January 20, 2022
John the Southern Baptist was at the top of his game. He was revered and respected in his town. The children were taught to worship the tall, gregarious man. John was the son of a British mathematician who had helped design Queen Victoria’s telescope. John’s father, after a few glasses of wine with his family, would often recount stories of his working relationship with Her Majesty.
He’d first crossed paths with the British Royal one day at the beach. John’s father had been pacing the summer shores looking for seagulls. He was poor at the time, and survived off of the tasty bird. Well, as luck would have it, Queen Victoria had been out doing the same thing. They bumped into one another, head first, after both reached down to snatch a weak looking seagull. They got to talking and discovered that they had much more in common than just a love for Charbroiled Birds. In fact, they both turned out to be enthusiastic astronomers. Queen Victoria could name many of the craters that had been mapped by famous astronomers. She had read all of the literature. John’s father, seizing the opportunity, offered to build her a telescope. He said that with a small donation from the crown, he could get to work building Britain’s finest space observatory. The queen, who was already getting started on her tasty seagull, happily agreed and walked back together towards her carriage.
Over the next few months’ John’s father put together a fine team of theorists, skilled labourers, and clever engineers to build the highly anticipated device. On the day of the grand opening, Queen Victoria, accompanied by a crowd of people, climbed the hill to the new observatory and began studying the lunar surface in all of it’s high-resolution.
Tony the young boy awoke one morning with a certain sense of unease. He lay on his back for a few minutes licking his lips and trying to silence the subtle sluggish feeling going on inside himself. He was stressed. He couldn’t remember where he’d left his new puppy. He had a terrible feeling he’d left it in the car overnight. Tony stood up on his bed and looked out his window, to where he could see this family's car. His heart sank when he was greeted by the view of a truly apocalyptic looking blizzard.
“My dog is dead!” Screamed Tony, jumping out of bed and running down the stairs.
“Tony’s mom was ironing her sheets in the living room. “What are you talking about, you little anxious boy? Don’t go outside! Two of your brothers have already passed away in the icy cold!”
“My dog is in danger, mother. Please, won’t you grant me a pair of boots, and perhaps fund a rescue operation for my puppy?”
The mother moaned in protest, then she lumbered over to the kitchen and prepared the boy a lunch that he could take with him. She also dressed him for the extreme temperatures. Tony thanked her and headed out into the horror.