A Beautiful New Sign for the Voyager

Hello Troops,
It was just after a quarter past eight Saturday evening when my home phone rang. I glanced to see who was calling. The screen said "School's Public". I reasoned it was Jon Parker and Kyle Jones calling to tell me the new Voyager's backlit sign was successfully installed and working as designed.

"Hello," I answered.
"Vic, we need you to come down and help," Jon said. What Jon didn't know is that I was nearly horizontal in my favorite recliner watching my beautiful 65 inch DLP television (watching is a wishful term for what I was actually doing. Passing between the conscious and subconscious states was more like it. It's what I do on a Saturday night. I know, you might as well open a grave and drop me in, but remember I usually get about four hours of sleep on a Friday night at the Space Center so I have a pass on spending my Saturday nights inebriated with a frothy draft of drowsiness).

"I'll be right down," I replied. I knew they wouldn't be able to install my new sign without my expertise. I made it to the Battlestar without shoes. I was too lazy to put on a pair. I only live three minutes from the Space Center by car so why bother.

When I arrived I saw Jon and Kyle wrestling with my new sign.

"Stand back boys and let a professional at it!" I pushed my chest out, flexed what muscles I had control of on a Saturday night, cracked my knuckles and walked over to the metal stairs leading up to the Voyager's Decontamination Hallway.
"What do you need me to do?"

"Hold the frame up while we screw it into the studs," Kyle said.

Well, at least it wasn't anything too taxing. I held the sign overhead while Jon and Kyle worked magic with the electric screwdriver. Five minutes later my job was done.

Now, skip ahead to this morning.

I got to the Center at 8:00 A.M., walked to the Voyager and switched on the lights.
I went through the turning door and stepped into Decontamination.


I walked to the end of the hallway and turned to see the new sign in all its glory. I was not disappointed. There it was - a masterpiece to my creativity and willingness to approve the expenditure, Emily's graphic design and Kyle and Jon's construction.

The new sign as seen from the bottom of the stairs looking up to Decon.

The Voyager is a fine lady with a new frock for all to enjoy.

Thanks Kyle and Jon for the extra hours on Saturday to get the job done.

Mr. Williamson

News from the Central Work House for Incorrigible Youth

News from the State Central Work House
Department of Incorrigible Youth

Pleasant Grove

Warden Williamson of the State Central Work House for Incorrigible Youth authorized the awarding of medals last week and today to our incorrigible youth who've gone above and beyond their assigned tasks at the Work House.

The Central Work House on a Summer's Day
in Beautiful Pleasant Grove

Case File: A427
Bed Number 4. General population. Galileo Ward.
Name: James
Sentence: undetermined
Social Worker: Stacy

James was awarded the Galileo Ward's medal for achievement. While unsure of his cognitive grasp of the situation, Caseworker Stacy approved the awarding of the medal.
"James has been cooperative. Something we saw little of during his first few years at the Home," she explained. "In fact, his behavior has improved to the point where we feel it appropriate to let him use a fork again."

Case File: A428
Bed Number 7. General population. Galileo Ward.
Name: Nolan
Sentence: two years
Social Worker: Stacy

Nolan was approved for the Galileo Ward's Achievement Pin.
"We all remember the explosion in the greenhouse last year," Stacy wrote in her recommendation. "Nolan has since shown signs of remorse and we feel this improvement should be rewarded. He will be given the pin and allowed access to hand soap only. The greenhouse will still be off limits along with any access to fertilizer."

Case File: A448
Bed Number 17. Special population. Odyssey Ward.
Name: Nabil
Sentence: undetermined
Social Worker: Christine

"Nabil did very well on his supervised day out last week," Christine explained in her written essay on why Nabil should receive the Odyssey Ward's Achievement medal."We stayed away from crowds. I knew he wasn't ready for them. Crowds, purses and wallets are too much for a young man with Nabil's talents."

