My UFO Experience by Craig Zimmerman

When I was eleven years old, I was waiting to catch the school bus when I spotted an unusual flying craft about a half-mile to the north.  Even though it was early, the sun was up and there was no visibility problem. The craft had the classic shape of a "flying saucer" as UFOs were once called and was absolutely not an airplane or any other man-made aircraft that I have ever seen.

The UFO headed west at a relatively slow speed and was soon gone. 

It is fairly easy to speculate about what I saw that day. Was it a secret military aircraft? possibly, but I doubt it.

My own feeling is that the flying craft I saw that day came from another world.

Book Review- " Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse

"Out of the Dust" by Karen Hesse is a grim, powerful story of a family of Oklahoma farmers trying to survive the Dust Bowl years of the Great Depression.

For those who don't know, "The Dust Bowl" was the result of poor farming practices and a severe drought. Terrible dust storms that sometimes went on for days, ravaged farms and towns.

After a fire kills her mother, young Billy Jo tries to make a home for her father and herself. In addition to the scars left by the fire, Billy Jo must cope with the endless dust and the near hopelessness of her father's attempt to raise a crop.

Out of the Dust is at times hard to read because of the unrelenting hardships of the period, but there are some happy moments scattered throughout the novel and the story ends on a hopeful note.

"The Dark Pool"- a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Brian found the pool by accident while hiking deep in the hills. The pool was almost a perfect circle surrounded by smooth rock He liked the spot so much that he decided to have his lunch there.

Brian drank a bottle of orange juice and idly wondered how deep the pool was.After a  time, Brian dozed off. When he awoke he disturbed the orange juice bottle and it rolled into the pool. Moments later, Brian was startled to watch the bottle come flying out of the pool.

As an experiment, Brian tossed the bottle into the pool. Once again, the bottle was discarded by the pool.  Brian could not come up with any explanation for the riddle of the pool, but it occurred to him that it would be a fun  place for a party.


The next weekend, Brian and several of his friends made the long hike pool. After, the party got started, Brian casually tossed a beer bottle into the pond and laughed at the reactions of his friends when the bottle came flying out. Soon everyone was throwing things into the pool. 

At first, the objects were returned immediately, but gradually the effect slowed and trash accumulated in the pool. Bored by the lack of action, the campers drifted away. 

The next morning, a being that the young people had never seen before floated lifeless in the pool, surrounded by the litter from the night before.

Book Review- "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson

"Fever 1793" is an exceptional novel about an actual Yellow Fever epidemic that  occurred in 1793 Philadelphia.

Young Mattie Cook and her family run a Coffeehouse in late  eighteenth century Philadelphia when the epidemic strikes. When Mattie's mother is infected with the disease, Mattie is sent to the countryside with her grandfather.

Eventually Mattie herself becomes infected and she goes through a terrible ordeal trying to survive not only her own illness but also the near breakdown of  authority in the city.

Filled with historical detail and memorable, realistic characters, Fever 1793, transports the reader back to a time that young people today would barely recognize.

"The Long Day" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Michael arose at 11:30 on Wednesday. Now that he no longer had a job, there didn't seem to be much reason to get up early anymore.

A sensor in his bed automatically sent a signal to the house robot so his breakfast was ready and on the table by the time he went downstairs.

The house robot was a remarkable device that took care of all of the household chores. Michael didn't have to lift a finger. After breakfast, Michael thought about what to do with the rest of the day.

Some days  he would go for a walk, but he found it too depressing to see all the others like himself wandering around with nothing to do.

For twenty years, Michael worked as mechanical engineer. Now a machine did his job and the government sent him a "displaced worker" check each month.

He had everything he needed, but he was miserable. A government-appointed therapist suggested that he try one of the virtual reality work simulators.

The simulators could duplicate the sensation of hundreds of different jobs from coal mining to CEO of a multi-national, but it wasn't the same thing as actually having a job.

Not long after he was "retired" Michael tried one of the day labor agencies. The agency sent him on a few jobs, but eventually even those dried up when it became more cost effective to use a machine.

Later in the evening, Michael made a decision and switched off the house robot. The next morning, he awoke at 8:00 AM and made his own breakfast. The eggs were a little burned, but it was still the best breakfast he ever had.

Mr. Boehm

Mr. Boehm was young, which may be why his methods were a little different then the other teachers at Panther Lake Elementary School.

One of the first things that Mr. Boehm did was to replace the 
classroom desks with several large round wooden tables.
Around these tables, students discussed politics, world affairs, history, and many other subjects.

Study and  reading time was often done to the accompaniment of Simon and Garfunkel and Classical music.

On frequent field trips, we visited museums, The Seattle Symphony and Opera House, and the University of Washington campus. While waiting for the bus after a visit to the Pike Place Market, we struck up a conversation with some men who were drinking on the side of the road. I think our parents would have been horrified.

Mr. Boehm loved Shakespeare and when we had a little extra time, we would go to an auditorium and he would perform all the parts of one of The Bard's plays.  

I have only seen Mr. Boehm once since Elementary school, but wherever he is now, I hope that he is doing well.

Book Review- "When Comes the Spring" by Janette Oke

I don't really care for women's romantic fiction, but I am a big fan of writer Janette Oke. Ms. Oke's novels are chaste compared to most women's modern fiction, but she is extremely skillful at portraying the intimacy between a husband and wife even without the graphic descriptions of sex.

In Ms. Oke's novel "When Comes the Spring", young schoolteacher Elizabeth marries Wynn- a Canadian "Mountie" and they move to a  northern Canadian territory.

Most of the residents of the couple's new home are natives and Elizabeth has trouble adjusting to a different language and culture.There are also the inevitable conflicts that arise in a new marriage.

Ms. Oke's faith in God is part of her writing, but she doesn't sugar coat anything. There are hardships and not always easy answers, but there is an assurance that with love and a little faith, things can get better.