<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-size: 13px;color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><group1@bluegrasspals.com><sitting.duck@springmail.com><group1@bluegrasspals.com><div style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">291 words<br>It Is <br>by Sly Duck</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jeff studied the gallery of photos surrounding the sixty inch monitor on the wall in front of him. The pictures, taken fifty years ago by astronaut John Skites during the historical one time flight to the moon, proved once and for all that the world was flat.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">In the screen saver shot, the sun had been over the center of the earth bathing all the continents and bodies of water in light. The other, smaller pictures showed the earth with the sun and moon in various positions as they orbited their floating world. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">There was no mythical god standing on a turtle holding it up. It just hung there in space. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Phil, who had been standing in the doorway, stepped up beside Jeff. <br>“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I never tire of looking at it. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jeff nodded. He reached up and touched a barely visible line within the sun's rays.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"You know, some people still insist it is round,” continued Phil.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jeff nodded again, His gaze never leaving the display of photos. "They present some pretty good arguments. Something about two sticks 100 miles apart casting a different shadow, and what becomes visible first when a ship at sea comes into view.”</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"Ridiculous. It's plain to see that it is flat.” said Phil looking appreciatively at the display. Then at Jeff. “How is he?"</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"He passed a little while ago."</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"Did anyone find out why he kept saying ‘It is.” Over and over?"</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jeff nodded. "You know? If you look closely, you can tell."</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Phil’s eyebrows rose wrinkling his brow. "Tell what?" </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"That It is."</font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"That It is what? What are you talking about?"</font></p></div><div style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jeff looked straight at Phil. "Round,” he said, “and it orbits the sun."<br></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div></group1@bluegrasspals.com></sitting.duck@springmail.com></group1@bluegrasspals.com></div></body></html>