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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Sally and John: I have to say (once again) phenomenal.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers,</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">
James Bryant<br class="">SOJOURN Science - Nature - Education<br class="">Santa Fe, NM<br class=""><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bryant-0598a940/" class="">https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bryant-0598a940/</a><br class=""><br class="">
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<div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Dec 18, 2020, at 8:50 AM, Patti Finkle <<a href="mailto:pfinkle@caspercollege.edu" class="">pfinkle@caspercollege.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">That was awesome! Thank you for the Holiday cheer!</div></div><br class=""><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" class="">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br class=""></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" class=""><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: small;">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;"><br class=""></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">2020
Vision<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(St.
Entropy needs his checked)<span class=""></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">‘Twas the
night before Christmas; down the museum halls,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Not a
creature was stirring—they were all on Zoom calls.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The
stockings were hung (after being steam cleaned,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Due to
concerns over COVID-19).<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">My
colleague in her faceshield, and I in my mask<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Maintained
social distance—we each had our own flask.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The museum
was silent, as quiet as a stone,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">As I unwrapped
our very own Curator Drone<sup class="">TM</sup>.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(It flies
through the hallways, all smiles and concerns,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But costs
only half what a curator earns.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">It points
out all your errors, just like a consultant,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But solves
none of the problems—it’s more an insultant.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Like
curators, though, it can sleep in collections,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">And never
falls prey to biologic infections.)<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I’d
stocked up on supplies to manage this caper<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(And found
dissertations make great toilet paper).<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Though it
had taken a year, I read Defoe through,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">And I was
no stranger to the plague of Camus.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I’d bought
canned beans and puzzles to get through bleak December. <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Was there
anything else? Not that I could remember.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But then,
in a twinkling, with my heart almost cheery,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I heard a
strange sound, right upon midnight dreary.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Away to
the window I flew in a hurry,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But something
was wrong. Was it now time to worry?<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The moon on
the breast of the new-fallen snow,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Just like
Fukushima, was starting to glow.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">When, what
to my begoggled eyes should appear<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But a
miniature sleigh led by eight virus-free deer?<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The driver,
emerging from a sealed plastic canopy<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I knew in
a moment was our own St. Entropy.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I then
heard a crash and a thud and a rapping<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">And St.
Entropy appeared with a swish and a tapping.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">His eyes,
how they glittered; his smile, so serene;<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">I hoped he
was bringing the new viral vaccine.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">He was
dressed all in Tyvek, from the mask to the boots,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But this
was no year for fur on the suits.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Over his
shoulder, he was manhandling a sack<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Which he
proceeded to open and quickly unpack.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">“I bring
gifts!” the Saint shouted, “Relief from your woes,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">No more
you’ll be troubled with ravens and crows!”<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">My heart
slowly sank, my hopes now eroded…<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The Old
Saint had muddled up corvid and COVID.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The
vaccine that he’d carried over mountain and loch<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Worked
only for smart birds that flew in a flock.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">We had
plenty of magpies, crows, ravens, and jays,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">But none
of them live ones; all stored in arrays. <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">We had to
do something. It was urgent. What’s more,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The museum
had those volumes of forgotten lore.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">We looked
up old research and programmed the Drone<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">To leave our
safe shelter and go out on its own.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Away it
flew, just like soft down from a thistle <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(Okay,
maybe not, but it came back when we whistled). <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">It went to
the labs and retrieved new vaccines,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">And
brought them in safely. Deus ex machines.<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">The Saint,
who had medical training (who knew?),<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Injected
us all, and flu flew up the flue. <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Then, not
laying a finger anywhere near his nose<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(Kids,
don’t touch your face!), up the fume hood he rose. <span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">And I
heard him exclaim, as I bolted the door,<span class=""></span></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">“Merry
Christmas! And COVID, for you….Nevermore!”<span class=""></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:107%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span></p><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; line-height: 107%; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">(Sally
Shelton and John Simmons want everyone to stay well and safe, or else. Yeah,
else.) <span class=""></span></span></div>
</div></div>
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</blockquote></div><br clear="all" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div>-- <br class=""><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class="">
<div style="margin:4px 4px 1px;font:10pt Tahoma" class="">
<div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class=""><font size="3" class="">Patti Wood Finkle</font></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
</span><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class=""></span>Director of Museums <br class=""></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
</span><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">~Tate Geological Museum<br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">~Werner Wildlife Museum<br class=""></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
</span><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">Casper College<br class=""></span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
</span><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">307-268-3026</span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
</span><div class=""><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class=""> </span></div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif" class="">
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_______________________________________________<br class="">Nhcoll-l mailing list<br class=""><a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" class="">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br class="">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l<br class=""><br class="">_______________________________________________<br class="">NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br class="">Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br class="">mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br class="">natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br class="">society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.<br class="">Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.<br class=""></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></body></html>