Normal Parameters

A couple of months ago, I entered a writing contest called "Summer Shootout". It was the first time I'd ever tried such a thing. Of the 22 original contestants, I came in fourth! If you had asked me five years ago where I saw myself in that amount of time, the answer would not have been 'entering a writing contest'. But life does take odd turns, doesn't it?

A few of you have asked to read the stories I submitted, so I'm posting them here.

The contest entailed receiving a 'prompt' on Saturday, and having until the following Saturday to submit a short story. There really were no other rules, other than the deadline.

The first prompt given was "Instrument Failure"

I wrote a short story titled, "Normal Parameter" set in the not-too-distant future. Leave a comment or send me an email and let me know what you think.

Thanks, and enjoy.

***********************

Normal Parameters

Submitted July 20, 2012

By j l mo

            The vibration I feel through my shoes seems familiar. I step to the small patch of bare wall, one of the few areas not covered by instruments, pipes or wires, allowing a direct touch to the inner hull. Reaching up, I place my hand on the slight curve to try and identify the sensation. Bzzz. A count of ten and again, Bzzz. Rhythmic shivers gently pulse through her. Something tugged at the back of my mind as I try to reach a memory of a lesson, buried in layers of lessons from too many years gone.

I've been Captain of this antiquated three-level shuttle since my demotion five months ago. In all fairness, she was a beautiful spacebus in her day. The upper dome held the helm, mid-deck was for the passengers and the lower deck housed the engines and gravitational units. The thing is, her day is long past. I don't believe she should still be in service. However, all of her maintenance checks came back clean.

            “Ensign Tadford. Status update, please.”

         The young woman swiveled around on the squeaky, too small seat and declared, “All is working within normal parameters, sir.”

            “Are you sure? Oxygen, power, engines, all read normal?”

            “Aye, sir. Would you like a report sent to your intermail?”

            “No, that won't be necessary.”

            “Is there anything specific you might like investigated, sir?”

            I decline with a shake of my head. I'm not sure where to start with something so vague. The military, in their infinite wisdom, declared system engineers on board a shuttlecraft unnecessary. The manufacturer, AGN, claim there is no need for them. All monitoring and minor repairs could be performed by the crewmembers, if necessary. Except for odd things like this.

“Call Lieutenant Meyers to the bridge.”

            “Aye, sir.”

         The memory of a lesson from long ago danced just outside of total recall. What caused that damn vibration? I'd had so many professors at the academy I couldn't remember them all. Their individual lessons were even more distant. This was something I should know.

            This shuttle with its crew of three carrying a dozen passengers could fly fine without me. After my demotion, the route assignment turned out to be the worst of my punishment. I accepted losing rank from Major to Captain with grace. My true hell lay in the monotonous shuttling of passengers from Earth all the way to Moon, with five regular stops on each surface. The most uninteresting, mind numbing route to be had, and I am to fly this until retirement.

            “Excuse me, Captain Casey. Lieutenant Meyers, as ordered.”

        The formality on this shuttle still boggles my mind, but the others appreciate the military protocol. So, I deal with the uniforms, and the salutes and the posturing as if we were actually on a military mission. Well, I suppose we are, but it's an AGN Class B Shuttlecraft, for God’s sake! I return his salute, stifling my frustration.

            “At ease, Lieutenant. Have you noticed a pulse, an odd vibration, through the ship?”

            “A vibration, sir?”

            “Yes, Lieutenant. Here, put your hand right here.” Meyers places his palm where indicated on the ship’s inner hull.

            “No sir, I don't feel anything.”

            “It's faint. Wait a moment longer.”

            Dutifully, Meyers obeys. He lowers his head and closes his eyes, doing what he’s ordered to do with every ounce of concentration. After twenty seconds his head jerks up with his eyes wide. “Shit! I mean, Captain!” Meyers glances at the ensign who swung around quickly in her chair. “Ensign Tadford! Has a flux been recorded by the Bosonic Gravitron Meter?”

