I have never submitted a clue before, so I don't know what format you
prefer. I have cut and pasted the story below, but I've also attached
the Word file if you prefer. Thanks!

"The Road to Enlightenment," library letterbox series
Placed January 13th, 2003 by Plain and Peanut
Manassas, VA

The Road to Enlightenment
by Plain and Peanut

The musky aroma of aged pages flipped the lightswitch of schoolday
memories. At first it was unpleasant, dragging unwilling prisoners of
recollection out of the darkness and into her sight. She hadnt been in
a library for years. Mandated reading lists conspired with
dispassionate lecturers to extinguish her curiosity. Perhaps she would
never have stepped back into the soft, warm springs of knowledge if it
hadnt been for that spider on the citronella bush in the corner of her
herb garden. How it had startled her, brazenly flaunting its angry
yellow and sinister black stripes down the length of its two full
inches! She feared arachnids more than she feared nostalgia. Before
one more scissorsnip brought the flowered gloves on her hands any closer
to the suspect beast residing next to the tarragon, she resolved to find
the location of the nearest spider identification guide. She was
astonished to find no suitable option on the world wide web and resorted
to discovering the location of the nearest library. As it happened,
Bull Run Regional Library was just two miles from home.

Cold uncertainty set in when it became clear to her that no card
catalog existed. She would have to unscramble the blinking characters
on the alien computer screen to accomplish her task. Cautiously and
full of self-doubt, she typed spiders, in the general keyword search
box. Gentle affirmation smoothed out her ruffled confidence when
several hits appeared on the screen. Now she knew where to start.

One index finger guided her eyes along the shelfs edge. She
paused a moment. That book doesnt seem to fit here, she thought.
But the dewey decimal numbers on the spine were correct, so she
shrugged, and moved on.

After an interesting study in spider abdomens and orb webs, she was
relieved to decode the fact that her shocking, many-legged monster was
in the Argiope family; it was a Common Garden Spider. She mentally
insisted that there was nothing common about her resident
tallgrass-and-sun-loving fanged phantasm, but the ubiquitous they were
not listening. It was a Common Garden Spider. It was a threat only to
serenity.

Feeling much-empowered by her new-found competence, she decided to
venture forth into the stream of consciousness once more. Perhaps a
stroll up and down the aisles would make the next trip less
intimidating. Yes, she would cozy up to this unsurpassable freedom of
information. . . get to know it a little better.

There are the computer books. . . certainly she could use those,
but on another adventure, perhaps. Religions, The Lives of the Saints .
. . What is that next to The Lives of the Saints? She grinned and
chuckled at the ill-planned neighborhood this created. A book which,
despite accurate dewey decimal markings, was destined forever to be the
despicable neighbor-with-the-cars-up-on-blocks among righteous preachers
and their modest wives. When her interest was sated, she moved along.

How much life she had wasted! How many answers there were to be
found here! Although she could never repossess the years she had failed
to enrich, a new plan coagulated in her mind. No time like the
present! she declared. Today she would walk away from the muddy, vague
bog of careless acceptance. Today she would fire up her corroded
cognitive connectors and learn something new.

Retaining enough of her long-decayed faculties to know that the
best place to start is always at the beginning, she strained to remember
as far back as possible to the first time she wondered but did not seek
to quench her thirst. Out of the swirling beige past emerged. . . a
pair of pointe shoes. Of course! She always regretted quitting ballet
lessons! She was but five years-old when they told her that her feet
were yet too small and undeveloped for a pair of pointe shoes.
Heartbroken, as only a five year-old ballerina can be, she quit. Perhaps
another year would have been enough, but the prospect of one year is far
and daunting to one for whom a year is twenty percent of their entire
existence thus far. She quit. Her choice was made. Today she would
learn to be a part of dance in whatever way she could. She would learn
to recognize quality, appreciate the endless hours of bloodied feet,
clammy skin, and muscles completely tapped of resources. As she
approached the exercise bar of knowledge she sought, she smiled and
wondered once more. . . what strange bedfellows would she discover
sharing the shelves with Balanchine.

We realized we neglected to include directions to the Bull Run
Regional Library. Check out their web page at
http://www.co.prince-william.va.us/library/BR.asp. They have better
directions then we could write up.


