It says - O, God, forgive us our wrongdoings, and protect us from further dangers.

Super-Otis is turning four this month! (We're not sure when the exact date is. He was a stray.)

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday, dear Super-Otiiiiiiiiis...Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, soon-to-be 4 year old Super-Otis!  

Super-Otis had been gone a long time and Super-Thea soon began to wonder where he was. With the Crackerjack & her order off her mind she could now devote her entire attention to the mission. After reading War and Peace, she had been on their computer and been looking into the T.V.s of the town and had noticed some strange, fiendish resources. They certainly were not normal, and were causing T.V. viruses. She had tried to figure out what they were and discovered some strange commerials that were coming from unknown sources. She could not figure out what the sources were so she had tried to call Super-Otis to see if he had uncovered any hidden evidence.

Now wherever Super-Otis went he carried his iPHONE with him. This way he could call Super-Thea and Super-Thea could call him. He always answered the phone when he was called, usually. But this time when Thea (thats what she's called when she's not Super-Thea) tried to call him, this is what happened:

"I hope he's not at the candy store buying Crackerjack," muttered Thea to herself. "And if he is, he'll be sorry."

So she picked up the Red Phone and called 113-568 Super-Otis. But this time, instead of Super-Otis, this is what happened:

"Hey, this is the cell phone of Super-Otis, and I am very sorry that I can't answer your call right now. Leave your name, number, & time of the call & I'll call you back. Thanks & have a good day, Bye-Bye!"

"What in the world?!" exclaimed Thea, "Something must be wrong!" And with that, she grabbed her cape, mask, uniform, belt, shoes, & defense cape. Then she rushed out the door.

When she arrived in the street she was met with another shock, there were hardly any people left in the town! The very few people left were behaving very, very badly. Super-Thea rushed all over the town, looking for Super-Otis. But he was no where to be seen.

Now it happened that Super-Thea came to a tunnel next to the town. Super-Thea knew what it was. It was an old abandoned mine tunnel that had been used by author & super-hero, Hobie Bridge, who had used it to get to villian lairs. Back at the Otis-Cave, Super-Otis had two of his books,Super Villians and Super Heros & A Gadget Saved is a Gadget Earned. But what interested Thea was that there was a sign outside that read "Reserved For Commercial And Inventing Purposes. Do Not Enter." Super-Thea had never seen something like this before, so she decided to go down and investigate.

So she jumped into the tunnel and down she went! She fell long & hard & then landed with a CRASH!! and the fall was over.

She was not a bit hurt. When she got up she realized she was in a prison. And what she saw in the prison was flabbergasting!

What she saw were boxes & boxes & boxes & boxes & boxes & boxes of Crackerjack, and on one end of the room there was an elevator. In the middle of the room there was a little table & chair, and sitting on the chair, eating the Crackerjack, was none other than Super-Otis himself!

"Super-Otis!" gasped Super-Thea "Didn't I tell you..."

" Yes, you did tell him that, but it doesn't matter now. What matters is what I got him to do, & he's really helping me."

Super-Thea hastily whirled round to see where the strange voice had come from. And she was just in time to see Saber-Boy enter the room!

"Aloha," said Saber-Boy teasingly, as soon as he saw the surprised look on her face. "Well, well, well, I'm soooooooo happy to have a guest. Well, I'm sorry, but we don't have room for two here, so I would be pleased if you'll just run along, or get engaged in a fight. But you're a little old and small to be fighting so please leave."

Super-Thea's face grew red with anger. How dare Saber-Boy call her old & small! She would show this villian where to get off!

As quick as lightening she tore out her defensive cape and it started to glow like a lightsaber. Without a word Saber-Boy pulled out his lightsaber and struck at Super-Thea. Super-Thea quickly flung her defensive cape out in front of her like a shield. As Saber-Boy struck again, she shielded herself carefully, for fear she would be struck. Back and forth, back and forth, led Super-Thea, with Saber-Boy striking at her. Then they changed places for the last time.

Suddenly Saber-Boy said "Adios Amigo! You beat me this time but I think our next fight will not end so pretty for you. Adios & Aloha!" And then he skipped to the elevator & jabbed a button. Then the elevator doors slammed shut & he was gone.

