Not quite a native Ripley Countian - she attended only her last year of high school in Doniphan though she taught in the R-1 system for 32 years - Teresa (Pearson) Lee delights in surprising readers and herself with anecdotal observations of life in general. Maybe you can blame her St.Louis roots for a quirky humor and some slightly-askewed opinions, but never doubt she writes from the heart.

The Piedmont Encounter

Posted Tuesday, July 4, 2023, at 6:49 AM

One of the tee-shirts I purchased at the 50th anniversary shindig of the 500+ documented sightings in 1973 (shirt art by Artcastle - Fotilla.com)

Help me out. Critique this bit of poetry. “A light in the night, a flash of green, A silent visitor from up above, A sight to behold, a dream unseen, A mystery that’s yet to be solved.”

That’s just the first verse of a final draft. Here is the second verse. “Piedmont, Missouri, a town of small dreams, A place where people are kind and true, A place where anything is possible, A place where a UFO may come true.”

It’s not from a Frost or an Emerson, or a Poe or a Seuss, but it’s a poem of sorts. I don’t know exactly who to credit but the poet could handle any and all constructive criticism, of that I’m certain, since Artificial Intelligence has no emotions…yet. I am assuming it is the human who requested the additional drafts, either out of curiosity or dissatisfaction with the first ones.

Denny Hovis, a radio personality who interviewed several Piedmont residents at the time of the still unsolved sightings in 1973, concluded his presentation during the 50th anniversary of the event with remarks about AI. He didn’t want the audience to totally dismiss the possibility of something else ‘out there’ so he suggested that technological advances expanding exponentially are capable of much more than we realize. The poem was his sample of AI potential.

Literary and journalistic ‘contributions’ by artificial intelligence are probably the least of our worries now that the very creators of the technology and those pushing its limits are chiming in loudly with their “Whoa, Nelly!” chants. There are discussions about parameters and regulations to protect us…the humans…from them? Or it? Just how does one address AI politely?

Those in the newly-formed group called Current River Writers use brain cells, not computer chips, in their creations. They prefer feedback from breathing readers and editors, too. If you have a hankering to write in any genre and/or to help writers by reading/editing, join us the first Thursdays of each month, 6 PM at the Library Annex. Na-no, Na-no!