One Boy's Visit to the Space Center.

Hello Troops,
It only takes a moment to close your eyes, breath in deeply and drift away into the Imaginarium where creativity is our currency and wonder drives the machinery. And Oh, the sights one sees.....

Several students found our freeway onramp into the Imaginarium this week at the Space Education Center. We filled their empty tanks with the power of dreams and the adventure of make believe.

I'd like to share one story with you about a young man that visited the Center on Tuesday.

Jack stepped up and onto the Voyager's Bridge with wide eyes and open mouth - a typical reaction to the simulator when seen for the first time. I looked at him standing there with his red shirt and Mohawk hair cut thinking he might be a bit of a handful. I made a metal note to keep an eye on him.

"I like your hair cut," I commented. "Very alien."

"Thank you," he replied courteously. I was surprised. He spoke kindly and his thank you was sincere, not deserving of my not so sincere compliment. I led him to his station at the Long Range Station.

He needed extra help during training. I found out later he read at a 2nd grade level, three years behind his age. The difficulty of running his station didn't stop him from giving it his very best. I was impressed.

I told Intolerance that day. The mission was uneventful. This fifth grade class made all the decisions one would expect. They reacted predictably to every dilemma, until I reached the end of the story.

Setting
The Voyager was hiding in the nebula cloud. Her systems were down, very few things were working. The ship had taken a beating from the Pennou's plasma weapon. As the Pennou, I had just destroyed the Montgomery and called to make my final demand from the Voyager's Ambassador.

"Ambassador, the Montgomery attacked me first. I did not come here to fight. I only want my property back. Come out of the nebula and give me back my slave."

"No," the Ambassador replied.

"Ambassador the wormhole is about to close. If it closes I'll be trapped in your universe forever. Come out of the cloud or I will come in!"

Then, breaking the silence of the bridge, came the voice of the boy with the Mohawk hair cut.

"Ambassador, may I talk to the Pennou," he asked. She gave permission. "Pennou, my name is Jack. I want to talk to you."

"Who are you," I asked. I was curious where this was going and sat up in my chair in the Control Room.

"I'm Long Range Officer." He stood with his back perfectly straight and chest out. He was proud of his ship and his job.

"Speak," I said.

"I'll take the Pennae's place so you can be happy and he can be free."

His statement was completely sincere. In his imagination he really was on a ship in deep space. He was the Long Range Officer. He saw his ship was in danger. He saw his Ambassador in distress. He saw the anguish in the face of the escaped Pennae slave.

"Interesting," I responded in my deep and threatening Pennou's voice. "Can you read and write?" I inquired. In the background I saw the boy's teacher nodding her head in the negative. The bridge supervisor smiled.

"Yes, I can read and write," he answered. "Will you take me?"

"I wanted the Ambassador and the slave. That's two people. You are only one person."

"OK, Pennou. I'll go for both of them."

"Both of them. That's hardly fair for me. I want two!"

"Pennou, if you take me I promised to work twice as hard. I'm a hard worker and I can do it."

The control room was silent in surprise. Never before in the fifteen years we've told Intolerance had something like this happened. Here was a boy completely immersed in this universe, willing and ready to give himself up for his shipmate and a total stranger. We were running out of time and the other class was lined up waiting to come in for the 11:45 A.M. I had to move the story along.

"I accept your offer. You will come to my ship and do the work for two," I announced.

"Thank you Pennou," he replied and sat down. I took my walkie talkie and spoke secretly to the captain. "Captain, are you seriously going to let one of your crew members give himself up as a slave while you still have other options?" The captain thought for a moment.

"No one is going to your ship. I won't let them," the captian spoke with authority. Her statement pulled us back into the traditional ending of Intolerance.

At mission's end I complimented the young Long Range Officer for his bravery and self sacrifice. His class applauded. His teacher was impressed. She had learned something about this boy's character, something she hadn't realized before. This boy might struggle with reading and writing, but his character was far the norm for his age.

This is the power of story in our simulators. This is the reason I created the Space Center.
It was an emotional pay day for me.

Do you remember the magic when you were younger and your visits to the Imaginarium were frequent? Your days fill with the trappings of modern society as you age. There is homework and chores and never ending social maintenance that eats up hours of the day. Then, when you find a moment of peace and quiet, you realize something is missing......

Tap your heals three times and come back to Wonderland. Turn away from your audience and step off the Stage of the Here and Now. Come through the curtain and find your own yellow brick road. Your Onramp to the Imaginarium.

The Pillsbury's at 243 Wonderlake Road, Wonderland find enjoyment in taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. These are the kind of people you find for neighbors in the Imaginarium.

A zipper of crayons

This year's seniors at Wonderland High went out in style.

A poster seen at the 4th Street Subway Station near the Imaginarium. The struggle continues in the never ending battle against the forces of darkness and ignorance.

The bakery shop on the first floor of the Imaginarium offers a unique assortment of tasty delights - all blessed with the staff's own blend of creativity.

And what was seen at Wonderland Park? A Wookie playing catch.

Remember, many of the world's greatest thinkers and imagineers suffered greatly in the past just because they looked at the world differently. We must learn to identify them today and cherish the gifts God has given them.

