The Abduction

     It was early April and great weather for skeezing. Bret Halloway had been 

credited with designing the first pair of practical skeezos. "You can skeeze all day

or for a hundred yards", he'd say, "whichever comes first". Then he'd laugh. The 

entire skeeze population would laugh too. Skeezing had a rough but intensely 

enthusiastic start. Built somewhat like ordinary skis, they had rotating wheels with

plates that bit into the snow, built-in under and behind the boot area, that propelled 

the skeezos forward. They were powered by a mixture of liquified hydrocarbon 

gases they called "go-juice" which drove a generator that powered the skeeze 

rotors. The entire generator fit neatly onto a backpack and would, in fact, power the 

skeezos all day if needed. "The days of ski lifts were over. The world is your 

mountain." The ads would say, 

     Maybe these ads had made their way to a far off galaxy and tickled  the curiosity

of two teenage aliens who found it a simple matter to cruise their little sport 

spaceship to the ski mountain area of Stowe Vermont. 

     More interesting, perhaps, was how the two had managed to dress in the 

appropriate skeeze custom and position themselves at the top of the new skeeze 

slope, SKEEZOO, bodily and hurriedly painted out in six foot red lettered signs, 

and pointed to the slope entrance which required a modest payment before 

entering.

     It was here that two galactic cultures held their first historic meeting of minds.

"Excuse me sir, how do we get through the entrance here?" Rinny, immediately 

realized that these guys were new here and were also probably from another state 

altogether judging from their accents. "Don't worry about it, follow me. Be my 

guests." This is what happens to even the best trackers when they simply don't 

follow up on their hunches. An hour later, both Rinny and Shep found themselves 

in a large salon, of very unusual proportions and furnishings. One very large 

"window" and an incredibly beautiful "sunset" if you can imagine a deep violet-blue 

sun setting against a blue sky and another pale yellow "sun", not so far from it, 

setting as well. 

     "Is this a dream?", Rinny asked. "No", came the reply. "It's just the way we 

transport you." Both Rinny and Shep threw up and were given towells and 

something like tea to clean up and settle their stomachs.