Ponderings on Pau

Read this wonderful poem written by Nancy Morris, who was so instrumental in bringing about the amalgamation of Editerra and ELSE to form EASE at the Conference in Pau, France in 1982. EASE is indebted to her for many years of loyal service.

The guardians of the printed page
Must face the Electronic Age,
As evidenced when experts came
To play this automation game.
With word processors — join the Club!
Computers have become the hub,
Yet databases’ infiltration
May harbour useless information.
The editor’s now vital role
Is — keep the chaos in control
And penetrate this modern fog
To see the “tail won’t wag the dog”.
The meeting ran of course on oil
With thanks to Henri’s endless toil
And no arrangements left to chance
By ELF (Easy Life in France).
And, staying on the lighter side,
Some merry meals they did provide,
A trip to Highest Pyrenees
With snow-capped mountains, bread and cheese*,
And finally the Pays Basque
What more could anybody ask?
But one event we must record
Which came about with great accord —
The merging, after deep-laid plans,
Of ELSE/Editerra clans
And now we function under EASE
So rally round, support us PLEASE!

*a gross understatement!