Chainsaw Training

Lecture:
So today was the first of three days of chainsaw training.  I absorbed two interesting things: 1) Chainsaws are very dangerous.  2) For the next two days I will be chopping down trees, practicing how to deal with malfunctioning chainsaws, and learning how to properly maintain a chainsaw.  All of this will take place in the mountains.  And I really mean in the mountains...  If I understand this correctly, the area that we will be working in didn't receive landlines for telephones until a year or so ago.  I have a feeling I will meet some interesting individuals!  I can't even imagine.

Until today, however, I didn't realize how dull sitting in a classroom learning about chainsaws could possibly be.  This is why the following story was created.  It may or may not have been written during the presentation...as a future teacher, I can't let myself admit to being a bad student and not paying my utmost attention though.  In the event that this story was written during training, it is likely that my teammate sitting next to me and I would write a chunk each, leaving the other person to add the next line.  (The gray lines were written by my teammate.)

The Story:
Once upon a time there was a barn owl.  And this barn owl had a hidden power that nobody knew about!  Late at night, when the moon was high in the sky, this owl could turn his feathers into scales.  The moon would cast a silvery light onto his wings and his whole body would transform into a shimmery blue gale.  Every night he would return to his favorite pond to swim with his under water friends.  But the real reason this owl continued to swim was because of a special lady blue gale.  She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.  She had eyes as green as emeralds, gills as delicate as lace, and fins as strong and graceful as a dove's wings.

The first time he ventured into the water, she was swimming so wonderfully she looked like a leaf blowing in the wind.  When they first locked eyes he felt such a rush that he hardly remembered to breathe.  The bubbles in the water seemed to sparkle more than ever before as they danced up to the surface of the pond.  Even the muted glow of the fireflies not far above matched the warmth in his heart.  This bliss was cut short, however, when all of the sudden a worm abruptly dropped into the lake and grabbed her attention.  During the day the owl would watch people fishing on the lake in the cold and crisp mornings.  He tried to warn her but her ambition exceeded his speed.  She went for the worm and was scooped from the lake along with his heart.
 This is where his journey begins.

With lightening speed he leapt out of the water and took flight.  His scales returned to feathers and little droplets of water fell back to the earth.  Never had this little barn owl been so twisted in anguish.  He watched in horror as the fisherwomen (changin up the gender roles/stereotypes) grabbed his princess from the water and tossed her in a bucket full of water.  He needed a plan.  This scared, lovesick barn owl was circling the scene and letting out distracted "who's" when an idea suddenly hit him. 

He decided he would follow their boat and try to be caught by the same boat.  There was a little bit of time before sunrise, and he just had to do it to save his girl.  Hope began to rise when the engine started slowing down and the fisherladies grabbed their poles.  As the owl ferociously (sp?) dove deep into the cool water he knew not only that he was changing into a fish, but he was changing  into a creature in love.  (haha, that's golden!) 

He swam with all his might, dodging kelp and sleepy salmon, bursting through schools of minnows and crabby crayfish.  At last he saw the boat. 

...And that his where our story currently leaves off.  If we pick it back up, we have a slight plan for the ending.  I don't want to spoil the fun, however, so I will leave it up to your information for now.