Then Super-Thea, who had watched him till that point, turned to Super-Otis...

TO BE CONTINUED...                                                                    

Last Sunday night the cats urinated on the kitchen floor and caused quite a ruckus the next day when it was discovered. This is my Dr. Suess-ish twist on the story:


'Twas the night before Monday,
When all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a louse.

The only things that were stirring,
Do you want me to tell?
Were three cats, Otis, Thea, and Clarabel.

They're locked in the basment,
All night why you sleep,
So while you sleep,
You won't hear a peep.
 
They were mad and sad,
And not at all glad,
They wanted to run about,
But they couldn’t get out.

Then Clarabel said, “Stop this once and for all!
You know I am strong,
I’ll go upstairs and break open the door,
And then we can run, all over the kitchen floor!”

And I’m sorry to say,
That the cats followed her that day.
She pushed and she struggled,
And she mumbled and grumbled,
And she pulled and she scratched and, POP!
They were free! free! free!

So they played and jumped,
And slept and ran,
While the people were sleeping,
And they didn’t hear the peeping.

When their bladders got filled,
They decided to go,
It just had to be done,
So they started downstairs, to do their numbers two and one.

She pushed and she struggled,
And she mumbled and grumbled,
And she rubbed and she braced the floor,
But she COULDN’T open the door!

She gasped, “I can’t open the door!”
The cats all gasped, and began to start whining.
 And crying and crying and crying and crying,
And the weeping went on as a sad sort of sighing.

Then Clarabel said “Oh, don’t worry you two!
Stop saying boo hoo hoo!
Peeing in this house is too easy to be true!
We just go into the kitchen, and leave our spots on the floor,
I’m sure the humans will understand we can’t go through the door!

Oh no! The cats did just that I’m sorry to say,
They went into the kitchen and tinkled away,
They went away smiling, one by one,
Just if they had just had great fun.

Then the family came down to eat,
And not once did they look at their feet,
They were turning yellow! Sadly, it is true,
It was because of the dried pee on the floor. PU!

Then during school, a cute little baby,
Crawling through the mess on floor,
Came to Mommy, stained with yellow,
And Mommy said “What’s this? It’s not jello.”
And why is the floor stained with yellow?”

And then things went quite wild!
Mommy tried wiping it up, but it wouldn’t come up.
She tried mopping it up, but she may as well have tried to teach words to a pup,
It wouldn’t come up off the floor,
And all because of the cats that came through the door.

And then she called Daddy and told him to hurry home,
For she was worried 100%,
And I was sure she said what she meant,
For it wouldn’t come up off the floor,
And all because of the cats that came through the door.

When he arrived home he was in no better a mood,
And I could tell he had quite a ‘tude,
For no matter what he did it didn’t come off the floor,
And all because of the cats that came through the door.

Then we went out to get sandals and shoes,
And the floor eventually began to lose,
The pea all over the floor,
And all because of Daddy that came home through the door.

We were all very happy to know it was gone,
And my story is almost about done,
And that’s what happened all over the floor,
And all because of the cats that came through the door!   

      
 
             -Storyman       

As you know, I have writen a book called The Fisher. (In case you haven't read it, go to my mom's blog to read her entry on The Fisher and to learn more about it.) Ever since, I have been wanting to turn that humble little book into a series. I've thought of several animals to write about in my next book, (porcupine, opossum, crow & raven, skunk, mink & otter etc.) but they all were vetoed.

In a book about weasels that I have, the author listed the fisher as a type of marten. (However, in some books I have, they treat the fisher like its in another family of Mustilidae, the weasel family. I don't, however.) Since I believe fishers are martens, I thought it would be appropriate to have the marten family to be the subject of the next book in the The Animal Kingdom series. Hence, the next volume will be titled, The Marten from Storyman Productions.

P.S. (I already have the front & back covers for my book done.)          

Things have really been happening lately.

First, we have been getting out more. Most of the time we have to stay inside because of my 14 yr. old & 3 yr. old brothers. (It's because it's hard to haul two autistic children plus twins around. Also because my brothers don't understand not to eat dirt and other stuff found in the yard, so we don't play in the yard most of the time unless our dad is home to watch them, which is not very often).

