The Moab Burro - disappears from Seven Mile, at
Moab, Utah. Plush Kokopelli and Coney, the Traffic
Cone set out to find the "Wild Burro of the West".
Chapter 1 -
The Great Burro Crane Mystery
Out at Seven Mile, the Moab Burro Goes Missing...
Moab, UT, December 20, 2014 Author: Jim McGillisIt was quiet at
Moab Ranch;
too quiet. Moabbey
the Coyote could not find another living soul. After
searching from room to room, he finally found
Silver Girl.
"Where are
Coney and Kokopelli?" he asked.
"Coney", she replied, "was mumbling something about going out to
Seven Mile. He heard that the
Moab Burro was missing from there. He thought that Kokopelli
might help him find it."
Moabbey looked startled. "The Moab Burro has been standing on a
railroad siding out by the Union Pacific Railroad
Potash Branch for years. Where would it go?"
"Beats me." Silver Girl replied. "But if anyone can find the
Moab Burro, it will be Plush Kokopelli, not Coney the Traffic
Cone".
Meanwhile, out at
Seven Mile, Coney and Kokopelli were not having any luck.
They had looked everywhere at the intersection of U.S. Highway
191 North and Utah Highway 313, near the entrance to Seven Mile
Canyon.
Coney looked concerned. "Last time we were out here, the
Moab Burro was right
over there, on that railroad siding. He had a pile of old
railroad ties nearby and some sections of old bent-up rail that
he had replaced. If he had not repaired the Potash Branch, the
Train of Pain
might have derailed and spilled nuclear waste all over the
New Industrial Desert."
Kokopelli,
as was his tradition, said nothing. He did, however raise an
eyebrow and smile.
Coney, not noticing Kokopelli's sly smile, jumped to the worst
conclusion he could think of. "You don't suppose that the Moab
Burro got contaminated by nuclear waste from the
Moab Pile and
ran away, do you?"
As Kokopelli remained silent, Coney went into despair. "The Moab
Burro may be out there somewhere, riding on the railroad tracks
of America, lost, hurt or even worse,
contaminated with nuclear waste."
While considering such
horrible news, Coney stumbled and then sat down by the
railroad tracks. In mock sympathy, Kokopelli sat down too and
then reclined against Coney. The Moab Burro was gone, but that
was all that Coney knew. As the sun set at Seven Mile, Coney
remained motionless, deep in thought. Then he said quietly,
"This may be the Great Burro Crane Mystery."
Of course, Kokopelli knew exactly where the Moab Burro had gone,
but he did not plan to help Coney solve the mystery. He thought
it would be much more fun if Coney had to figure that out for
himself.
Contaminated with nuclear radiation by the
"Train
of Pain",
the Moab Burro is running wild, cutting
down trees
within the La Sal Range, near Moab.
Chapter 2 -
The Moab Burro Runs Wild
Coney and Kokopelli Plan to Retrieve the Wild Burro of the West
Moab, Utah, January 31, 2015 Author: Jim McGillisAs the sun set at
Seven Mile, near Moab, Utah,
Coney the Traffic Cone slowly came
to his senses. The
Wild Burro of the West, also known
as the
Moab Burro Crane, was not coming
back any time soon. "We'd better hoof it
back to
Moab Ranch", Coney said, not
noticing that he had no hooves or feet.
Plush Kokopelli was "living in the
now" and felt no such remorse or regret.
He simply smiled and then seemed to
disappear. Shaking his head from side to
side, Coney said, "There he goes again,
using his fifth-dimensional superpowers
to travel wherever he wants".
Refusing to believe that he had any
superhero powers of his own, Coney began
the seven-mile cone-walk back to their
home at Moab Ranch. Two hours after
dark, when Coney finally tripped through
the gate at Moab Ranch, Plush Kokopelli
was already there, sitting on the
bunkhouse porch and playing his flute.
"You are going to have to teach me how
you do that", said Coney. With a twinkle
in his eye, Kokopelli said nothing, and
then went back to playing his flute.
Hearing Coney moaning about his long
trek,
Moabbey the Coyote and
Silver Girl came out to see what
Coney was up to this time. When he saw
them, Coney started gushing information.
"The Moab Burro is gone from Seven Mile.
I think he may have been contaminated
with nuclear waste from the old
Moab Pile. He was sitting there on
the railroad tracks for years and the 'Train
of Pain' may have contaminated him
with nuclear radiation. I think he might
be out on the railroad tracks of
America, sick or injured."
Moabbey growled and then said, "If I
hadn't sold my
Apple Power Mac G4 Cube, we could
have found him in a minute. It had a
4-D chromatic-hypersphere display,
like the one that the Wizard of Oz used
in that old movie. My display could tune
in anyone, anywhere at any time."
Super Girl frowned and then said, "So
for $75, you sold one of our superhero
superpowers?
Moabbey sighed and said, "It seemed like
a lot of money at the time. But now, I
wish I had my Mac G4 Cube back".
"There is no use moping around", said
Super Girl. "We shall improvise. Do you
still have that hundred-year-old
Remington typewriter that you found down
at the Moab Pile? It was from the office
at the old
Atlas Uranium Mill, so it surely got
a good dose of radiation back in the
day. Maybe we could rig up a screen on
it and tune it to the whereabouts of the
Moab Burro".
Coney looked up admiringly at Silver
Girl. "You always are the smart one,
aren't you?" he said.
When she said, "Why, thank you for the
compliment, Coney", as he blushed a
particularly vibrant orange color.
"OK, here it is," said Moabbey,
attaching a
4-D chromatic-hypersphere display to
the ancient typewriter. "Look, it's
working already. Isn't that the Moab
Burro out there on the railroad tracks?
What is he doing? He looks like he is
running amuck with a giant chainsaw,
cutting down every tree in sight".
"This is worse than I thought", cried
Coney. "If we don't stop him, he could
cut down every tree for miles around.
What should we do?"
With a knowing look, Silver Girl turned
to Coney and said, "Isn't it about time
that you became the
superhero that you always wanted to
be? Kokopelli used is fifth dimensional
powers of travel to get from Seven Mile
to Moab Ranch in an instant. You, on the
other hand, trudged overland for hours
to return to Moab Ranch."
"Yes", said Coney, "but no one ever said
that I could transport myself like
Kokopelli does, using worm holes and
string theory."
"There, you just said it. You understand
the theory. If you ask Kokopelli nicely,
I am sure that he will help you find the
Moab Burro before he destroys the entire
Manti La Sal forest". Then Silver Girl
turned to Kokopelli to see his reaction.
Kokopelli dropped his flute for a moment
and then blushed in his brightest
multi-colored blush.
Silver Girl looked at Coney and said,
"There. That proves it. He is ready to
go. All you have to do is ask".
Coney hesitated, shuffling from side to
side on the floor. "I'm not sure I can
do it", he finally said.
"All you have to do is believe", said
Silver Girl, smiling at Coney.
That was enough for Coney. He stood up
tall and asked Kokopelli, "Will you
please help me save the forest and bring
the Moab Burro back to Moab, where he
belongs?"
With a twinkle in his eyes, Kokopelli
put his flute to his lips, and blew some
cool jazz. Before anyone could move,
both Kokopelli and Coney disappeared
from the room.
Turning to the old typewriter and
display, Moabbey said, "Look, there they
are, out on the railroad tracks looking
for the Moab Burro. Now the Burro is
wielding a brush-cutter and he is still
going wild. Do you think they can stop
the Burro before anyone gets hurt?"
To be continued... (Read
Chapter 3)