--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com
wrote:
> I have never submitted a clue before, so I don't know what format you
> prefer. I have cut and pasted the story below, but I've also attached
> the Word file if you prefer. Thanks!
>
> "The Road to Enlightenment," library letterbox series
> Placed January 13th, 2003 by Plain and Peanut
> Manassas, VA
>
> The Road to Enlightenment
> by Plain and Peanut
>
> The musky aroma of aged pages flipped the lightswitch of schoolday
> memories. At first it was unpleasant, dragging unwilling prisoners of
> recollection out of the darkness and into her sight. She hadn't
been in
> a library for years. Mandated reading lists conspired with
> dispassionate lecturers to extinguish her curiosity. Perhaps she would
> never have stepped back into the soft, warm springs of knowledge if it
> hadn't been for that spider on the citronella bush in the corner of her
> herb garden. How it had startled her, brazenly flaunting its angry
> yellow and sinister black stripes down the length of its two full
> inches! She feared arachnids more than she feared nostalgia. Before
> one more scissorsnip brought the flowered gloves on her hands any
closer
> to the suspect beast residing next to the tarragon, she resolved to
find
> the location of the nearest spider identification guide. She was
> astonished to find no suitable option on the world wide web and
resorted
> to discovering the location of the nearest library. As it happened,
> Bull Run Regional Library was just two miles from home.
>
> Cold uncertainty set in when it became clear to her that no card
> catalog existed. She would have to unscramble the blinking characters
> on the alien computer screen to accomplish her task. Cautiously and
> full of self-doubt, she typed "spiders," in the general keyword search
> box. Gentle affirmation smoothed out her ruffled confidence when
> several hits appeared on the screen. Now she knew where to start.
>
> One index finger guided her eyes along the shelf's edge. She
> paused a moment. "That book doesn't seem to fit here," she thought.
> But the dewey decimal numbers on the spine were correct, so she
> shrugged, and moved on.
>
> After an interesting study in spider abdomens and orb webs, she
was
> relieved to decode the fact that her shocking, many-legged monster was
> in the Argiope family; it was a Common Garden Spider. She mentally
> insisted that there was nothing common about her resident
> tallgrass-and-sun-loving fanged phantasm, but the ubiquitous "they"
were
> not listening. It was a Common Garden Spider. It was a threat only to
> serenity.
>
> Feeling much-empowered by her new-found competence, she decided to
> venture forth into the stream of consciousness once more. Perhaps a
> stroll up and down the aisles would make the next trip less
> intimidating. Yes, she would cozy up to this unsurpassable freedom of
> information. . . get to know it a little better.
>
> There are the computer books. . . certainly she could use those,
> but on another adventure, perhaps. Religions, The Lives of the
Saints .
> . . What is that next to The Lives of the Saints? She grinned and
> chuckled at the ill-planned neighborhood this created. A book which,
> despite accurate dewey decimal markings, was destined forever to be the
> despicable neighbor-with-the-cars-up-on-blocks among righteous
preachers
> and their modest wives. When her interest was sated, she moved along.
>
> How much life she had wasted! How many answers there were to be
> found here! Although she could never repossess the years she had
failed
> to enrich, a new plan coagulated in her mind. "No time like the
> present!" she declared. Today she would walk away from the muddy,
vague
> bog of careless acceptance. Today she would fire up her corroded
> cognitive connectors and learn something new.
>
> Retaining enough of her long-decayed faculties to know that the
> best place to start is always at the beginning, she strained to
remember
> as far back as possible to the first time she wondered but did not seek
> to quench her thirst. Out of the swirling beige past emerged. . . a
> pair of pointe shoes. Of course! She always regretted quitting ballet
> lessons! She was but five years-old when they told her that her feet
> were yet too small and undeveloped for a pair of pointe shoes.
> Heartbroken, as only a five year-old ballerina can be, she quit.
Perhaps
> another year would have been enough, but the prospect of one year is
far
> and daunting to one for whom a year is twenty percent of their entire
> existence thus far. She quit. Her choice was made. Today she would
> learn to be a part of dance in whatever way she could. She would learn
> to recognize quality, appreciate the endless hours of bloodied feet,
> clammy skin, and muscles completely tapped of resources. As she
> approached the exercise bar of knowledge she sought, she smiled and
> wondered once more. . . what strange bedfellows would she discover
> sharing the shelves with Balanchine.

The link to the library won't work because there is a period after the
last word of the link. I've fixed it:

http://www.co.prince-william.va.us/library/BR.asp


This looks like a fun series! I hope you have better luck than ADG
- their library box is reported missing.

Mary

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "thurston_1701 "
wrote:
> We realized we neglected to include directions to the Bull Run
> Regional Library. Check out their web page at
> http://www.co.prince-william.va.us/library/BR.asp. They have better
> directions then we could write up.
>
>