Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
The next day was moving from classroom to athletic field as Madame Seignet sat in the faculty lounge, looking at the Paris-Match she had extracted from her box. “Classes going well?” a voice asked. She turned up from her reading to find it was Hancock. “Very,” she replied. He sat down next to her. “And …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 19 January, There Are Many Things That Are Hard to Understand"
Madeleine’s first period class was Political Science, a one semester adventure taught by a young Brown graduate born and raised in Collina named William Bell. About half way through the class, the Headmaster’s secretary crept in, came up the side of the classroom, handed Bell a note, and left as quickly as she came. He …
The Arnolds’ Daimler Majestic Major was the appropriate car for them to arrive at Christ Church on Point Collina for Morning Prayer at 1100. Although not the cathedral church for the Anglican Church of Verecunda, Christ Church was certainly its flagship parish, and being its Rector was a plum appointment. The only two churches on …
The next day Claudia came in excited. “She’s going to Dillman-Arnold the first of February!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe it! Thank you so much.” “Just don’t forget my coffee again,” Pierre reminded her. “Yes, Monsieur,” she replied. She left and returned with the usual service. Pierre gulped down his first cup and went out …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 15 January, A Little Influence Goes a Long Way"
Events played out pretty much as Pierre said they would. The ophthalmologist reported that Carol was capable of sight, although he prescribed corrective lenses for near-sightedness. He gave no explanation for her sudden change, although he heard Claudia’s story, as did just about everyone else she encountered. Less able to come up with a response …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 14 January, The Bureaucrats Are Caught Flat-Footed"
Dinner at the des Cieux was a strange affair that night. Yveline found both her husband and daughter totally uncommunicative from the time they entered the door onward. They passed the food and poured the wine—and little of that—in complete silence. Attempts by Yveline to make conversation met with one dead end after another. Finally …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 12 January (Part II), One Miracle Leads to Another"
The buzz about Terry’s beating Elisabeth Cassidy—balanced to some extent by her loss—resonated through the hallways and cafeteria at Point Collina. The main result of this was additional jealousy by the Fourth Form girls, although Cathy was certainly impressed by Jack’s account of the victory. For her part Madeleine’s mind was still full the images …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 12 January (Part I), Once I Was Blind, Now I Can See"
Carla had no trouble getting up the next morning. Her excitement that her friend had spent the night at her house was compounded by the fact that Madeleine was going to church with her the next day. But this added to Carla’s anxiety in one important respect: what would her friend wear? She had never …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 10 January, the Belle Epoque of Baptist Churches"
Both Joyce’s and Carla’s parents arrived in time to see all of their matches. Because they played Aloxan schools more often, they had a better idea of the possible schedule than the Point Collinans, so Pete Stanley could open up the store and Hank Kerr could get his early farm chores out of the way …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 9 January (Part II), Living Dangerously at the Edge"
It was still dark as the Point Collina tennis teams—or the portions of them which were headed to Beran—gathered at the bus parked near the two locker rooms. Three planets hovered near the horizon in the direction of the government beach, and the Moon was just setting more or less in the direction they were …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks, 9 January (Part I), A Miracle Victory"
Positive Infinity 