by Jeremy Warach
Erasmus the lawn gnome scanned his territory, as he always did. It was his duty. It was the proud duty of all lawn gnomes to closely guard the property which had been entrusted to them. And Erasmus took his duty seriously. From the eastern property line to the sycamore tree was the domain which he guarded. He would gladly watch more of the property, but his head was affixed firmly to his shoulders and turned neither to the left nor the right, so he could see no further than these bounds.
But Erasmus was content with his responsibility, and he performed it well. Otherwise he certainly would have been relieved of his position by the property owner and, most likely, moved into the garden shed, along with some other lawn ornaments which had overstayed their welcome or outlasted their usefulness.