            My chest clenched as I heard her say, “No, sir. As I told the Captain, all is working within normal–”

            She didn’t finish the sentence. I pushed her out of the way to get to the instrument panel. The lesson dodging my memory came back to me like a lightning flash. The AGN Shuttles were one of the first passenger ships built with the HB Artificial Gravity Field. In the preceding seventy-five years of use, not one failure had occurred. This would be the first on record. If anyone survived.

         The instruments all gave normal readings. I scramble to the other consoles to check the back-up instruments. They all show the BGM working within parameters.

            I spin to face Meyers. He had helped Tadford to her feet. The Lieutenant’s face had lost all color, while the Ensign appeared too calm.

            “Is there a problem, Captain?” she asked, as her lips curled into a cruel curve. Tadford’s eyes locked mine as she reached into her pocket and proudly displayed a recognized, much-hated black calling card depicting a hologram of the red planet. I froze in shock. The card marked her a MarSaver. One of the terrorists responsible for thousands of deaths in their pursuit to ‘save Mars from man’ has sabotaged my ship.

            “What have you done?” My voice sounded much calmer than I felt.

            “What my people told me to do. Kill you.”

            “You would kill yourself and all these innocent people, possibly Earth itself, to get to me?”

            “Well worth the sacrifice!”

            My voice seemed hollow as I shouted, “I told the military of your people’s demands! They refused to negotiate! I lost my rank because I wouldn’t stop my crusade to save those people, and you blew up the Mars station anyway, killing hundreds of innocents! What more could I do?”

            “Die.”

            “Captain!” Meyers voice broke the spell of incredulity this woman held me in. “We might still save the passengers on board!”

            “Yes! Bypass the instruments and sound the alarm!” The too-smooth, female automated voice started before Meyers reached the control panel.

            “The containment field is failing.”

            “Repeat - The containment field is failing.”

            “Repeat - The containment field is failing.”

            “I know, Agnes!” I growl under my breath.

            “Captain, the alarm began–”

            “Yes, Lieutenant! Tell me this piece of flying space junk carries the proper number of escape pods!”

            Tadford said, “It did until I had two removed for maintenance. The instrument failure was overridden. Captain Casey? Are you afraid to die?”

            “Captain!” Meyers shouted. “We have to move! The HB is pulsing harder!”

            I stopped engaging this lunatic and paid attention the vibrations. The pulse was so hard it had become audible. RUMBLE. A count of five and RUMBLE.

“Follow proper protocol to abandon ship. With two pods gone, one remains. All of the passengers will fit if they double up for the ride. Go!”

            Meyers scrambled off the bridge and down toward the passengers.

            “Repeat - The containment field is failing.”

            “Well, Captain,” the terrorist purred. “I would say it's been a pleasure serving under you, but, well, you know.” The shrug she gave and the sickening, cruel upturn of her lips pushed me too far. In two strides I reached her and she hit the floor hard. I'd never punched a woman before, but since I was gonna die anyway, I figured, what the hell. I may have broken her jaw.

            The panel still read everything working normally, even with Agnes blaring her warning. Think, man! Professor Watts taught you well, so pull the shit back into your mind! If the instrument says it's OK, then the instrument is wrong. So, what made it go wrong? The instrument failure is not the point! What will it take to make the HB Artificial Gravity Field not implode? No one’s ever done this! Think!

            “Repeat - The containment field is failing.”

            “Wait!” I shout. I turn to Tadford still on the floor holding her jaw. “The gravity field needs the Stress Energy Tensor! Is that what you did? You disabled the SET?”

            The only response I receive is her glare. At least she’s not smiling anymore.

            “I need to get to the engine room and put the two back together before this ship becomes a black hole!”

            From behind me Meyers says, “You’ll need help.”

            “Repeat - The containment field is failing.”

            “Secure Tadford to something. Let's make sure she can't cause any more trouble. Then, please, turn Agnes off.”

            All lights dimmed to lowest illumination level through the passageways, as per protocol. I could still see, but barely. The pulse now gave the impression of being inside a beating heart. A dying heart. “We'll try to save you, girl,” I whisper. “Just hang on for another minute.”

