Abort, Retry, Ignore Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary, System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor, Longing for the warmth of bed sheets, still I sat there doing spreadsheets. Having reached the bottom line I took a floppy from the drawer, I then invoked the SAVE command and waited for the disk to store, Only this and nothing more. Deep into the monitor peering, long I sat there wond'ring, fearing, Doubting, while the disk kept churning, turning yet to churn some more. But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token. "Save!" I said, "You cursed mother! Save my data from before!" One thing did the phosphors answer, only this and nothing more, Just, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" Was this some occult illusion, some maniacal intrusion? These were choices undesired, ones I'd never faced before. Carefully I weighed the choices as the disk made impish noises. The cursor flashed, insistent, waiting, baiting me to type some more. Clearly I must press a key, choosing one and nothing more, From "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" With fingers pale and trembling, slowly toward the keyboard bending, Longing for a happy ending, hoping all would be restored, Praying for some guarantee, timidly, I pressed a key. But on the screen there still persisted words appearing as before. Ghastly grim they blinked and taunted, haunted, as my patience wore, Saying "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" I tried to catch the chips off guard, and pressed again, but twice as hard. I pleaded with the cursed machine: I begged and cried and then I swore. Now in mighty desperation, trying random combinations, Still there came the incantation, just as senseless as before. Cursor blinking, angrily winking, blinking nonsense as before. Reading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" There I sat, distraught, exhausted, by my own machine accosted. Getting up I turned away and paced across the office floor. And then I saw a dreadful sight: a lightning bolt cut through the night. A gasp of horror overtook me, shook me to my very core. The lightning zapped my previous data, lost and gone forevermore. Not even, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" To this day I do not know the place to which lost data go. What demonic nether world us wrought where lost data will be stored, Beyond the reach of mortal souls, beyond the ether, into black holes? But sure as there's C, Pascal, Lotus, Ashton-Tate and more, You will one day be left to wander, lost on some Plutonian shore, Pleading, "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

My husband read all of L. Lamour's books and I read one that wasn't a western. I loved it, and want to read it again. It was a spy thriller. I can't remember the name of it. Have you read the "White Indian" series? My husband loved those books. If you can remember the name of the L. Lamour book let me know. Thanks, Debbie I think it was something like No Way Out????

Hi Ann, I am glad you are enjoying the series with us. I have re-read them so often and now just before the surgery, I have gotten the cd's of the books to read while I am recovering. Lizzi

I actually liked Angels & Demons better than The Davinci Code. It's the same main character. I don't buy all of this "code" stuff (which it seems Dan Brown really believes), but the books are good. I've read a couple of his other books too and they are pretty good. I noticed him because my youngest son is Daniel. Okay, I still call him Daniel, but most everyone else calls him Dan. Ann in GA (Brown!!)

Hi Lizzi, I, too, love Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I feel like I personally know Claire and Jaimie. lol I have shared my books with my "reading" friends, also. :P Tammy