By Ken Drenten

I used to think of ZOOM like Superman flying to the rescue

Or Batman when he would POW! BIFF! BOP! the bad guys

Or even a speedy football player running for a touchdown

But now ZOOM means opening up my laptop

Checking the wi-fi connection

Finding the little meeting link in my calendar or email

And trying to open up the link, but it doesn’t work

So I do what the instructions on my screen tell me to do

And try pasting the link into my browser

Hey, it’s working – I can see them but they can’t see me

My microphone wasn’t turned on

Now it’s working but my mute button was on…

Hey, how is everybody?

Can you hear me now?

What — the meeting is over?!

Next time I’ll call Superman to figure out this ZOOM!

Aug. 21, 2025

The Dark Trail

By Ken Drenten

The rider got down from his horse slowly.

Something in the darkness had spooked his mount.

Now his senses were fully alert.

He silently drew his Colt from a worn leather holster

Then he froze all motion and barely breathed.

Rocks in the trail beneath his boots

Crunched ever so slightly

He stared hard into the dark night

But couldn’t make anything out.

The hiss of an arrow’s sudden flight

Split the heavy air

And caused the cowboy to grunt in pain.

He fired his pistol, which lit up a face in the shadows

In a flash of flame and gunpowder smoke

He couldn’t tell if he had hit his foe or not.

But for years afterward as he wrote his stories of the West,

The pain in his shoulder when the weather turned cold

Would remind Zane Grey that life is fleeting.

Aug. 11, 2025

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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