Cub Reporter

Roxanne had literally clawed her way into the cub reporters position at WKRU TV in Gardner, Montana.  She had reported on everything from a snowy owl sighted in a local back yard to the woman who was channeling the ghost of Eleanor Roosevelt through her TV.  She was determined to take every story thrown at her and write an unforgettable byline that would make her boss sit up and take notice.  And she researched every back story she could find, weaving the background into a 3 minute segment.  She was never at a loss for words and loved the deadlines.  Deadlines made her pour her words into a script.  But she kept getting the crap assignments that no one else wanted and lately, as the assignments had become more mundane her words were harder and harder to come by.  Today her boss had assigned her a story on the dwindling Bison herds.  So she sucked it up and began her research.  Everyone knew they had been overexploited and conservation had actually restored the Bison to healthy levels.  Unfortunately, the interview she completed with the now dormant Bison Society was dry and predictable.  They now planned to relaunch their conservation efforts for ecological and cultural needs.  Oh boy this was one story she could not sink her teeth into.  When it came time to write, she was blocked.  How many ways could you talk about the extinction, resurrection and rebirth of the Bison in Montana?  She read her story over and over and continually erased it. She paced. She read National Geographic. She took herself for a walk, she carried coffee and cookies to her desk and attempted to rewrite. She paced some more. She began to surf the web for boots made of Bison hide.  She found a pair she really liked and ordered them.  Then she felt guilty and cancelled the order.  The phone rang, thankfully. Her best friend Julie was calling.  Would she like to go to that new bar that had recently opened?  You bet!  Anything to get me away from this Bison block. I need to get out of my head for a while.  Maybe something scintillating about Bison conservation will magically pop into my head. 
The Gardner Roadhouse had just opened for business.  This was exactly the atmosphere Roxanne needed. She and Julie eagerly snagged a table and ordered their first of several Margaritas.    There was a commotion in the next room and they grabbed their drinks and went inside to see what was going on.  A mechanical Bison ride!! The man at the door was taking names and signing up riders.  Julie looked at Roxanne. This is just what you need to write that story!  Get out there girl, and show that Bison who’s boss!  The next day Roxanne submitted her story, with this headline: No Bull, Girls These Bison are Alive and Well and Waiting for You to Ride.

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