw structures clicking
against the ground.
As they disappeared, the man unlocked the doors. “C’mon, now’s the time!”
He entwined his hand with Amy’s again, and yanked her out behind him. Amy tried to resist
for a single moment; then she accepted she had no chance fighting him and truly did need to
escape. The man was slow and intently observing and listening the park around him. Amy
merely followed his lead, trusting his experience with the land to keep them both out of harm’s
way.
They had not managed to cover half of the hill when the man halted. There was a chorus of
yips and howls from the path the lions had just galloped up. Three African wild dogs jogged
along the concrete. They weighed considerably lighter than the lions had, and so the clicking of
their legs against the ground was not as intense. The fur along their frame was more complete
than the other animals had been. The splotches of white, black, and tan mingled with wire rather
elegantly.
“Relax,” the man told Amy as her breathing began to roughen. “I’m not worried about them
nearly as much as I was about the lions. Be still, and they might very well turn around and ignore
you.” He smiled at the sight. “They’re rather beautiful.”
One of the dogs yelped loudly as he looked over his shoulder. Then the three began to draw
into the bare wood in the same direction of the snow leopard, tails between their legs. The yips
diminished to faint whines.
Amy forced herself to run at the same speed of the taller man. The two worked in sync, the
sight of the other runner beside them urging them to continue at a fierce pace. They dashed down
to the intersection of the paths and towards the gift shops and exit.
As they passed the plaza between the gift shops there was a snarl behind them that Amy
desperately ignored. Paws hit the ground with loud clangs as Amy and the man rushed past the
first of the gift shop. The man beside her let go of her hand and shoved her forward, past more
tree stumps, and into the escalator shaft.
As she stumbled against the glass walls, the snarls stopped. She turned and yelped despite
herself. A tiger was frozen in place just behind her savior, a paw extended towards him.
“Good running there,” he told her, eyeing the claws that had almost hit his back. He hardly
seemed phased. Then he blinked as he remembered what she had said inside the building.
“Now, then…how about we fix that G.P.S., so you can get out of here?”
------------------------------------------------------------------
After Amy had unlocked her car back on the road, the man opened the driver’s door and sat
for a moment. Amy watched, startled, as a fingertip clicked off to reveal wiring beneath. While
the fingertip hung at a deep angle, the wiring inside of it connected to one of the G.P.S. outlets.
A few sparks flew back against the man’s skin.
Well, she shouldn’t have been surprised, she realized. Who better to care for the mechanical
zoo than a machine? Clearly, if the man were mechanical, he wouldn’t give off a clear heat
signal. That explained why the zoo remained comatose. As he worked on her G.P.S., Amy eyed
the green suit that remained completely zipped to the neckline and dropped down to his ankles
and tan work boots. She hypothesized that it allowed the man to keep his power source on while
the rest of the zoo waited in their Sleep setting.
“There. It needs a full recharging when you get the chance, that’s all.” He smiled at Amy,
completely calm and friendly now that the woman was safe, as he extended his arm to indicate
she was welcome to enter her car. Carefully, she sat down and turned her key. The car rose from
its nap, the G.P.S. on and ready.
When Amy looked up to say thank you, the mechanical man was already walking back
towards his zoo, hands deep in his pockets. Then again, a machine only did as it was meant to. If
he were following the Laws of Robotics, as all other robots did throughout the world, she had no
reason to say thank you. Still…it felt…rude.
The need to leave the zoo behind won out over her guilt. With etiquette on her mind, she
slammed the car door shut, turned back onto the road, and slowly began lowering her foot onto
the gas pedal, resolving to not speak about the zoo again. Programmed or not, the robot didn’t
need to feel worry for invaders again. Best to keep rumors from urging pranksters and teens into
the zoos confines, until it was safe to enter again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Year: 3017
“Mommy, look!”
Amy smiled as her pale five-year-old daughter ran away from the sleeping tigers within their
exhibit. The ravine below was filled with water, and leaves sprinkled its surface and floated with
the wind. The sight no longer interested either mother or daughter.
Far up the path, both could see the top of the lion enclosure. Inside its confines, the two
massive queens slept, stretched out over the freshly mown grass and allowing their complete
golden fur coats to absorb warmth from the sun. Amy followed her daughter, and remained close
enough to be able to watch her without having to approach the animals she feared the most in the
zoo. She stood by an exhibit to the right of the lions. There, an enormous white rhino grazed.
Amy observed his gray skin, wrinkled and lifelike. His large lips delicately plucked at grass and
flowers, though it was impossible to tell if he actually swallowed it.
Amy turned to see who had spoken. In the khakis and green shirt of a zoo worker stood a
blonde man she recognized from sixteen years prior. His skin seemed cleaner, fresher, since
when she had last seen him. He had probably undergone maintenance along with his charges.
“Yes.” She chuckled slightly. “Your animals seem better mannered than my last visit.”
“A little reprogramming goes a long way,” the man admitted. “And with care their instincts
can be suppressed and managed. I don’t know if they should be, but hey, what do I know?”
He frowned slightly at one of the waking lions. “Still, it takes far too much work to manage
these things…I think there’s more chance of them hurting a human than there was the originals.
There’ll be an accident one day, I sadly guarantee it. I just hope it will be when the visitors are
all almost out the door.”
Amy’s daughter ran to her side and clutched her hand before she could even feel terror at the
impact of his response. “Mommy, let’s go see the monkey house!”
The zoo worker smiled at the sight of the girl who had been born since Amy’s escape from
the zoo. “Be sure to see the lemurs,” the man told mother and daughter. “One of them is a good
friend of mine.” He looked at Amy meaningfully.
“I’ll be sure to see him. Perhaps if he sits in the window I can even say thank you,” Amy told
him.
The man smiled. “We all do as we are programmed, be it to run the zoo or run from hungry
renegade lions. There’s no need to thank me or yourself for instinct, ma’am.”
“Mommy, enough! Let’s go!” The impatient daughter, too young and ignorant of the past to
understand, tugged forcefully at Amy’s hand.
“But thank you anyway!” Amy insistently called over her shoulder as her daughter began
dragging her away from the lions and rhino.
The man chuckled as he crossed his arms. “Like I said: I’m just doin’ my job.”
Superman Tribute - by Jonathan Biermann
Non - Fiction
Futurism in the Funnies - by Roy G. James
Figure 12 - The Flash # 242, National
Periodical Publications, Inc., 1976 “The
Charge of the Electric Gang”
Character: Barry Allen (The Flash)
Compressed Clothing
Individual Transit
The knowledge of Captain Cold is not being used for beneficial purposes, but cryogenics are
being used to slow down or suspend the metabolism of the human body for whatever reason is
desirable: preservation; cure of disease at a later date when medical knowledge is advanced etc.
Children would appreciate instant ice rinks.
Honestly, the credit for this one goes to Randy. He made this wonderful casserole that I really
enjoyed so he'll have to make some changes to it to make it right!
~ Put in oven till cheese is nicely melted [Broil for a few mins to get the top nicely browned and
slightly crispy – Randy]
So...
~ Choose your own ‘always wanted to see’ series
~ Dust off your video rental card
And enjoy the summer, whether you are outside or on
the couch.