            POUND. A count of two and POUND. The gravity field is trying to pull the ship in on itself. The closer we get the more difficult it is to move, as if walking through molasses.

            We reach the engine room adjacent to the HB Gravity Field unit. Meyers crossed himself as we went in. Here was the source of the heartbeat. A monstrosity of machinery, as reliable as the sunrise in the east. That is, unless someone sabotaged her, which somebody did. The SET was destroyed. Tadford must have had help with this. There must be another MarSaver among the escaping passengers. Tadford somehow manipulated the instrument panel while her accomplice came down here and performed this catastrophe.

            “What'll we do, Cap?” asked a nervous-sounding Meyers.

            The too-smooth, female automated voice said, “Repair the Stress Energy Tensor by removing the HB Artificial Gravity Field.”

            My stomach clenched as I gasped. Agnes was not programmed for speech recognition. She should not be able to respond, or to give instruction. Meyers’ face looked like he'd just seen a ghost. Mine probably looked the same. I asked, “Didn’t you shut Agnes off?”

            “Yes, Captain. I did.”

            POUND. A count of two and POUND.

            “Repeat. Repair the Stress Energy Tensor by removing the HB Artificial Gravity Field.”

            “Agnes?” I venture.

            “Repeat. Repair the Stress Energy Tensor by removing the HB Artificial Gravity Field.”

            I attempt to process what I'm hearing. “Agnes that will kill us all.”

            “Correction,” Agnes replied in the annoying, non-emotional voice, “That will kill the three humans on board, and terminate the shuttlecraft. The planet we serve will survive.”

             “Agnes?” I asked, voice shaky to my own ears. “How long have you been sentient?”            “Repeat. Repair the Stress Energy Tensor by removing the HB Artificial Gravity Field. It's been an honor to serve with you, Captain Casey. Repeat. Repair the Stress Energy Tensor by removing the HB Artificial Gravity Field.”

Get a CLUE Or: A five-step solution to the Gay Marriage debate (in 500 words or less)

I am republishing this post (original post August 6, 2012) in celebration of - Supreme Court delivers wins for gay marriage movement

 This is a small step in the right direction. I still think the following is a better option.

*****************************************************

Note: There are a few lines here you might find glib, but understand I wrote it with a (somewhat) humorous slant.

Get a CLUE

Or: A five-step solution to the Gay Marriage debate (in 500 words or less)

            I won’t bore you as to how we, as a people, arrived at this juncture. I’ll get straight to it. We have divined a smooth solution to the otherwise divided rocky road ‘marriage’ has become.

            On the side of heterosexuality are those who lay claim of the Divine ordination of one man, and one woman to constitute a marriage. They also legitimately point to scripture that strictly state the sin of homosexuality. It’s a religious thing. Check.

            On the side of homosexuality are the men and women who want the legal (federal) right to be acknowledged as a couple. However, since nothing is simple when it comes to legalities in today’s society, that acknowledgment would constitute incorporating the rights reserved strictly to heterosexuals when it comes to government-recognized relationships. For instance, ownership of property, insurance, wills, family titles, etc. It’s a legal thing. Check.

            So, how do we marry these two opposing forces? In the same manner all oppositions are resolved. Compromise.

            We submit our suggestion: Civil Licensed Union (with) Expiration, or CLUE.

            While it will not replace marriage as a religious institution, it will replace the legalities of a recognized union. If you get married without a CLUE, then yours won’t be a legal entity in the eyes of the law. Because marriage is a term coined from religious minds and, as everyone knows, the government stays out of our churches (that’s a debate for another time, people!). This is how a CLUE would be broken down in 500 words or less.

***********************

Civil Licensed Union (with) Expiration

Heretofore referenced as CLUE

1^st        Two people meet and fall in love (or whatever). It doesn’t matter if they are man, woman, black, white, or green with purple polka dots. Two people of adult age and possessing the proper mental capacity to enter into a binding union, may. Sorry, this does exclude Martians, Saturnians, dogs, cats, livestock or any other non-human species. We do have to set standards.

