One day the Olympic athlete was at the hurdles
When he tripped over a chunk of Indochinite
Like a meditating robot holding a flower, he took the fall gently and settled into a meditative posture
Which gave him a better opportunity to examine the local flowers.
He could vaguely make out some intrigue, or trouble, up a dusty road by some houses
Art thieves were making off with a rare POLLOCK, either that or a fingerpainting by one of the kids snuffling around the olympic village with nothing to do
One door up from that, someone else was building a bomb. Which is very not in the spirit of the olympics.
Also like a meditating robot, the hurdle jumping specialist tapped a red button on his shoulder....
Which gave him the sensation of a wharf with a castle
It was the transmogrifying vision of another ice age!
All the leaves, even the vinyl leaves, would wither on the vine
The books would be no more. People would forget how to read. Hemingway, Faulkner, even _Coxa_ by Richard Bone. No books!
He got a spark of bravery as he scanned the horizon with binoculars. But how could he foil the art thieves, dismantle the bomb and still win the 40 yard dash?
Could that lady in the bathing suit sitting on a white picket fence and
staring out to sea have something to do with it?
It is at this moment in the story that the characters' names are revealed.
The hurdler's name is reluctance .
The woman-looking-at-the-sea's name is ladder truck .
Well, that's her name!
By psychic pickups placed strategically behind his ears, a pianist called skeg
could enjoy the high drama unfolding, without having to fly to Indochina or even learn to swim.
Reluctance crept up behind a scary tree
Skeg realized what he really wanted to play was a lute. So he got a lute.
From the scary tree, Reluctance proceeded to a fountain. Visiting athletes usually weren't allowed over here, but that's a chance he would have to take.
It was actually up in Hoover Tower that Skeg was playing music
There was a little known music library up there courtesy of the Atherton Ladies' Auxiliary.
Down below, the Stanford field hockey players were trouncing, walloping St. Mary's.
Or something. I can't be bothered with third rate college athletics.
But I will tell you that some observers considered it very irreverent to hold their game on the same day as the Olympics.
Anyway, there was no one on campus except the two teams, coaches and Skeg.
I'm sure as he rounded the fountain, Reluctance was not expecting to come face to face with former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee!!
And on that scary, suspenseful note, the story is held over until OLYMPIC TERROR PART TWO.