Niagra Falls ... nyuk, nyuk

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On a business trip to Toronto, I took  my nine year old daughter
along to see Niagara Falls.  We crossed the "Freedom Bridge" into
Canada  to follow the Niagara River on the scenic road that
parallels the west bank.   We saw the river turn from a gentle flow
to a stormy current and finally to  a foaming rapids.  Around a bend
behind the falls, the river dropped away  into a cloud of mist. 
When we passed the power plant we beheld the full  and awesome force
of this natural spectacle.

We decided to brave the "Maid of the Mist," the small boat that
plies the  waves under the falls.  Clad in yellow raincoats, terry
cloth slippers and pajamas, we boarded the boat and found a place on
the rail next to a  middle-aged couple. They were arguing about the
money the wife was  spending on vacation.  They suspended their spat
when the tour guide  began to tell us how the boat got its name.

The Indians worshipped the falls and sometimes offered a sacrifice.
They  would put a maiden into a canoe and set her adrift to plunge to
her death  over the falls.  She was the maid of the mist.

My daughter listened to the maiden's fate in silent disbelief.  She
knew what the canoe ride would be like and for a moment in her mind
she became the maiden.  After she digested the horrible story she
asked,  "Daddy, how did  they get her into the canoe?"  The man who
had been arguing with his wife  quickly replied, "they told her she
was going shopping." 

- a true story
--
Many of my titles:  Husband, Father, Programmer, Webmaster, Son, Worker,
 Analyst, Saint, Usher, Singer, Surfer, Skateboarder, Owner/Moderator,
 Arbitrator, Shopper, Talker, Writer, Sitter, Squatter, Runner, Reader,
 Walker, Cook ...           

Several offices, one identity --- Tyler Nally <tgnally@prairienet.org>