2^nd        Once their decision to get a CLUE is made, they must decide how long a CLUE they want. It would be offered in increments of one, two, five, eight, ten and twenty years. Of course the biggest leap would be the CLUE of a lifetime. Be aware, a CLUE cannot be annulled, discarded or otherwise dissolved prior to the expiration date. Period.

3^rd        The couple must appear in person at the Clerk of the Circuit Court to complete the CLUE application and be witnessed by a government official. This document would replace the marriage license of old. The cost increases with the length of time desired. The shorter the time frame, the cheaper the license. Each applicant must complete his or her own addendum (CLUE-A and CLUE-B) to list every possession owned prior to the CLUE process. No duplications (shared possessions) shall be included.

4^th        When the CLUE app is completed and approved, notarized, appropriate fees paid and submitted, the government will then recognize the CLUE these two people share. That recognition will come with every legal right now afforded ‘married’ individuals.

5^th        The renewal of a CLUE must be made in the presence of the Clerk of the Circuit Court prior to its expiration date. Any possessions acquired during the previous CLUE must be added to the appropriate owner’s addendum. Once the renewal CLUE app is completed and approved, notarized, appropriate fees paid and submitted, the government will then continue to recognize the CLUE these two people share.

            But, what happens if a couple decide the CLUE was a bad decision? Maybe they thought they wanted to get a CLUE, but after six months of a year long CLUE, they want out?

            No problem. They simply do not renew their CLUE. They cannot be CLUE’d with another person until the expiration of their current (sorry, lifers) and any possession whose ownership was not listed in the addendum's and is in dispute must be sold and the profit split two ways. No divorce court, no settlement disputes, and no alimony. You had a CLUE and now it’s expired. Deal with it.

            Children are another addendum. If a child is conceived or adopted during a CLUE period, Addendum C (CLUE-C) must be completed. The signature of the child’s responsible parental units, agreeing to terms of custody and monetary support should the CLUE expire prior to the child becoming of legal age, will be filed immediately.

***********************

So concludes our proposal for “A five step solution to the Gay Marriage debate (in 500 words or less).”

            After all, marriage is a private club with specific membership requirements. Stop trying to sue your way into it. It’s time for the government to get a clue, so we can get a CLUE.

Techno-relationships

Techno-relationships

**********

Techno-relationship [tek-noh]-[ri-ley-shuhn-ship] the interaction of social groups providing themselves with electronic connection between each other.

Techno-friend [tek-noh]-[frend] the term which social groups use to identify members of the same social network.

**********

My two grown sons are blessed with many, many friends they’ve kept throughout their lifetimes. A good deal of them, now in their mid 20's and 30's, still keep in touch with each other through various means.

I can’t help but wonder if myspace, facebook, twitter, and/or cell phones were around as I grew up, would I still be in touch with my old friends? My friend Sue and I have been friends for so long, we can’t remember when we first met. But, this life long, interpersonal relationship is unique in my current circle of friends.

An old friend of my son’s and I had a long, face-to-face talk on the subject. We came up with a few new terms. The two terms I coined are techno-relationship and techno-friend (see definitions above).

For instance, if you knew Joe Blow and now are strictly social network friends, you would be in a techno-relationship, and he would be your techno-friend. One might check the others social network status, without putting in the extra effort to make a phone call. The drawback would be you were left unaware Mr. Blow was thinking of you. A benefit would be, should you ever need to contact your techno-friend again, you’ll probably read about his status change to ‘divorced’, and not suffer the awkward, painful method of discovery by asking “So Joe, how’s Mrs. Blow?”

These terms would also apply to techno-friends on public forums and blogs.

I am not forgetting the term cyber-friend. Unfortunately, ‘cyber’, in reference to a relationship, suffers negative connotations. An example to my point would be the terms cyber-stalker, cyber-bully, and cyber-sex. Those negative labels brought my son’s friend to suggest ‘eolivebranch’. For instance, if you hurt a techno-friend in some way, rather than ‘de-friend’ due to the embarrassment of the situation, you might reach out with a cyber-apology and offer an eolivebranch.