The first time we went out this spring is when our mom took us to a trout hatchery. It had lots of stuffed animals,(bobcat, river otter, black bear, red fox, coyote, etc.) all set up around a little pool off water with trout in it. (Not the cute cuddly ones you see in department stores). As usual, I was chattering on about the animals that were talked about on the signs they had up. This was all inside the building. Then we got some fish food and went outside to another pool of water to feed the trout (no feeding was allowed in that other pool of trout inside the building).

It was great fun to feed the fish. It was even greater fun to watch them eat. After feeding the trout, we went up a little hill to the nursery (I ran).

The nursery was very educating. It explained the process of the hatchery, from the egg to when they release them into the rivers for people to catch. We couldn't go inside, but we didn't have to. They had big windows each with a sign on each explaining the process. Inside was amazing. There were tanks & tanks of baby trout in them (because the females lay a great many eggs). Sometimes there were so many babies in one corner of the tanks the water looked black! I went down the building, reading the signs aloud.

After that, we went down the hill and up another hill (I ran, but wasn't supposed to) to where the fish go after they out grow the nursery. It was even more amazing. I kept thanking Mommy for bringing us there 'cause it was so amazing. There were tanks & tanks & tanks & tanks of trout and big feeding trucks making so much noise you had to yell to make yourself heard.


One of the big tanks was being cleaned out, and there was a tiny tank that held the trout that belonged in the big tank. This was connected to another tank. Strangely, the fish in the little tank were jumping into the big tank, and I really thought I saw a few jump out of the water as they did so!

It was a great field trip, and after we saw that we fed the last of the food to the trout in the pool & went home. I was sorry when it was time to go home.

The next day Butterfly & me were taken out mini golfing with Daddy. It was fun.

The next day trip (the fish hatchery was more of a morning trip) we went on was a visit to a really fun zoo/museum place we visited about a year ago. They had an animal nursery, a waterfowl lake, & an antique museum.

First we looked at the nursery, ducks, & Syrian Grizzilies. They had a black leopard in the nursery. Zoboomafoo calls it a black jaguar, but it is really a black leopard. True jaguars live in Central & South America & not in Africa and Asia, like leopards.

After eating lunch at a bench we looked at the rest of zoo and museum. The cutest part of the whole thing was seeing a firstborn baby deer fawn, which we got to see get on its feet, nurse, and its mother washing it. Daddy had bought some dried corn feed, so we fed whatever animals we were allowed to. Next time I hope to bring in some cookies for the bears and monkeys too.

The best part of the whole day was when I got to see real live fishers! I had seen pictures of fishers, but not a real live one. In fact, I got to see two fishers, not one! 

Since we had seen most of zoo (including the huge Alaskan Kodiak bear, badger, prairie dogs, skunks, woodchucks, wolves, & bison) we went into the museum. It had old cars, tractors, motorcycles, toys & more. It also had a pitch black tunnel with bright stones, which I enjoyed going into despite Butterfly was afraid to until Mommy said she would go in with her, modeled Eskimo equipment, and a cash waterfall in which me and Butterfly threw coins into. All off it was great, they also had an old carousel. It may have been one of George Washington's first boyhood jobs to bring that type of carousel to birthday parties the sign said.

After seeing the museum, we played at the park a bit. Little Guy had a fun time sliding, which was very cute. Me & Butterfly also had fun sliding.

Then we went back to the animal nursery & got rid of the last of the corn. There was a pony there, and we fed it, but later Mommy said she had saw a sign the pony bites. Don't worry though, none of us got bitten!

On our way out, we picked out a few things in the gift shop & me & Daddy & Big Guy saw some old guns & swords & dolls & the giant stuffed animal of Goliath, which had been the world's biggest bear!

For Mommy's Birthday, we went to a medium-sized zoo. I didn't get to see the bobcats and the ravens and the otters, but I did get to see the red panda, & the sandhill crane, & the porcupine, & the prairie dogs. We also got to ride on the merry-go-round and pick out a few toys. We also had lunch there. The toys I picked out were a great horned owl & a river otter.          

