Indian Summer Continued

The two paper birches that had stood in front of the kitchen window for thirty years or so had been cut down and cleared from the front yard. This morning  the open space was one great big beautiful green  lake that just invited you to jump in. It was  Indian Summer and very late September in Vermont.  You just don't get days like this any more.  I watched the dog sniffing along the edge of our driveway. I caught many of the fine scents of the little blue fall flowers myself. Honey bees buzzed about. It was a fresh morning. I was thinking "this must be like a cup of coffee for the dog" and just then he licked the ground and sampled a bit of a thick mulch of dead ground leaves and twigs and live grasses. I could smell how sweet it was myself. The morning was so fine, you could just drink it down. The dog did just that!

I sharpened the cutters on the chain saw. It would have been a perfect day if I could've started it easily. But it just wouldn't happen. Once it was flooded, it was all over. I just packed it away for tomorrow. Perhaps it was too nice a day to work.

Indian Summer

Somehow it became warm again early today! The thermometer attached just outside my kitchen window was reading 80 degrees in the sunshine! Here it is summer again! Summer is a valuable thing  up here in northern Vermont! Time to get some wood cut and time to rake the leaves off the lawn. Time to work outside where ordinarily it wouldn't be advisable for the wind and wet and cold of just last week. Winter does come in hard, fast and sudden around here. You turn around and you're looking for snowflakes. "Thunk", just like that! "Boom" - it's winter!
So, how's it gonna be three hundred years from now? Will there still be Indian Summer here in the east of the United States when Jim Wallace gets back the the earth - if he gets back?
It would be nice to put in a section of Jim just wishing to be home in late september - early october, all comfortable and warm , watching the birds and squirrels out of his front window, the smell of fresh coffee and roasting turkey, the smiles and laughter of his family.

"Did you ever think you'd get back here for "Halloween Night" and  the children with their pranks again?" Sally asked him as she brought over a hot cup of coffee and sat down next to him. "I nearly cried once thinking exactly that." Jim smiled. It was true. I prayed. I actually prayed that I would, but I didn't know. "I knew you were in trouble. I always know when you're in trouble. I prayed too."
Sally said as she stood up to bring over some packages. "What have you got there", Jim watched curiously as the pirate costumes unfolded in front of him. "Oh no!" He pleaded as they both started to laugh. "You didn't!"

Thunderstorms

Well, last night was scary, close, noisy for the lightning and thunder. The power went off for a few hours. I'm not really sure how long since I had gone to sleep early and woke to a very dark room and house. Flashlight and cell phone soon solved most of my problems, except for a cup of coffee. The water pressure was down too low to force up any water from the well. I had some left over coffee - a few sips. I put this in a small pot and heated it on the barbeque. Soon I was settled and had made my plans and went back to sleep. Shortly the lights went back on and there was water running in the bathroom. I made a fresh pot of coffee, grabbed a handful of sour cream and onion potato chips and thanked goodness for the speed and efficiency of our happy little community, Frito Lay,  and the Vermont Electric Cooperative. What a great world we live in!

Counting the Take

 

Captain Penance stood with what appeared to be a clipboard at the head of the line he'd ordered formed. One of the Explorer VI's crew after another was sized up as he wrote notes and spoke to them quietly. "Hmmm, I'm wonderin' what makes the likes of you come so far out now'!  I'll bet they miss you down in Minnesota eh?" He smiled at the geologist as he estimatedthe price he'd be able to pull for him. He looked them over like they were part of some auction. When he got to a girl, he was no less rude, adding very pirate like comments. It all made Captain Wallace very nervous and angry inside. He had to conceal this as carefully as any card player playing for very high stakes. He had to think, think, think. "There must be some way through this."

The Vulture had pulled a scarf off the neck of one of the girls and was making crude remarks just as the cook came in to announce dinner. It was fortunate timing, because it gave Captain Wallace time to recompose himself.