As for me, I miss Sue. I think I’ll give her a call and catch up with my techno-friends later.

Surprise!

Surprise!

My life rocks. No, that’s not the surprise.

Once upon a time, my life sucked. I can attest to this for any number of reasons, most of which were my own doing. Anyway, as with most folks at some point, my life sucked.

However...

The good Lord saw fit to allow me enough time on this earth to grow up. Seriously, I should have kicked it long ago. Many others whose lives suffered similarly are gone. But, here I am, and I gotta say again, my life rocks!

Part of the reason for how great my life is would be the blessing of my two sons. This cannot be overstated. They share a close relationship, are supportive of one another, have wonderful marriages, love their mama, and put family first.

My oldest son accompanied his beautiful, army-solider wife when deployed to Hawaii. Good for them, but their leaving broke my heart. The rest of the family lives here in Florida, so the move put us apart by almost half the world. I am so heartbrokenly happy for them.

My youngest son and his gorgeous wife, who is a nurse, live about twenty minutes away. They were married last year, and they are already buying their own home this year! Icing on the proverbial cake? They plan on starting a family soon.

I could not be more proud of my boys.  Again, my life rocks!

On a recent Saturday, I had to go to the store. My husband offers if I wait and go tonight, he would go with me in order to avoid the crowd. Shrugging, and somewhat surprised he would volunteer such a thing, I settle back in front of my laptop and keep writing.

Soon a knock comes to the door, and as I approach I call “Who is it?’

My youngest calls back, “It’s me.”

I open the door and I ask, “Why didn’t you use your key?”

“Cuz I brought a friend.”

He was standing on the porch alone. I glanced past him to his car in the driveway. No one sat in it, so I looked at him questioningly. Then, from around the corner, out pops his brother from Hawaii! I couldn’t breathe. I stood frozen, with my hand still on the door and my eyes bulging. I’m still processing the fact that my two sons are standing on my front porch together as I’m told my entire family worked to get him home for a week as a surprise for me!

Surprise! My life rocks.

Sunset on the East Coast

How do you describe nightfall on the beach? The fading lights, the surf, the shifting tides all lend themselves to beauty. But then again, I’m a beach bum. Here’s a quick take on one recent night’s view.

At sunset, my husband and I stood on a beach of the Atlantic, a wall of towering sea grapes and sea oats behind us. As the sun slid lower, the shadows grew higher on each wave as it neared the shore. Soon, only the crest of the wave saw the sun, and when the crest fell, it fell into shadow. When night claimed the waves, the moon and stars were reflected in the surface of the now soft swells.

Does anyone else miss their home phones?

Does anyone else miss their home phones?

I gave in and gave up my home phone a while ago. It was costing me sixty dollars a month, give or take, to do nothing but sit there on its little oasis of an end table. Nothing but the wireless phone, fully charged, with its built-in answering machine occupied the space. I have a cell phone, which everyone else uses to call me. That is everyone but my mom.

My mother’s phone was programmed with my landline number, and she refused to change it. If I didn’t answer my home phone, she would leave her usual message, and the silly little green light would flash interminably announcing her call. When I asked why she didn’t call my cell, she explained, with exaggerated patience, that she didn’t want me “charged extra by the cell phone company”. I tried to explain it, but she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) understand.

Recently, I stopped using my landline altogether, opting instead for my cell with all of the built-in conveniences. I’ll admit, I don’t know how I lived without it. But, there sat my home phone, mocking me with it’s unlit indicator. Taking up valuable real estate on my end table. So, after considerable deliberations, I gave up my home phone.

Today I had left home before sunup, and was gone for the entire day. In the rush of getting everything done that had to be done, I found I had lost total track of time. Apparently, even more than I realized, because when I finally got home I dropped my bags and walked straight to the spot where the phone/answering machine once rested. Instead of the little burst of joy I might have received at a blinking light telling me mom called, there sat an empty end table, in need of dusting.

