Adventures in Space

The music on the loudspeakers brought to mind Star Wars, E.T., and music of space dramas through out the history of soundtracks. We headed towards the Rocket Garden. I wanted to ride the bus out to the Apollo exhibit. He wanted to view "Heroes and Legends", an exhibit added since our last visit.

Have you been to Kennedy Space Center? To me, it has all the enchantment of any amusement park anywhere.  It has excitement and glamour and sparkly things and it is all true.

The bus ride traveled around Merritt Island, home to NASA, and to seas turtles, cranes, alligators and eagles. We circumnavigated the VAB, Vehicle Assembly Building, and stopped by one of the enormous launch tractors that painstakingly and more-slowly-than-sloths-or-turtles move vehicles to their launch positions.

We passed the SpaceX building leased by Elon Musk for his rocket projects. We drove by Launch Pad 39B , now in use by Musk's team. Our guide pointed out the zip lines attached to the launch tower to help the crew escape in an emergency. I wonder if that would even work.

We even drove past Launch Command Center before landing at the Apollo/Saturn hangar and exhibit that houses as manyrockets as they could cram into the building. I saw the actual firing room preserved as it was during Apollo 8's historic launch - and so much more. After my visit, I hopped back on the shuttle that returned me to the Space Center and I sat across from the Rocket Garden in the sun with my husband and wondered at humanity's obsession with space. Lucky for us, a guide gave a walking tour of the Rocket Garden which was broadcast over the square.

We have lived through fascinating, exciting times.

The books I read on this vacation connected so strongly with the Spce Center that it felt cosmically ordained.

This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews   A group of friends chase the paper lanterns set loose in the river to find out where they really go. The traditional song claims that the lanterns rise into the sky to join the stars. Um, really? Ben and his friends make a pact. They will never look back; they will not turn home. Behind them on his father's too-big bike rides Nathan, the class weirdo and a boy that Ben has known his whole life to Ben's ever growing embarrassment.

One by one (or two) the other boys fall away, for Taco night, or because they are tired, or because they don't want to get in trouble, until it is only Ben and Nathan on this trip.  Ben resents Nathan's presence but he shrugs and on they go. After all, Nathan has his Mom's rice krispie treats. Nathan repeats the pact that he heard the boys make and wonders if he should have said goodbye for good to his parents before he left home. Literal, an encyclopedia on legs, cheerful and undaunted - that's Nathan.

Off into the night they ride, into a fog that steers them awry, where they meet magical characters, all of whom are chasing bright mystical beings on this autumn night.

I kept thinking of the best anime I've seen as I read this graphic novel. The artwork moves from predictable to energized to manic and finally to ahh! inspiring.

When I finish this post, I will hunt the book down to purchase. The copy I read is due back at the Bethlehem Public Library.

Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos    Nova is beyond excited about the space shuttle Challenger's 10th launch. She and her older sister have used space travel as a way to escape their worries even back when they lived with their widowed troubled Mom, and through all the foster homes in between. Nova is with a new family. Bridget has promised her that no matter where she is Bridget will reach Nova in time for the launch.

Nova does not speak. Noises and new situations make her frantic. She shrieks and flaps and twirls and without Bridget, she has no one who can understand what she needs or what she is going through.

As she adjusts to a new family, and a new school, Nova writes to Bridget every night in a notebook Bridget gave her for the express purpose. Bridget is the only person who can read what Nova writes.

This book brought tears to my eyes as Nova describes what people say about her, thinking that she doesn't understand, as she tells how she has been misunderstood and treated by adults who thought they were doing what was best.

Her new foster family brought tears to my eyes because they made no assumptions about Nova's abilities. They looked beyond her oddities and saw her the way that Bridget saw her.

The soundtrack that helped Nova deal with overwhelming stress was Davie Bowie's Space Oddity and that song always brings tears to my eyes.

I think I don't need to go on. We all know what happened when the Challenger's 10th mission was launched - the one with school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, on board. The disaster frees memories that Nova has suppressed.

Tears.

Real life adventures, fictional stories, the same stars and universe - we share it all.

The Real Reason for the Advent Avenger

If you are a parent, I am warning you. There will come a holiday season when your kid - or kids - doesn't want to have anything to do with you!  Santa Claus is passé. The magic is gone. And sure as shooting stars, the kid will NOT get the fabulous, very expensive gift they are too young, too reckless or too irresponsible to get. So, scowl!

This can be a temporary one season thing or it can stretch for YEARS!! I know. It happened to me.

