Minnesota Prairie Roots

Writing and photography by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Investigators now think chocolate bunny was kidnapped April 15, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 2:38 PM
Tags: , ,

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS investigating threats against a chocolate bunny in Faribault now report a possible abduction in the case.

Just this afternoon, the Faribault Police Department and the Minnesota Special Forces Unit issued a joint statement saying they found evidence that Zachary Rabbit has been kidnapped.

Police released this photo of an empty candy box linked to the disappearance. Investigators offered no details, but unidentified sources confirm the evidence was found in a backyard near Wapacuta Park.

Police released this photo showing evidence in the possible abduction of Zachary Rabbit.

While police remain mostly tight-lipped, Special Forces Unit Commander White Rabbit verifies that a third threat was received today via the internet. According to him, the text stated: “Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. You totally deserved it.”

Computer forensic experts have traced the message to an IP address in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Authorities there are now involved and the FBI has been contacted to aid in the investigation.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Zachary Rabbit, who weighs two ounces and was last seen wearing a shiny gold, ankle-length coat and a floral necklace, contact your nearest law enforcement agency.

A recent photo of Zachary Rabbit.

© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling

 

In celebration of National Poetry Month

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 9:02 AM
Tags: ,

My vintage bottle of April Showers Cologne, saved from the junk pile by my mom, who saves everything.

April Showers

The tarnished bottle cap

twists in my fingers,

harsh metal clanking against glass

as the top swirls,

and then

releases,

unleashing a shower

of childhood memories.

***

I lift the glass close,

breathe in the sweet fragrance

of April Showers Friction Cologne

through a hole no thicker than a pencil.

***

Decades have passed

since I splashed this alluring

scent upon my stick-thin wrists,

into the hollow of my slender neck,

masking the odors

of cows and manure.

***

Transformed, I became

more than a preadolescent farm girl,

more than a sister who shared a pink bedroom,

who left wads of chewed Bazooka bubble gum

stuck on the dresser top

next to the cheap, bottled cologne.

I was somebody

who smelled pretty

and fancied herself

as Cinderella.

***

All this I remember

as I run my fingers

along the glass,

feel the raised imprint

of flowers and letters,

gently swirl the inch of yellow-green liquid that,

like a magic potion,

transcends time.

I open my bottle of April Showers and breathe in memories from more than 40 years ago.

Poem by Audrey Kletscher Helbling, © Copyright 2010

Written in celebration of National Poetry Month in April. Watch for more poetry news in future blog posts.