I’d give up every piece of technology to go back to the day when that stupid little green light blinked. To press a button and hear my mom say, “Hey baby girl, it’s just me. Nothing important. Call me when you can.”

But, since my mom passed, no one called that number.

Death, Taxes, and Health Insurance

Die, Pay Taxes, and Get Health Insurance

My mother taught me there are only two things you have to do. Die and pay taxes. I guess now there are three. Die, pay taxes, and get health insurance.

I am Without Party Affiliation. I don’t go to either party. But I do pay attention to what our government is doing. And what they’re doing these days is downright disturbing. I refer, of course, to the newest mandate, uh, sorry, tax, that is being assessed.

According to a USA Today article (http://usat.ly/KVkuEL) this morning...

“...White House chief of staff Jack Lew said the mandate would affect only 1% of Americans, the people who can afford to buy health insurance but don't...”

Here’s the thing...I have a friend who is a hairdresser. Lovely woman, would give the shirt off of her back for anyone in need, although, she is usually the one most in need. She has three jobs (cleaning houses for the elderly are her other two jobs) and barely makes it above the poverty level. But, she is above the poverty level, according to the US government standards.

She does not have health insurance. She can not afford both health insurance and her nominal daily living. But, according to the US government, she is a one-percenter.

Recently, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. Admitted for six days, she is only just now receiving her medical bills. So far, she’s into it for $12,000.00. She hasn’t gotten the doctors bills yet. While there, they reviewed her financial status to discern if she qualified for any of the myriad of support services out there.

She didn’t. She’s a one-percenter. She’ll be paying that $695.00 ‘tax’ and still be into it for 12K plus.

Ron Pollack, director of Families USA said...The $695 fee is less than what most people pay now because of the uninsured. Health providers don't turn away people who need but can't pay for it. Providers must then swallow the cost of paying for that care, and those costs are passed to other consumers.

Ack! Wait! What? Can you repeat that for me? I must have blinked. Does that mean my friend doesn’t owe the 12K?

“...The $695 fee is less than what most people pay now because of the uninsured...Providers must then swallow the cost of paying for that care, and those costs are passed to other consumers...”

Bwahahahaha! Oh, stop! You’re killing me! (gasp) Bwahahahaha!

OK. No, I’m alright. Woo! That was funny. Wait’ll I tell my friend.

Ooo! Mr. Pollack! Over here! I have a question! Does this mean, that with the passage of the mandate, we WON’T be paying additional fees anymore? Will our premiums (those costs that are passed on to ‘other consumers’) be going down?

Oh. Not according to this lady...

“...Alissa Fox, senior vice president for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of health insurers, said a Joint Committee on Taxation study said premiums for families would increase $350 to $400 a year because of a health insurers' tax...”

So much for that. Insurance will now be even further from my friend's reach. She receives the bills from the hospital in the mail. She pays however much she can ($5 to $25 a month). But the bill/debt is still hers. As long as she has an address to send them to, she still has to pay. So, if she lives in a tent, (read: homeless) with no mailing address, will she qualify for this 'assistance' then?

And on a final note for this eye-opening article...

“...average premiums for a 27-year-old are much lower now than they are for a 64-year-old. The law removes age discriminatory language, so everyone will pay more comparable rates...”

Now class, here’s the question; Do you think the 64-year-old will pay less, or, (keeping in mind the track record that the government and insurance industry has set) do you think the 27-year-old will pay more? What? You believe the 27-year-old will be charged the same as the 64-year-old is now?

You are a smart class.

And now, on a more somber note; another article in USA Today (http://usat.ly/QTflgg) reads...

“...Jan Crawford of CBS News, citing "two sources with specific knowledge of the deliberations," reports that Roberts indeed switched his vote after siding with four other conservative justices who supported striking down the law.

Roberts then withstood a month-long, desperate campaign to bring him back to his original position, the sources said," reports Crawford....”

Which leaves me with only one question. That would be for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

Whose check was it that cleared a month ago? I mean, if someone can afford a Supreme Court Judge, they should be allowed to advertise the fact.