I was miserable. I only have one kid. There was no other small human acting giddy and foolish over dreams and surprises. There was just this barely polite person who, honestly, had no patience for me or his father. (By the way, this phase bounced off and on for years. Sigh.)

When I am miserable, after marinating in some seriously superior self-pity- (it is one of my few native talents) -I always look for an action that will take my attention away from my misery. As my mother, the Wisest Woman in the World - the original WWW - always said, "When you feel sorry for yourself, help someone else." It works!

I searched my memory banks for help. The problem was that my memories involved sisters and brothers - pretty many of them. I had no idea how to take the games we played as a group of goofballs and turn them into something that would engage one goofball - who wasn't even talking to me except when absolutely necessary.

It all started with a kangaroo ornament, the first of my Advent Angel gifts. It was, the tag read, "An Advent Australian Animal." I found it at Ten Thousand Villages in Ephrata. I planned to find items that I could alliterate with Advent and drop them on his bed each day.

It is very hard to find items that begin with "a" that fit the holiday season. Advent Apple? Done. Advent Automobile - a toy, of course. Advent Aardvark - I tried that. I did. The Advent Aardvark was my first Advent messenger.

And then, the Advent Avenger sprang fully clothed - or not, if you are familiar with the story - into being.

The Advent Avenger turned into a calendar - and a book - that I photocopied at a local printer. And I handed a copy to each of my brothers and sisters and to others besides.

We joke about the Advent Avenger among ourselves. One of my brothers made me a sweatshirt, a photo of which you can see below.

Note the holly on the shoulders. This brother is so creative.

The Advent Avenger kept me sane during those angsty years of growth and pulling away. They - the Advent Avenger is gender neutral because they could be anyone, even YOU! - still bring me joy and remind me to look for a hopeful way out of uncertainty.** (What?! I was "woke" even back in the early '90s.)

BTW, The Advent Avenger wants you to join the club. This is all you have to do to join. Spread good feelings everywhere. Smile. Speak gently. And if you have some holiday cash left over, here are some organizations that are spreading JOY! all year round.

The Heifer Project. Since the late 1940's, Heifer Project has provided livestock, plants and seeds to people in impoverished areas around the world. What could be more holiday-ish than purchasing a lamb for someone else?

Habitat for Humanity. When there is "no room at the inn", Habitat steps up to make homes for people who need them.

Conservation International got a 4 star rating at Charity Navigators making it a sure bet for working towards a cleaner and safer globe.

OR find a charity that is working for something that you feel is so necessary.

Have the best holiday ever. Remember that the difficult people in your life are having tough times. They have never lived through this holiday season before. None of us have.

Sunday Selfie -

The Army Ants came first.


It was a tough time. The budget was tight and services to children and infants stretched. My husband and his good friend worked in Intake, under a director who was later accused of malfeasance. (I forget exactly what she did.) At one point, Hub and J were ordered to tell new callers that they could not offer them ANY services. They took that order hard and did what they could to help all callers.

Their cubby was located near the front door of the agency. Hub took some of our son's Army Ants into work. Do you remember those?

When Hub and J found that workers came in to play with the Army Ants, (arranging them in battle positions or other positions, probably), they decided to make their little way station a "destination" office.

"The Quote of the Day" was a big hit. More about that later.

When the holidays hit, Hub asked me for the tackiest Christmas decorations we owned. He and J festooned their work stations. The other workers LOVED it.

But the best thing they did during the holidays in that time of duress was the Word of the Day. Each morning, they picked a word and offered prizes (candy) to anyone who guessed that word.

If you know my Hub, you can just imagine what words the workers expected. After all, it was a high stress time in the office. Caseworkers offered every foul word as a possible choice.

At the end of the day, all those barnyard speakers were delighted to find that Hub and J, both of them world class cursers, always picked something benign.

"No, no!" Hub would say in his mildest, somewhat incredulous voice. "The word is 'holly'." Or reindeer or snow or something else seasonal.

Hub told me that story - again - this morning. And it cracked me up - again - as it does every time I hear it.

It was a stressful time at work and here at home. Hub rose to the challenge, helping his co-workers stay sane in a job that is thankless and emotionally draining. J is gone and we miss daily.

When the agency's awful director was finally removed, Hub and J auctioned off their Quote of the Day post-its to raise money for small gifts for new foster kids. It was the end of an era.

Step up to keep your friends and family sane this holiday season. Do the little things - offer tea - a smile - a joke - Hold the door open. If you work, make your workspace a safe and cheery space.

If, like the coworkers in this story, you feel like cursing - buy some Army Ants! 





