posted
The change was slight, but enough. Though the asteroid wanted to continue its straight line course, the force was undeniable. If the asteroid could feel it would have been a little upset. You see, it liked being alone, and now it finds itself hurtling toward another.
Why can’t they just leave me alone? It would have thought, if it could think, but it is only and inanimate object.
Back on Earth a lone computer, noticed the change and quickly recalculated the trajectory. As the calculations came to a completion enough of the conditions were met to initiate the signal. So the signal was sent.
“Mr. L,” The boy's hand flew into the air. “Mr. L,” he repeated louder this time.
Mr. L turned from the large black board in the front of the class room.
“Yes Jonny?” Mr. L asked.
“Mr. L, I don’t understand,” Jonny started, the look of confusion clearly set on his face. “Yesterday you said X equaled 4, and now you say it equals 7. I really would not care but I need to know. On the test will it equal 4 or 7?”
Mr. L was actually happy for the beeping that was coming from his pen that was safely tucked into his pocket protector. “For you Jonny it will always equal 4. Now if you’ll all work on today’s assignment I need to step out.”
Mr. L stepped into the empty hallway and flicked his bic.
“All Defenders of the Hatrack are to assemble, this is not a drill,” the pen chirped.
A small sigh escaped his lips as he made his way to the broom closet; he hated changing in the broom closet. Mr. L stepped into the closet and removed his lab coat freeing his feathered wings. He opened the window and lcarus quickly ascended into the heavens.
Meanwhile in another area of town two grown men were having a heated argument.
“I am not going to pay for that,” the dirty man in orange and hard hat yelled
“Well neither am I,” retorted the nicer dressed though slightly pasty skinned man. “You obviously did not follow the recommendations on the soils report.”
“And you can’t tell the difference between bedrock and san…….”
The rest was lost in the sound of a wet blanket hitting Scott in the side of the head. Zan couldn’t help it, he started to laugh.
Thwap, Another wet blanket was shot at Zan.
“Damn, Saxon, will you change the water in that gun of yours,” Scott said as he held the blanket out away from him, “This thing smells like raw sewage.”
“You would know,” Zan said picking himself of the ground.
“What’s that supposed to m….” Scott started, but was interrupted by a high pitched sound that started to get louder and louder.
“Where is that Doppler effect coming from?” Saxon asked.
Just then a huge splash was heard coming from the nearby fountain. They all turned there attention to the fountain, and noticed steam rising from the water.
“lcarus, you really need to stay away from the sun.” Scott said as lcarus emerged from the steam cloud.
“I’m fine, and thanks for asking,” lcarus responded sourly.
“Why aren’t you guys in costume?” Saxon asked. “Didn’t you hear the alarm?”
Zan and Scott looked to their pens, embarrassed.
“Never mind we need to get into the forum, and see what is happening,” Saxon stated matter-of-factly. “Now get into uniform, Zan.”
In a blink, Zan’s pasty white skin was changed to scales as the reptilian form of zgator appeared. Scott, walked away to return with his lucky shovel as Head Ditch Digger.
“Good, now let’s get in there,”
“We can’t,” started Scott sarcastically, “The soil’s engineer made a mistake and now the building has sunk into a sink hole.”
“If you had built the footings correctly it would never had sunk.” zgator retorted.
Will our heros be able to save the planet? Will they be able to get into their forum? And will Head Ditch Digger and zgator ever agree?
I've had Hatrack dreams before, but I think this is the first time I've ever been in one. Odd though that everyone you dreamed about was from Florida. You must have fallen asleep reading the Jai-Alai thread.
posted
I had a good reason. I want to go with you sometime.
Besides, it's kind of disconcerting when your wife down in Celebration is doing better than us by calling in her bets over the phone.
Posts: 221 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Yeah . . . I'm still waiting to do well at the Orlando fronton just once. The season lasts until March. Will later this year work, or should I wait until next year (or the year after)?
What about Arena Football?
I was thinking before Bob moved away that I would check to see if there was any interest in going in as a group for season tickets maybe. How expensive could they be?
*sigh* I'm just desperate for a guys' night out, and one guy has had a baby, one has dropped off the face of the Earth, and one has moved away.
And I don't like any of my work friends as much as I like my jatraquero friends.
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Joe, I won't be in limbo for too much longer I hope. It's just that the missus is pretty much confined to the house while she does the feeding thing. She's going to start pumping soon which means I can take a turn allowing her some free time to actually leave the house if she wants (or sleep). Once that gets rolling, I won't feel so bad about doing something fun.
Season tickets for the Preds are pretty cheap, but I've always just bought tickets for the games I go to.
Happy Camper, I am a soils engineer. At last, I am not alone. Be careful of HDD. He's a contractor and you know how they are.