If fonts were dogs.......

In the Imaginarium food storage takes on a different meaning. Imagine attending a church full of people with this unique take on life? Ahhhhhh, refreshing indeed.....

Take a moment to enjoy the simplest things in life.
Tssssssst........ and life becomes more beautiful.
(Diet Dew for me please, with one squirt of cherry)

It's a perfectly good question.

Have a Great Day and I hope to see all of you soon at the Space Center - your onramp onto the Imaginarium's Expressway. It's time to return. Gather your friends and come to camp or book a private mission. Remember, all new 5 hour missions start on June 1st in all five simulators.

Mr. W.

What's Going on at the Space Center?

This picture was leaked by our secret insider at the Space Center. You are looking at proof positive of the rampant disregard for tradition, part of the culture of the Space Center.

Birthdays in the United States are traditionally celebrated with cake and ice cream. If that tradition isn't written in the Constitution then it should have been. It is the American way, along with apple pie, baseball and Chevrolet. Are these American values cherished at the Space Education Center?

Look closely at the picture above. In this picture taken today, you'll see the Space Center staff celebrating the birthdays of Brittney, Nicole and Rachel. Look at the abomination in Mr. Williamson's hand. Is that a cake? You're looking at candles planted firmly in deviled eggs!

Brittney and Nicole seem to be curiously oblivious to the fact the traditional birthday celebration was disregarded like last month's casserole still in the fridge growing a healthy forest of deadly pathogens. Rachel, on the other hand, seems confused. She hasn't worked long enough at the Space Center to have her values compromised.

Below you see the top drawer of Mr. Williamson and Mrs. Clegg's desk. Look how orderly with a place for everything and everything in its place. BUT does such order reign supreme throughout the Space Cente? The truth is revealed when you close that drawer and open the drawer below.


(Thanks Aleta for cleaning out the desk drawers and organizing everything!)


It is common knowledge secret organizations have secret handshakes accompanied by certain body movements. Examples of which are given below in a series of photographs stolen by our secret undercover agent. These photographs were taken during an initiation ceremony where new recruits were being welcomed into this New World Order bent on restoring Imagination's rightful place on Earth.

This is the double clasp, demonstrated by Jon Parker and Todd Rasband.
(Congratulations Todd on your Voyager Pin!)

This is a photograph of the shake and squeeze. This handshake is a signal to the recipient to make contact with their Space Center handler as soon as possible.
(Congratulations Jaydin on your Year Pin!)

A Shake without Squeeze with thumbs up signifying the receiving of a secret order as demonstrated by Mr. Williamson and Mikayla.
(Congratulations Mikayla on your Year Pin!)

The Shake and Shoulder Touch, demonstrated by Bracken and Tanner.
(Congratulations on your Year Pin Tanner!)

The Shake with Vulcan Pinch as demonstrated by Mr. Williamson and James.
(Congratulations James on your Year Pin!)

The Shake with Calm Hypnosis as demonstrated by Mr. Williamson and Jason.
(Congratulations Jason on your Year Pin!)

After the lesson, those who could demonstrate mastery of the handshakes and bodily movements were celebrated by those in attendance.

Padawon Jaydin is being celebrated for passing all his secret handshakes and body movements by his Master, Rachel.
(Congratulations Jaydin on your Galileo Pin!)

These secret Saturday gatherings give the Order's Leadership an opportunity to honor feats of Imaginary Wonder performed by its members the previous month. In the photograph below Jace is being honored with one such gift.

(Congratulations Jace on your Phoenix Pin!)

The Imaginarium's Department of Natural and Pseudoscience Curiosities Under Investigation

Hello Troops,
This is 2011. Many would consider this to be an age of advancement, science, philosophy and logic. Yet once again we are reminded of the fact that sanity and reason seem to be in shockingly short supply on this little blue planet of ours.

People's imaginations went into overdrive in Rome yesterday. The Imaginarium's Department of Natural and Pseudoscience Curiosities failed to control the outbreak, leading to the events described in the article below. Needless to say, their will be an investigation into the matter and those responsible will be disciplined.

Mr. W.

Rome earthquake prophecy claims trigger cataclysmic mood

ROME, May 11 -- Many Italians fled Rome on Wednesday amid fears of a pending earthquake despite reassurances from seismologists and political leaders, according to ANSA news agency.

In 1915 the late Italian self-styled seismologist Raffaele Bendandi predicted that the "the big one" would strike Rome on May 11, 2011. Panic developed recently as rumors spread across social media including Facebook, Twitter.

"Rome is not at risk of any earthquake," Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, has said. "There have never been any strong earthquakes confirmed under the city," he said.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno has also dismissed the rumours saying that Romans would not be listen to speculation that had no foundation. "I believe Romans are too serious to be duped by this kind of rubbish," he said.

Businesses report shows that one in five people had requested a day off work and some parents kept their children home from school and headed out of town for the day.

Many shops in Rome's downtown area were closed late Tuesday and Wednesday as shopkeepers left notices saying they shut their doors due to "illness" or "stocktaking."