I'm getting a new book! As you probably have already guessed, it is called Longlegs the Heron by Thornton W. Burgess. I am especially happy because it was a classic & a hard book to get.

I had gotten a Borders gift card from my Uncle R. in North Carolina & my mommy said I get a book with it. All I had to do was tell her what book I had in mind and she would do an internet search & buy it. (the gift card was for $10) This is where the trouble started. Borders,(including Amazon & others) didn't carry it! In fact, the only place that carried it was Ebay! (Ebay sells everything).

There were 3 other Longlegs the Heron books on Ebay, but one was for $40 & the others were for $30. However, the other one was being sold at an auction. Mommy wanted to try to keep it cheap, so she decided to bid for it. (the auction ended at 11:30 on Sunday).

I could hardly wait for Sunday to come. But finally, it came. For a while Mommy kept an eye on it, but at last she put a bid for $20. (there was another bidder on it, only one though).

I was especially happy when Mommy said she had won! However, it'll be some 4-11 days before it comes in. So, in the mean time, I'll just have to be patient, for a book about someone who's patient! (herons are very, very, patient fishermen).

Super-Otis' coach hadn't gone far before it started down a tunnel. And it hadn't gone far down this before it went into cave, drops off its captive at a cell, and drops through the floor. Unfortunately, Super-Otis was too busy eating crackerjack to remember his lessons from the book SUPER TIPS FOR SUPER SUPER HEROS which was written by A. Tommy House who also invented super hero gadgets for making enemy villians surrender. Anyway, lets see what Sablelysunsol Cocococo Billerpactpo, (Saber Boy for short) and his sidekick, Bailen, are doing.

"Since silly Otis can't defend the town, I'll soon take it over with T.V. temptation. " said Saber Boy "Then I'll trick the President into giving me many bombs, then everyone will be afraid of me and give me money so I will not hurt them. I think I will collect $999,123,789,567 from everyone in the world. I think I will be a land owning billionare and live in a wonderful palace and have a million slaves, including you Bailen,(Bailen didn't like that idea!) and I will own gold and silv..."

''Wait!" said Bailen "You can't do all of that yet!"

"Why can't I Stewlen Stupid?

"You haven't conquered Super-Thea! Yet."

"Awwww, don't worry about her. I'll take care of her. The most important thing is me becoming the richest person on the planet. Tiger Boy didn't. He was a traitor. The Complainer didn't. He was arrested. But I will do it..."

TO BE CONTINUED...           

While Super-Otis was being brought to Saber-Boy's lair, Super-Thea was throwing out the crackerjack. She was counting every box. She found out that there were 19 boxes and under one of them she found the order of crackerjack. It read: Order 15 boxes of crackerjack by July 3, 1990.

"Just my luck." she muttered.

After the boxes had been thrown out or put in the closet, she got on the telephone and called Circut City.

"Hello, Bill Hibbing here for Circut City. How can I help you?"

"Hello, Super-Thea here. And yes I would like a computer desk. I would like it here by next week any day, any time. Bye!"

After it had been ordered, Super-Thea sat down and read War and Peace.

TO BE CONTINUED...                 

''Hello, Super-Thea here. Oh, Mr. President good to here from you. What's that you say? It's not good to here from you? Why would anyone think it's not good to be called by President J. Lewis Michael? Oh, there is a problem. Where? All over town! Well, I'm not sure Super-Otis can go all over town but I'll ask.
Thank you Mr. President. Good Bye.''

There was a click, and then a voice calling ''SUPER-OTIS!!!''

The hero sighs, and walks over.

''What is it?''he asks.

''There is a problem all over town. Can you do it?

''Well, I...''

''Good. Then skiddaddal out of here why I do your chores and throw out those boxes of crackerjack. I plan to set up a computer desk. And I can't do it with that junk lying around.''

''It's not junk. It's yummy. And I have more coming in too.''

''I'm throwing that out too. Now go out all over town and save America. Just call me if you need anything."

The hero sighs again and after one look at his bedtime snack of crackerjack and lemonade, he leaves.

He walks into the town thinking. But not about the problem, but about the crackerjack.

''There must be another way to get some crackerjack.'' he thought.

TO BE CONTINUED...