Posts: 221 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Oh, yes, I know how they are. Just spent 3 months on a major construction site where they are basically building a mountain out of spoil, which is all crap, essentially. And it's been a fight all the way. 3 foot lifts, 6 inch ruts. But by the time I left the dozer operator was scared of me (I was on QA duty for the fill), every time he saw me coming he'd get out of his dozer and come yell at me, usually about the lift checker I was carrying. He was a good guy though and we were just messing with each other. We had a meeting every morning with the superintendants and the QA personnel had a running bet on how long it would take before someone would say bull[censored]. Great fun.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I had very busy weekend, I will try to write the next chapter tonight.
I still do not know if we saved the planet, my dreams have not gotten there yet, and the suspense is making it hard to sleep.
Posts: 1244 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Yeah, did he look more like a forbidden error message or a geocities "this site isn't available" message?
Posts: 1658 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Sax- niether, it was more like a over-colorful tights with a large compressed air, wet towel throwing gun. Also, you were wearing a dripping wet towel as a cape.
Posts: 1244 | Registered: Apr 2003
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See I was really just trying to find a clever way of asking whether I was white or asian in your dream.
Posts: 83 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Naw, it was only a spoil pile but our specs were 12 inch lifts and 95% of Standard Proctor, +2% to -4% of optimum moisture, that other stuff was the crap they were trying to pull before I got there and on nights. Far as we know we caught all the really bad stuff.
Posts: 609 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
When we last left our heroes, they were in a predicament. Their new forum had sunk. Worse yet was the looming catastrophe, of which none of the four were aware.
“So, my fine young contractor,” lcarus tried lightly. “What do you propose to get us into the forum.”
“Well…,” Head Ditch Digger started to say, but was rudely interrupted by Saxon.
“I will get us in,” He exclaimed. “I but have to run at the speed of light and I will plow a path straight into the forum.”
“You nitwit,” zgator said sardonically. “We don’t have the time.”
“It wouldn’t take but a split ……” Thus started what to be a long argument on the theory of relativity.
Head Ditch Digger tuned them out and turned to lcarus.
“Well….” He started again.
“This is getting us nowhere!” Yelled lcarus. “I will get us in there.”
lcarus crouched and launched himself into the air.
Head Ditch Digger sighed and walked to his trusty tract hoe and started digging. He dug a long ditch uncover the entrance to the forum. He was finishing up the ADA compliant ramp, when the ball of flame came screaming out of the sky to land again in the decorative fountain in the square.
“You really need to stop flying so close to the Sun, lcarus,” Head Ditch Digger said as he descended from his favorite tool. “They must be getting used to you falling from the sky,” He continued indicating the other two, who, were now discussing something about a witch and a barn.
“Gentlemen, and I use that term loosely, we need to get in there.”
“I still do not agree with you,” zgator threw in, turning abruptly to end the conversation. “Let’s go.”
They all turned to enter the freshly excavated doorway.
“Not so fast,” Said a cynical female voice. (Not that there are any other types of female voice, this one was just a bit more cynical than most.)
Turning towards the sound they saw Saxon75’s arch nemesis Celia60.
“I’ve been watching you bumbling fools and I have to say, hah, that’s right, hah. My pet Trogdor could wipe you foolish hero wannabes off the face of the planet with one burnination.”
As if beckned large roar echoed off the surronding buildings, as a massive dragon dropped suddenly out of the sky.
“I thought I buried you, Trogdor,” The Head Ditch Digger claimed.
“You should know by now that I am larger than just one body,” He bellowed.
“I here that Sbuway diet worked for Jared maybe if you try….” HDD left hanging.
“Gentlemen, there are only two of them let us dispatch them and move on,” lcarus said nonchalantly.
“I am hurt that you did not notice me let alone worship me,” Came Ralphie’s voice as she strutted into the scene.
“And where there’s Ralphie there has got to be…” started zgator. “ah, Slash there you are.”
“Now it is four on four, any one got a basketball,” said Saxon. “I suppose you are the reason we have been summoned to the forum?”
“The cause, yes but not the reason,” said Celia, “and we’re here to stop you from fixing the problem.”
Are heroes have once again found themselves in a quandary. Will they be able to defeat their enemies? Will they ever be able to find out why they were summoned?
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HDD, you did install an adequate dewatering system for your trench, right? I wouldn't want to get my feet wet or anything.
And I call Ralphie if we get into a rumble. I hear she's easy...you know, to beat up. Monkey bumps are her kryptonite.
Posts: 221 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Funny you should say that, Head (Do you mind if I just call you "Head"?), because I was trying last night to figure out which nemesis coresponded to which super-hero. I know that Celia and saxon go at it all the time, but beyong that, it seems like Pat is everyone's nemesis. Heck, even his own co-villains can't stand him! Frankly, I feel pretty safe in the belief that Pat and Ralphie will inevitably turn on each other, leaving all of us to gang up on Celia and Slash. (Unless, of course, one or both of them joins in the fracas with their colleagues!) Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
If Mike doesn't want her, I'll go ahead and take celia as an arch-nemesis. I haven't gotten a response from Ralphie, so I'm still available for nemesing.
Posts: 221 | Registered: Mar 2003
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