Sept 24, 2023 ---- Random words after our summer break?
Word List:
humbug, happenstance, chicken, dinner, sprinkler, feelings, tank, trolley, evaluate, column, hurl, situation, stammer, Pluto, creeper, emphatically, (Sasquatch)
By: Ryanne Leavitt
Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and even Mars all thought that Pluto was kind of a creeper, always lurking out there just past Neptune. Earth thought he was alright, mainly ‘cause her inhabitants seemed to like him. Mercury and Venus were all too busy basking in the suns rays to even pay attention to him, they are, after all a bit narcissistic. Pluto on the other hand was very very self conscious, he was after all, there only by happenstance or that is what Uranus always said to anyone that would listen. He wasn’t the one who wanted to be there, but the gravity of that great ball of fire in the center of it all just wouldn’t let him go. He had evaluated his situation countless time, I mean when you have that much time what else is a planet to do! Sure his “brother” Neptune stood up for him, but that could be a ruse. All Pluto really knew was the way the others treated him really hurt his feelings. It seemed no one had a lick of empathetically driven energy for the little planet that could.
He even tried over and over again, for an entire millennia to hurl himself out of this wretched orbit he found himself in, but the whole thing was impossible! After that he went around and around that cursed sun for another eon being the biggest humbug you ever could imagine. How would you feel if you spent so much energy and time trying to tank your life only to be held fast by a power you couldn’t even see!
He just hung there in his orbital rotation feeling pretty miserable for himself, watching other Planets get all sorts of attention from the Earth bound creatures. Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars always getting probes and things sent their way. He heard there were gigantic looking glasses constantly pointing at them so the humans could oooh and aaah. To make matters even worse, out of nowhere BOOM, news hit him that those insignificant earthlings had decided, without his opinion on matter, that he was no longer even a planet.
Well, this smashed into him like a trolley filled with dynamite. Just like that the other planets shunning and teasing snide remarks only intensified. He was given NO thank you for always being just right there old pal, no big chicken dinner, or even a job well done! Nope nada, nix null nothing! just a so long ya hunk of space junk! If his water had been on his outer shell and liquid, man, the waterworks would have been in full blown, surface wide sprinkler mode. He was the most depressed planet, er space rock formerly known as Pluto, you could ever have witnessed!
Being shunned and made a mock of by the other planets had always bothered him, but the joy he had found (and had always been loath to admit) from being recognized by those puny humans, had filled his worth being here column… but what now? That joy had been ripped from his core. If he had much of an atmosphere before, he was sure that blow had sucked all of it from him. And there he hung, moping and sulking. Waiting for time to wipe him from the universe. I mean, really what was the point anyway!
WAIT, WHAT is that? It’s glinting in the pale sunlight? It’s shiny and odd shaped…and coming in fast! Pluto’s mind was going so rapidly it caused his frame to stammer a bit. Was that a human concoction, was he getting his very own probe? What was it doing out this far afield? Pluto watched in awe as the contraption extended this thing and that. It dropped something that was headed to his crust. Pluto watched with bated breath, if a planet, er rock could do such a thing. Somehow he felt seen and important again to those tiny earth creatures. Could it be that some still see his tiny mass as more than just a huge rock stuck in the grips of the Sun’s gravitational pull? Pluto put on his best surface and smiled for the tiny probe as it shot on past. The words New Horizons streamed by, this was nearly enough to melt his icy heart!
By:Carrie Keiser
Brìghde (BREE-dah) glanced at the clock on her way up the stairs to the nursery with the children, Karla and Cooper, holding either hand, 8:15 already?! Drat! Late for bed again, if she kept this up she wouldn’t be employed long. Good thing the Westons had not returned for the evening, if they were quick she’d be safe. As Brìghde helped the twins into their PJ’s she reflected on how she had ended up here. She’d arrived recently on a ship from England after an arduous journey from her native Scotland. The family had saved for years for her to make the trip to join her Uncle Rory’s family already in the States. Having spent most of the money on passage, Brìghde knew that she would have to find employment to improve her situation and further her travels to meet up with Uncle in Virginia.
Her ship, SS Albania, had come to port in New York three weeks ago and it was only happenstance that had led her quickly into the employ of the Westons. Brìghde had no need for a trolley when she collected her meager belonging and while mentally evaluating her next steps, she overheard a couple walking along the wharf discussing the need to replace their nanny. Gathering all of her courage Brìghde had approached them and offered her services hoping they would not regard her as a creeper. The couple stopped and looked her over with a critical eye. Nerves were running high for Brìghde, she silently prayed that her outward appearance wouldn’t tank her prospects before she ever got a chance to make her case. Rocking slightly from foot to foot, she squared her shoulders, put on her best smile and centered her gaze on the woman’s kind eyes. The couple exchanged a glance and invited her to join them at Fraunces Tavern to discuss the details of her possible employment. They had treated her to a chicken dinner. Feeling that even if she didn’t land the job, at least she got a good meal out of the encounter, she looked up and began to make her case. Brìghde , doing her best not to stammer, thanked them kindly for the meal and explained that she had just arrived from Scotland and was seeking employment so she could eventually contact her Uncle in Virginia. She felt emphatically that with her experience as the oldest daughter in a family of 6, she could be successful as a nanny for their children. At this point in the interview Brìghde wasn’t sure how many children she was agreeing to care for, she only knew she needed a way to make money.
The couple, Aaron and Margret Weston, owned a textile warehouse where they sold them in New York and other major cities. The Westons agreed to take her on a trial basis and pay would be 10.50/week with housing and food provided. Her duties would include care for their twins, Karla and Cooper, who were 5, she would need to also give them their daily lessons: reading, writing and arithmetic as well as routine nature walks. The particulars hashed out, Brìghde found herself bundled into the Westons’ carriage and whisked off to their home.
She could not believe her eyes when they pulled up to a stately townhome near 5th Ave. She couldn’t have been more surprised had she been hurled to Pluto. This was a far cry from the highlands of Scotland. Brìghde was ushered to the nanny’s quarters by a very grateful butler, who would no longer have the children underfoot. A maid followed them and was checking to see if she required anything right away. She was informed that the children were in the nursery and she could meet them as soon as she had changed. Brìghde’s head was spinning, she needed to sit down. Somehow she found her way to the small table and chair with a plop and took several deep breaths, opened her eyes and looked up to see a sheet of paper filled with columns, she couldn’t make her eyes focus on what they were about. Brìghde shook her head and told herself this was no time for a humbug attitude, time to find her best dress and enter the nursery to meet the kids. She opened the door and as she reached the nursery, felt a sprinkler of dust or power of some such substance hit her face, she cast her eyes about and they settled on the form of two laughing children.
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