<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">That was awesome! Thank you for the Holiday cheer!</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Dec 17, 2020 at 8:31 PM John E Simmons <<a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of pandemics stays us from the completion of our annual poem... #31 in a never-ending series is below for your holiday pleasure.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<p style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" align="center"><span>2020
Vision<span></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align:center;margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif" align="center"><span>(St.
Entropy needs his checked)<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>‘Twas the
night before Christmas; down the museum halls,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Not a
creature was stirring—they were all on Zoom calls.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The
stockings were hung (after being steam cleaned,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Due to
concerns over COVID-19).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>My
colleague in her faceshield, and I in my mask<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Maintained
social distance—we each had our own flask.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The museum
was silent, as quiet as a stone,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>As I unwrapped
our very own Curator Drone<sup>TM</sup>.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>(It flies
through the hallways, all smiles and concerns,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But costs
only half what a curator earns.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>It points
out all your errors, just like a consultant,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But solves
none of the problems—it’s more an insultant.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Like
curators, though, it can sleep in collections,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>And never
falls prey to biologic infections.)<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I’d
stocked up on supplies to manage this caper<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>(And found
dissertations make great toilet paper).<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Though it
had taken a year, I read Defoe through,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>And I was
no stranger to the plague of Camus.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I’d bought
canned beans and puzzles to get through bleak December. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Was there
anything else? Not that I could remember.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But then,
in a twinkling, with my heart almost cheery,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I heard a
strange sound, right upon midnight dreary.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Away to
the window I flew in a hurry,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But something
was wrong. Was it now time to worry?<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The moon on
the breast of the new-fallen snow,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Just like
Fukushima, was starting to glow.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>When, what
to my begoggled eyes should appear<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But a
miniature sleigh led by eight virus-free deer?<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The driver,
emerging from a sealed plastic canopy<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I knew in
a moment was our own St. Entropy.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I then
heard a crash and a thud and a rapping<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>And St.
Entropy appeared with a swish and a tapping.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>His eyes,
how they glittered; his smile, so serene;<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>I hoped he
was bringing the new viral vaccine.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>He was
dressed all in Tyvek, from the mask to the boots,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But this
was no year for fur on the suits.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Over his
shoulder, he was manhandling a sack<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Which he
proceeded to open and quickly unpack.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>“I bring
gifts!” the Saint shouted, “Relief from your woes,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>No more
you’ll be troubled with ravens and crows!”<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>My heart
slowly sank, my hopes now eroded…<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The Old
Saint had muddled up corvid and COVID.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The
vaccine that he’d carried over mountain and loch<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Worked
only for smart birds that flew in a flock.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>We had
plenty of magpies, crows, ravens, and jays,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>But none
of them live ones; all stored in arrays. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>We had to
do something. It was urgent. What’s more,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The museum
had those volumes of forgotten lore.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>We looked
up old research and programmed the Drone<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>To leave our
safe shelter and go out on its own.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Away it
flew, just like soft down from a thistle <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>(Okay,
maybe not, but it came back when we whistled). <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>It went to
the labs and retrieved new vaccines,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>And
brought them in safely. Deus ex machines.<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>The Saint,
who had medical training (who knew?),<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Injected
us all, and flu flew up the flue. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>Then, not
laying a finger anywhere near his nose<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>(Kids,
don’t touch your face!), up the fume hood he rose. <span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>And I
heard him exclaim, as I bolted the door,<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>“Merry
Christmas! And COVID, for you….Nevermore!”<span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span><span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span>(Sally
Shelton and John Simmons want everyone to stay well and safe, or else. Yeah,
else.) <span></span></span></p>
</div></div>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">
<div style="margin:4px 4px 1px;font:10pt Tahoma">
<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><font size="3">Patti Wood Finkle</font></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"></span>Director of Museums <br></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">~Tate Geological Museum<br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">~Werner Wildlife Museum<br></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">Casper College<br></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">307-268-3026</span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
</span><div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"> </span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif">
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