The latest chapter in My Book: "Walking Through Time" …a new kind of online novel.

Back at Moab Ranch, Moabbey the Coyote was trying to connect his centenarian Remington portable typewriter to a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor. Since the typewriter was not electrified, displaying images on the CRT was a problem. With both forepaws, Moabbey hit the top of the monitor.

After saving the Moab Burro from a bad fate,
Coney and Kokopelli ride back to Moab Ranch

Almost busting through the ranch house door, Moabbey and Silver girl rushed out to greet the little Burro Crane. "Clinkety clank, clinkety clang" sang the Burro Crane as it approached Moab Ranch. Before it hit the derail, the little Burro Crane lurched to a stop. Coney remained on the flat car and Kokopelli stayed on top of the little crane. It looked like the Moab Burro was wearing Plush Kokopelli as a hat.

When he saw the tiny Burro Crane, Moabbey cried out, "What happened to the Moab Burro? He shrank down to almost nothing".

For once, Coney was ready with an answer. "As you will recall, the Moab Burro had been irradiated by the Train of Pain, as it hauled radioactive waste from the Moab Pile out to the nuclear depository at Brendel, Utah. Once he gained control of that giant chainsaw, the irradiated Moab Burro went wild. We have video of him cutting down trees all over America. He even cut into the old streetcar that Kokopelli and I were riding in".

"How did you shrink him down from crane-size to toy-size?" asked Silver Girl.

"Luckily", said Coney, "Kokopelli and I departed the streetcar just in time. Using my traffic-cone martial arts training, I 'coned him in'. Once I immobilized him with my extreme coning technique, the Moab Burro shrank down to this size. By then, I was tired and hungry, so we jumped aboard and rode back here with the Moab Burro."

"How are we going to get the Moab Burro back to normal size?" asked Silver Girl.

Neither Coney nor Moabbey had an answer for that question. Plush Kokopelli started to blush his multicolored glow, but none of the superheroes noticed that he might have an answer.

Just then, the Other appeared. As he arrived, the brim of his hat cast his signature shadow on the gravel below. "There is only one way to get the Moab Burro back to normal size", the shadowy figure said. "I'll call Frank J. Cullen. Some folks call him the godfather of the Burro Crane. If anyone knows what to do with an errant Burro Crane, it would be Frank".

Moments later, the Other placed a telephone call to Frank J. Cullen, in Chicago. Almost as soon as the Other hung up the telephone, the Father of the Burro Crane appeared at the Moab Ranch railroad siding.

After paying respects to all of the superheroes, Frank J. Cullen narrowed his gaze on the little Burro Crane. "He has 'reverse Godzilla syndrome'", said Frank. "As we know from the movie, radiation made Godzilla huge. The Moab Burro was already huge. When Coney coned him in, Coney's superpowers shrank the Burro Crane to toy-size".

Coney looked incredulous. "You mean I really do have superpowers?" he asked.

Silver Girl looked at Coney with exasperation, and then blurted out, "If you do not believe in yourself, then your powers will ebb. If you just believe in yourself, you will have all of the power that you need."

Stammering a bit, Coney said, "I'll try to remember."

As soon as Frank J. Cullen saw the concerned look in each superhero's eyes, he knew how to handle the situation. First, he looked directly at each one of them. Then he softly said to the group, "All you need is to invoke the Burro Crane password. Then, the Moab Burro will reemerge in his normal size".

Frank J. Cullen, godfater of the Burro Crane
brings the Moab Burro back to normal size

"What is the Burro Crane password", asked Silver Girl.

"I cannot verbalize it, but I will write it down for you", said Frank J. Cullen. Soon, he passed a handwritten note to Silver Girl.

"The password is 'Swordfish'", declared Silver Girl. Just as she said the word "swordfish", the little Burro Crane reemerged in normal size.

As Silver Girl watched, Frank J. Cullen, Coney and Plush Kokopelli clustered around the newly reconstituted Moab Burro. It was a proud, yet poignant moment for Frank J. Cullen. As the godfather of all Cullen Friestadt Burro Cranes, he was uneasy. Frank knew that the Moab Burro was one of the last surviving members of its breed. Burro Cranes, it seemed, did not live well and prosper in humid air.

With Coney and Kokopelli still aboard, the Burro Crane rambled along the siding at Moab Ranch and then on to the old Potash Branch. "For many years, the Moab Burro had lived peacefully out at Seven Mile. At one time, you could even find him on Google Earth", Frank said. "I hope he finds a good home". After thinking for a moment, Frank said, "Just across Utah Route 313 from the Moab Burro's old siding, the new Moab Giants museum is opening soon. Perhaps they could help".

Moabbey the Coyote chimed in, "Maybe the museum could build a short piece of railroad track, just out back. Then the Union Pacific Railroad might donate the Moab Burro to the new museum. Living out his old age in the dry desert air, the Moab Burro could entertain and enthrall generations to come. After all, he is as big as the biggest dinosaur and he sort of looks like one, as well."

As he headed off with Coney and Kokopelli aboard, "clinkety clank, clinkety clang" was all that the Moab Burro said. Even though he put up a good front, the Moab Burro knew that his fate was tenuous. He could end up in a wrecking yard, bound for China or he could live out his later years in peace at Seven Mile, near Moab, Utah.
 

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