Wind Advisory

If you ever visit Canyon Diablo out in Arizona, beware of the wind. Locals say it once blew the devil's shadow against a saloon and held it there so firmly that he couldn't walk away. The building began to heat up, flames erupted, and Old Scratch only managed to free himself after his shadow was burned off. The fire also took down the saloon. After that they called the road through town Hell Street.

No one misses the saloon -- they have 14 more, plus 10 gambling houses and eight brothels on a two-block stretch. They need them; the citizens are mostly cattle rustlers and stagecoach robbers and favor lively entertainment. You can tell when you're getting close to town by the increasing frequency of gunfire. The marshals there all die unquiet deaths within a month of taking office.

On second thought, never mind the wind in Canyon Diablo -- beware of the town.

copyright ©2011 Laurie J. Anderson, all rights reserved.