John assures me that I am the last one to check in with Canyon Creek Central on this issue, so, alas, I'll be brief: we're ensconsed in Ohio now.

The trip across country was on the whole safely managed - we lost a windshield wiper during a rain storm in Arizona and I locked myself out of one of our cars (the one for which we did not have a spare key) in Amarillo (not to worry, however; the locksmith gave us a free jar of home-made salsa when he finished with his job).

We drove our two cars in tandam, and surprisingly it went well. Driving alone knowing you can blare out anything you want on your tape player is quite therapeutic all in all, I've found.

Anyway, we made it to Delaware, Ohio. Now I'm sitting here sans herons and egrets like we had at the coast, but the leaves are turning and for now life is sweet. May the same be true for you, my dear, dear friends in Ponarv Land.

P.S. so that I can drop off my contributions into the mail box with Mercury-like speed, there will be no poems in this issue. If you like, I'll be happy to give you a double helping next issue, however. Chaio.