Extreme Elmo
Published May 21, 1996
Elmo’s labored breathing increased in both volume and speed as he lurched through the last vestiges of his workout. He wiped the beaded sweat from his brow and remembered that only a week or two ago he damned the unseasonable wintery temperatures that stranded him indoors for months. Elmo collapsed on the floor in a pool of sweat and contemplated today’s partly sunny skies with highs in the mid-70s and tomorrow’s highs in the low 70s. The icebox and the bonfire, Elmo thought. Two months ago he was longing for a roasted marshmallow and today he’d kill for a popsicle — if he could only muster the energy to crawl to the icebox.