Case File: B221
Bed Number 12. Gifted population. Odyssey Ward.
Name: McKay
Sentence: Waiting on recommendations from the Dept. of Homeland Security
Social Worker: Christine

McKay was excited to receive the Odyssey Achievement Pin during last week's assembly held before the ward's evening television time.
"The ward's computer crashed two weeks ago. McKay was given access to the computer under proper supervision. McKay repaired the problem without attempting to access the internet. This deserves recognition."

McKay was brought to the Work House under a Federal judge's order. The near collapse of the nation's air traffic control system, while a remarkable achievement for one so young, means that McKay may be with us for quite some time.

Case File: B221
Bed Number 11. Special population. Odyssey Ward.
Name: Jordan
Sentence: Soon to be released

Social Worker: Christine

Jordan is soon to be released from the work house. His social worker thought the Odyssey Achievement Pin would be the icing on his rehabilitation cake.
"We believe Jordan will do fine in the general population providing he's learned his lesson about involving people in questionable investment practices."

Case File: C238
Bed Number 9. Special population. Phoenix Ward.
Name: Miranda
Sentence: Miranda's file is marked Top Secret by the CIA.
Social Worker: Dave

While far from trustworthy in the general population, Miranda is improving and has been released from solitary confinement. Having been in total darkness for so long, Miranda found the light in the ward too bright for her eyes. The young resident in the photograph below noticed she had put her shirt on backwards.


Miranda doesn't take criticism well and flew into a rage.


The boy is expected to be released from the Work House's hospital in two to three weeks.

Friday Night at the Space Center

"Goodnight Jon," the boys sleeping in the Bridge Sick Bay just sang out in a somewhat mocking tone. Jon is making his rounds reviewing the Space Center's safety procedures.
"Goodnight Jon!"
"Goodnight Zac!"
Two more rounds of the goodnight chorus rang out from the Bridge Sick Bay - surprisingly in unison.

Tonight we are hosting students from Barratt Elementary located in American Fork. Thirty nine are settling down for a long winter's night. Joining them are over twenty of our valiant and stalwart staff, sleeping in the Magellan, Odyssey and on the stage.

One boy just called to go home. The thought of staying here overnight was more than he wanted to handle, having just survived several hours in a simulator defending universal liberty and justice. He will return in the morning refreshed and ready to take on the forces of galactic evil.

The loft sleeping compartment is creaking. The wooden platform holding the mattresses creaks every time on of the boys changes position. It's just loud enough to wake me up in the middle of the night.

The rooftop heating unit just switched off. It does that at midnight every Friday night. It switches back on at 12:10 A.M. It is eerily quiet without that monstrous fan blowing continuously. It becomes the background noise you grow accustom too - never stopping to notice unless it switches off.

One of the Barratt boys stood in the school's hallway just before I assigned the boys their sleeping areas an hour ago. He held up both hands to cover his eyes.


"I'm a weeping angel," he said to a friend sitting in the lobby.

"You're a Doctor Who fan," I chimed in. He nodded. Speaking would take him out of character. He crept forward every time his friend took his eyes off him. Then he lashed out for the kill. His friend jumped up and took off down the hall. Jon and I watched, marveling that this ten year old had the patience to sit through an entire episode of Dr. Who.

I just remembered I forgot to ask the boys if they walk in their sleep. I put sleep walkers on the bottom bed of our three level bunk beds. Oh well, I'll find out soon enough when I'm woken in the middle of the night by the crash and scream of one of them falling from a top bunk to the hard floor beneath or find them shuffling through the office, moving things on my desk or rummaging through the bookshelf.

The worst case of sleepwalking at the Space Center occurred several years ago. One winter's night I heard the Voyager's outside door open. The cold rushed into the office. I jumped up and ran to the emergency exit. Outside stood one of the boys, standing in the snow in his underwear - no socks or shoes and looking quite bewildered. I knew it wasn't an escape attempt by the look on his face. I turned him around and escorted him back into the school and back up to the sleeping quarters. He recognized his sleeping bag and jumped right in - asleep instantly. He remembered nothing of it in the morning.

It's nearly 12:30 A.M. I'm falling asleep at the computer. Time to go to bed.

"Goodnight," we all say in unison.

Mr. W.