Bill's favorite Quote of the Day from the days of Bill and Jim:

"My kingdom will always have room for a boot licking lackey like you." (From the Gummy Bears cartoon show.)

Themes and memes

The last two books that I read this year - not the last for the year! heaven forfend! - dealt with immigrants who moved from Asia to English speaking countries. Both books also dealt with dead or dying parents. Of course, beyond that the books are widely different. One is written for teens; the other is written for middle grade readers. One takes place in the good ole U S of A. The other is set Down Under. In the book for teens, it is the parents who have had trouble, or so it seems, adjusting to their move. In the book for middle grades, the main character, an 11-year-old, feels shanghaied by his family's move.

Language is a connector. It is also a barrier. A way to communicate CAN be found but we need to be compassionate enough to try.


Frankly in Love by David Yoon starts out as a typical last year of high school when will I get a girl romance. Of course there are complications. There are always complications. Frank's complications are his parents.

We watch Frank's parents "evolve" as Frank's view of his family evolves. Yoon never paints the parents broadly or stereotypically, but it seems that Frank does. They have "racist" attitudes about dating because they are immigrants. Frank knows how they think because he hears their opinions. They keep Frank's older sister at arm's length because she chose the wrong partner.

Not crazy about this cover. Just saying.

The very best thing about this book is Yoon's writing. He lays out the puzzle pieces and the reader is pretty sure where the pieces will go. Whether they fall into place as the reader predicts or not, Yoon adds depth of emotion and enlightenment to the simplest event.

So, here's the plot. Frank Lee has never had a date because his parents will only approve of him dating a Korean-American girl. His lifelong friend, Joy, IS dating a non-Korean, secretly. So they come up with a plan to fake date each other.

From comments on Goodreads, it appears that fake dating is a thing. I suspect it was a thing back in the pre-Cambrian Era when I went to high school,   - religion, race, neighborhood, the same-same.

The inevitable result of fake dating happens, but the ending is not rosy.

Meanwhile, Frank breaks his non-Korean girlfriend's heart. Frank's best friend, Q, spouts erudite nonsense (which cracked me up). Frank and Q's friendship made this book for me.

And THEN, there is a family crisis that is sad and revealing and ultimately healing. Nuff said.

Now, this cover holds promise!

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai is also about immigrants. Jingwen, his mother and his younger brother, Yanghao have moved to Australia. Jingwen simply cannot get the hang of English. He views the other children at school as Martians. He understands just enough English to convince himself that some of his classmates are mocking him. And he realizes that HE is the alien.

Jingwen makes a lot of assumptions about the people around him because he can't talk to them. He reads body language and faces. His own feeling of failure imbues his interpretations with threats where none exist. What an awful feeling!

Jingwen and Yanghao's father wanted to move to Australia and open a bake shop where only the most special cakes would be sold. Then he died in a car accident. When their mother went through with the move, Jingwen feels that his family abandoned the memory of his father.

 Jingwen is sure that the only way he can ever feel happy again is by baking every cake his father planned for their bake shop, Pie in the Sky. So secret cake baking ensues. Yanghao has to be included because HE can make himself understood. Cakes! Messes! Duplicity! They need to keep their baking secret because using a stove is dangerous for children.

In the meantime, Jingwen struggles. His teacher reaches out. A classmate is kind. When Yanghao ends up in the hospital because of a marginally cake related accident, their mother finally pays attention to Jingwen's grief. It is not easy being a widowed mother in a foreign land.

All those cakes end up improving Jingwen's grades, help him make friends and create a hopeful ending.
ALSO, the drawings are delightful.

Sunday Selfie - Smile

People tell a friend of mine to "Smile." all the time. He hates it. I agree with him for disliking it, because it's disrespectful to order someone else to change their facial expression. This friend has an absolutely awesome smile. When I see him smiling at someone, it brightens my heart. His resting expression is serious and he prefers that people keep their opinion of that to themselves.

"Smile" is actually good advice, though. Studies have determined that if you smile - not that fake grimace we gave during school pictures, but an actual smile - the act of smiling alerts your brain that your mood is in the process of lifting. Keep smiling and eventually your mood does lift. Muscles and memory work together to help you feel better.

The other night I went to a club meeting where people got up to share stories. I love these events and I usually sit there with a smile on my lips. Or I lean forward in concern when the teller is relaying something sad or exciting.

