August 2020 – Mom's Guide to the Galaxy

Some problems can only been seen up close

From my bedroom window, I could see that some rogue bushes and trees were growing amongst the neighbor’s tree line. Since some were buckthorns, an invasive species I want to remove before it goes to seed (berries, really), I went out with my branch clippers this afternoon to clear some of the overgrowth. I’m not digging out the roots – partially because they tend to be intertwined with the trees we want to keep – just trimming back the branches. As I was trimming, I noticed this tree.

It’s hollow at the base, and going up a couple feet. Rotted, eaten? I’m not really sure what caused it, but the remaining bits seem surprisingly solid. It’s actually pretty neat looking, if I had been wearing gloves, I might have been tempted to reach inside. There are multiple holes in the trunk to peek into. Noting the hollow, I wondered if the tree was still alive, or if the branches around it were from the surrounding trees, spreading out to fill the space, or from the invasive species I’m working to remove.

I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that the top of the tree is thriving, despite the hollow trunk. The tree is still alive despite its issues. And it struck me that I couldn’t see that from my window. Some problems can only be seen up close.

That’s what we’re seeing in the United States now. Between viral social media posts and a faltering federal government, we are becoming increasingly aware of the problems at the root of our system. We’re seeing various parts of the government respond to peaceful protest – a Constitutional right – with violence. We’re seeing violent counter-protestors being ignored, while peaceful ones are attacked or arrested. We’re seeing the inequity that’s built into the system. And thanks to the overabundance of information available online, we’re seeing all of it – the official announcements of riots and violent protests, and the unofficial social media posts explaining how protesters are kettled (trapped into contained areas) and prevented from leaving until they’re suddenly violating curfew.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and it’s up to us, the voting populace, to correct the problem at every level. In just over two months, we go to the polls. Research the candidates, not just the highly publicized Presidential election, but every position on the ballot. These people, especially the local elections, represent you, and influence the immediate impact that you see in your community.

Falling in love with a kitten is easy.

To paraphrase Prince Edward from Enchanted, “What’s not to love?”

Four cats, from left to right: Diane, Zuko, June, Arwen

At some point in their life, every cat was a kitten. But Zuko, our newest addition, is the youngest cat I’ve adopted in quite some time.

Diane and June were both around a year old when we adopted them, and they were adopted a year apart. We adopted Diana shortly after becoming a one cat household; Mungojerrie (aka Mungo) had never been an only cat and was adamant about needing attention… in the middle of the night. We went to the local pet store to meet the available cats (from a shelter they partner with) and Diane called to us. Literally, she meowed at us for attention.

A year later, we adopted June, who was a young mother looking for a home. Two of her kittens were with her that day, but their personalities weren’t a good fit with Diane and Mungo’s. She fit in perfectly, and between her and Diane, they got Mungo moving again until he passed away at nineteen.

A couple years ago, we adopted Arwen, our “kitten”; her adoption story has already been told here. She settled in nicely with June, and eventually reached a peaceful point with Diane, with the occasional mutual bath. She was already six months old by the time she moved in, and remained our smallest cat, but only by weight; her metabolism is that of a huntress.

Near the end of May, some friends were adopted by a cat with her litter of kittens. Despite cat allergies in the house, they took them in and looked after them until the kittens were old enough to find new homes. Two weeks ago, the potential adopter for Zuko fell through. I had been good up to that point, but really, he needed a home, and who could resist that face? Even the older cats are coming around, though if he really annoys them, they could just sit on him for a while, given the size difference. And like Arwen, he purrs like a motorboat.

Thoughts on The Space Between Worlds

Back in May, I wrote about interdimensional travel in The Long Earth, which was triggered by reading another book about parallel worlds – The Space Between Worlds, by Micaiah Johnson. The basic premise to interdimensional travel in that book is that you can only travel to worlds where the parallel version of you is no longer alive, which results in the recruitment of people living on the edge of society, as they’re less likely to have stayed alive across the various worlds. This review was originally published in the August 1, 2020 issue of Booklist.

Micaiah Johnson makes her debut in science fiction with The Space Between Worlds, exploring parallel universes through Cara’s eyes. Cara is a traverser, a member of an exclusive team that can travel across the multiverse, but only to worlds where she has already died. Cara’s former life was in the wastelands outside Wiley City, where each day was a struggle to survive the runners and the environment; she still visits her family there periodically. In her new life, she travels to similar worlds to retrieve information for her employer, the Eldridge Institute, which they use to mine resources across the multiverse, allowing the environment of the local wastelands some recovery time. When a new world opens up to Cara, her life comes crashing down as the striking similarities between her multiple lives converge. Cara must draw from her experience across the multiverse, and navigate the mess her relationships have become in meeting multiple variations of friends and enemies. As her current and former lives become hopelessly entangled, Cara makes life-altering decisions that affect her and those around her.

Thoughts on Way Station

“An ageless hermit runs a secret way station for alien visitors in the Wisconsin woods”

That’s the opening line of the description on the back of Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak. I’m not sure if I read it before I started the book, I may have just skimmed the back: “never seem to age” and “last surviving veteran of the American Civil War” jump out at me.

I was perhaps a third of the way through the book when I thought to check the publication date. The alien technology used at the way station conflicts with the modern technology of the era, so the protagonist, Enoch Wallace, receives updates about the world through the mail, in the form of newspapers and magazines. That convenient conflict makes the book ageless to a point – it clearly pre-dates mobile phones and portable technology becoming mainstream (because of what other characters have access to), but could easily be any time in the latter half of last century because Enoch isn’t interacting with human technology.

1963, as it turns out. And I find that striking, that Simak wrote the story in such a fluid way that it could have been set anytime within a forty year span. I suppose that partially explains why it won a Hugo award. (According to the Wikipedia page, it is alternately known as Here Gather the Stars.)

It is a delightful book, enjoyable for all ages. Check your local library or bookstore, or borrow my copy, if you want a good read.