"Dinner's ready Captain". He spoke to Captain Wallace.

The Stage is Set

 

The stage was set. It just wasn't going to get any better than this. Ravenna would come out with the girls all dressed in their grass skirts and leis. This would be distraction enough. The Miranda would be powered on and the music would start, loud and rhythmic. Booming drums and loud singing with some background guitar, bass, and bells. Two bars in and Miranda starts the "DSA Boarding" announcement. The holographed  officers appear at the rear and front of the galley. Heshy opens the arms cabinet and starts to distribute the weapons as planned. Only it doesn't go like that! Miranda is, after all, an electronic program. She's not real. She plays the music and then;  "you are always getting into fixes Jimmy, my little friend."...It stuns everybody. Heshy must have pushed a wrong button somehow. In the history of man and space, of theatre and art, no one has ever recovered  quicker than Captain Wallace. In a split second he screams at Heshy. "Lieutenant Hereschoff what is going on? You moron! Open the weapons cases. Do as they say!" Captain Wallace is screaming louder than he ever has before in his life. "Distribute the weapons now." Meanwhile the girls are moving in a frenzy of loud music, dancing, fear, loud screaming and confusion. "Take these men below", to lieutenant Hereschoff, and "we've been boarded", in the manner of a director getting a play back on course. The oddity was that everyone, including the pirates, seemed to know exactly where to go. 

"C'mon" , Nathan Stokes, prodded one of the pirate crew hard in the middle of his back with the weapon muzzle. Hard alloy that could become white hot in an instant pushed him through the brig opening. "Ya'll stay there now you scum", he sounded like an old sea story. It must have been the Miranda program catching up with the action. Heshy watched in amazement as the saga unfolded, and he was a key player. It was odd all right, but what was imporant was that all the pirates were now effectively locked up.

Meanwhile, Miranda was piping in old sea shanties, that had all the crew smiling broadly despite any fear or confusion. "God Bless Ya Miranda! - drink up me hearties", Captain Wallace joined right in.

   

Would You Like to Dance

Would You Like to Dance?

 

The passenger's were just about back to the galley and Jim was considering how much money they would lose on the salvage. He had decided to put as much distance between them and the Vulture as possible and never look back. "Kidnapping", was this guy totally crazy?  - probably!"

"Any questions?", Jim asked. "You don't seem to have any activities for the ladies", Ravenna asked. With all those gorgeous black curls, it didn't take much thought for Captain Wallace to respond. "Yes, we're an all male crew, but there's plenty of arts and crafts down in the library as well as excellent music. You could practice a dance or two and entertain the crew, perhaps a show." "That sounds like a very good idea Captain Wallace."  Her smile kept him awake nights.

Addressing the New Passengers

"All right now. Please settle down. We have about a year of travel and layovers ahead of us and I want you to have some idea of how this journey will differ from that of your voyage on Explorer VI". Captain Wallace was momentarily distracted by some comments in the back of the galley where they were assembled. "Yes, I know your voyage was badly interrupted, but that's no reason to interrupt me." There was some laughter. The crew and scientists that had been aboard the Explorer VI were still blaming the deep space agency, the manufacturers of their ship and each other. This was going to be difficult. "We've already gone over this with Captain Kayce and his crew. Captain Kayce, of course, will be responsible for all of your activities till you're home. This meeting is just to familiarize you with myself and our crew and our needs and rules while you are on board." Ravenna began to squirm a bit in her seat. She could feel the force of Captain Wallace as he assumed control. "Lieutenant Hereschoff will take you on an orientation tour of our ship. Any questions should be directed to him. He's our first mate and that's his job. When you're comfortable here, Captain Kayce will take over and you can resume your Explorer VI program from there." Short and to the point, Captain Wallace took less than a minute to organize a year's activities for the newcomers. There was a general satisfaction with this, a renewed faith of sorts with the Deep Space Agency.