I looked around and noticed that hardly anyone else was smiling. I wonder why. Were they just waiting their turn? Do they, like my friend, have serious resting expressions? Do they equate listening to a live performance to vegging in front of the TV? (THAT is a subject for a whole other post.) Later when people shared their impressions and thoughts about the stories, hardly anyone smiled. Again, I wonder why.

I admit that when I walked away from that meeting I had neutral to concerned feelings about the people there. The ones who smiled as they talked - appropriately to the content of their stories or statements, of course - I felt positive towards. I wondered if the others were sad, tired or even angry. When we go THERE, the next step is to wonder if they were angry with me.

See? Now possible friendships became fraught with obstacles because people did not smile.

Don't smile because it makes me more comfortable, though. Smile because it will help you through tough times.

When someone tells me I look worried, as I often do, it reminds me to smile, even to laugh. When I do, the worrisome things fall into their rightful place in my life. and I feel less stress.

Advice for the day is twofold:
Don't tell other people to "Smile."

BUT, remind yourself to smile. It will make you feel better in most situations.

Sunday Selfie - why #savethanksgiving

Here's the story of why I post memes on social media about saving Thanksgiving.

I walked into the local drug store - which is actually more like a mini mart that concetrates on make up, vitamins and greeting cards - the day after Halloween and there was nary a turkey or pilgrim in sight. Now, I can understand not having pilgrims because of how they reacted to hospitality when they came here. But no turkeys?

There was a small segment of Thanksgiving cards in the greeting card aisle - shoehorned in between the graduation cards - ??? - and half price Halloween cards and alongside a special display of - yeah - Holiday cards, mostly Christmas.

That was November 1st. The Christmas stuff started moving into the stores in September after the back to school sales ended.

Being thankful is not all that good for the bottom line.

It is not a new phenomenon. As our lives become more insulated by cars, screens, work and responsibilities, we can't see what we can be thankful for.

Acquisition has become our most universal pursuit. We are a nation of consumers. Our economy depends on increasing purchases of everything.

This creates an even wider divide and accentuates income inequality. If acquisition is a measure of your worth and you can't acquire as much as other people - how does that make you feel?

If the entire culture is about the "20 Most Amazing Gadgets You Can Buy on A@@z Today" or Buy a Lexus for Christmas (!!!???), then people who can't afford those items feel cast out.

You know what happens to people who are cast out, made to feel "less than"? They become depressed and angry or just plain angry.

When people are angry they acquire things that are not good for them because no one has the right to tell them what to acquire.  Hmm, I am feeling a little angry right now. See? A downward spiral can lead to a lot of the meanness we see in today's news.

What would happen if we could reverse that feeling in ourselves? Turning away from acquisition, taking time to find things to be grateful for, makes us feel better about ourselves. Yeah and then we spiral upwards instead of into helpless rage and violence.

So, your life might really suck. No, really. You might be dying. But you are still here. You can see the people you love. You can hear songs that please you. Just one thing, that is all I am asking you to find, just one thing that makes you glad to have lived.

If you are reading this, you are "more than".  You are wonderful. It's true.

Sit back. Close your eyes. Remember one thing that makes or made you happy. Conjure up one beautiful sight or sound or feeling. Hold that in your mind.

Give thanks.

A Grateful Post - #savethanksgiving

Today, I had errands to run. I don't often go out in my car alone to do stuff. I let the Hub drive or I squire my Mom around. During those rides we listen to the radio or talk about happenings.

Today, they both had other things to do so off I went. I found so many things that made me feel grateful.

1. The smiling postal worker who sent off my packages is deaf. She had a sign to tell you this and she used her hands effectively to indicate what I needed to do. She even had a lovely little sign printed up to thank me for using the USPS. Fastest, most pleasant trip to the Post Office ever.

2. The trees are holding onto their leaves a little longer this year. The colors are bright and filled me with happiness.

3. It looks like someone swept a paintbrush of white paint across the sky today - a streak of thinning white against a blue canvas.

4. I found lovely Thanksgiving items on drastic discount at the store.  Whoo- hoo!

5. I had to stop for a train on the way home. Watching the freight cars trundle by, reminded me of waiting with small boys in the car. We counted out loud as the cars passed. We named the cars. Thanks to Donald Crews book, "Freight Train" , we knew most of the train car types.

I remembered hearing the train whistle in the night and the creak and crash as the cars rounded a bend.

My heart rose to see that this mode of moving cargo is still being used. We find affection for all kinds of things - the railroad tracks we walk along, the flashing of the lights.

6. I had no reason to hurry. And that, alone, made me glad.

A little blast from the past - one of my lightbulb turkeys.