The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/28770
R.o.B.S. TURKEY BUZZARD by Bertha Rogers Unable to lie, the vulture points out truth: he descends to scavenge tread-deaths, the fox's spoils. Discrete as an undertaker, he swallows all but the bones. After dining, he stands a moment, staring into the open; stiffens his wings around his torso like a penitent fixing a hair shirt; then maneuvers his earth-ugly bulk up, away from his work. End feathers lifted, span eagle-wide, the sin eater transmutes, he becomes the sky's most exalted fixture, an angel risen out of something's last long pain. NOTE: In parts of Medieval England, after a death, the body was laid out with a plate of food upon its chest. A local outcast, the "sin eater," was paid to eat the food, symbolically granting absolution. This poerm was first published in Pivot maga- zine. This is the Scene’s debut of its creative writing col- umn. Poetry can take many forms _ at one extreme highly structured and at the other a completely rule- free stream of consciousness form of expression. Whether you are a follower of the avant-garde, enthralled by iambic pentameter, a lover of the South Asian Ghazal or enjoy writing the occasional limerick or haiku, we invite you to take part in the manifest-o. A manifesto is a written statement declaring pub- licly the views of its issuer. This column is meant to serve as a public writing forum for the community to promote the creative expression of writing. We are playing with the word manifest-o, hoping that our readers will manifest Oneonta in creative and interesting language. — Clint Henderson WRITING PROMPT Take a word that has many social or political asso- ciations and explore its original meaning in a poem. Interested in contributing? E-mail editor@otownscene.com 18 O-Town Scene April 7, 2011 LONDON _ No need to bell this cat: A gray-and-white tabby by the name of Smokey has cat-apulted to fame with purring so loud it has been recorded at a potentially record-setting 73 decibels. The British community college that measured the sound said it peaked at 16 times louder than that of the aver- age cat. By some estimates, that is about as noisy as busy traffic, a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner. The 12-year-old, ordinary-size feline first came to national attention last month when her owner, Ruth Adams, decided to run a local competition for the most powerful purr. That led to a local radio show ap- pearance, and from there, media coverage snowballed, with the tabloids full of headlines like “Thundercat” and “Rumpuss.” “Sometimes she purrs so loudly it makes her cough and splutter,” Adams said on a website devoted to the cat, which was rescued from a shelter about three years ago. Smokey “even man- ages to purr while she eats.” Hoping to see Smokey recognized as It’s hard to tell what’s true these days. Take a gander below, and guess if A. and B. are Real or B.S. (Answers at the bottom of the page.) A.Thundercat roars at 73 decibles top cat, Adams asked Northampton College in central England to provide the equipment needed to submit a world-record application. Last week, the college dispatched a team with specialized sound equip- ment to record Smokey purring in the comfort of the family home in the village of Pitsford, about 70 miles north- west of London. The recording has been submit- ted to Guinness World Records, the college said. Seventy-three decibels is louder than ordinary con- versation, which is generally around 60 to 70 dB. On a video posted on the website, the purring sounded like the cooing of an angry dove. Guinness World Records spokeswom- an Amarilis Whitty said she is eagerly awaiting the recording. While Smokey may have gotten used to the attention, the Adams household seems to be getting a little sick of it all. “Oh, God, you’re not the only caller,” said a man who answered the phone at the home Wednesday. He then hung up. Cats purr by moving the muscles in their throats and diaphragm. But precisely why they do it is a matter of debate. Cats can purr when they are pleased _ for example, when they are stroked _ but they also purr under stress. Some scientists believe that purring has a social or even a healing function. “She is loud very loud and keeps go- ing,” Adams said on the website, add- ing: “She is one very happy pussycat and wants to tell the whole world how happy she is.” B. Student prank in full bloom DOYLESTOWN, Pa. _ A student prank, months in the making, finally came into full flower this week at Cen- tral Bucks High School West. The large flowerbed at the school entrance was apparently sabotaged by students who planted daffodil bulbs to spell out an obscene message. The message made reference to the school’s mascot, Buck, in a sexually explicit context, according to a school official who asked not to be identified. The flowers, which bloomed over the weekend, were removed Monday morning by maintenance workers. As many as 200 students participated in a volunteer day of work on the school grounds in the fall, where duties included planting perennials in several flowerbeds on the cam- pus, according to the school’s website. Principal Jean Probst issued a statement re- minding students that “acts of vandalism are violations of the high school code of conduct and are punishable by suspension or, in ex- treme cases, expulsion.” A secretary at the high school said Tuesday that students were being interviewed about the incident, but that no disciplinary action had been taken. But photographs of the flowerbed, taken over the weekend, have been circulating on the Internet. “We cannot control what our students do outside of the school building,” Probst wrote in her statement, which was posted to the school’s website and sent home as a flier to parents. “But we can urge our students to think about the reputation of their school before sharing any photographs or other material that portray Bucks in a negative light.” A. is real, by The Associated Press; B. is B.S., by Emily Popek.