Richard V. Rupp

March 3, 2021

Hello All - I got off to a late start today in getting this post off. That's because this morning, I got my first Maderna Covid-19 vaccine shot. A 9:15 AM appointment, set up by my health care provider at a nearby clinic. No waiting in line. It takes a load off my mind. I'm sure this would be true for all of you.

 

In returning home, I read today's L.A. Times and noted my Horoscope – "You treat all constraints as creative challenges. You come from a place of trying to make things work. Your attitude is beautiful." I like to think this is what I do and that my attitude is good, not sure about beautiful.

 

I have always believed you die one way or another when you stop learning. Also, that education leads to a better, more inclusive society. The more you know about yourself, the world around you, and, more importantly, others, the better things will be. Here are three quotes I like about education –

 

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela 

 

"The learning process continues until the day you die." – Kirk Douglas 

 

"Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." ― Aristotle

 

The need for education to a degree is what my upcoming novel SKYWARD is about.

 

In SKYWARD, the Bowman Twins received an education beyond this world. Yes, it begins with homeschooling. It gives them the foundation to dream big dreams. After all, isn't that what education should do? It gives them the ability to plan to colonize Mars. Their education tells them things are not right on Earth and provides the knowledge on how to get to the Moon and beyond. Once on the Moon, they set up a spaceport that uses a sling-shot concept to send spacecraft to Mars. The idea works great on the Moon because of less gravity, allowing for bigger payloads on the spacecraft.

 

Here's some of what I wrote yesterday for SKYWARD.

. . .

 

The day's homeschooling was winding down. The prior evening, Daniela had developed a concept that she believed would improve the boy's creative writing skills and increase their vocabulary.

 

"All right, your homework assignment for tonight is a word game. It's called 'it starts with.' I want each of you to write a story about eating. The story must include as many words as you can think of or find that begins with the letter' P.'" The one who correctly uses the most 'P' words is the winner. Do you understand what I'm looking for?"

 

Norman asked, "Can we use the same word more than once?"

 

"Good question. Yes, you can use it more than once, but if you do, it only counts once."

 

"How long should the story be," asked Gavin?

 

"As long as you want. Don't forget it's a competition between each of you."

 

"When are we to turn them in," asked Elon?

 

"They will be due this Friday."

 

Over the weekend, Daniela looked at the five papers in front of her. She was pleased with what she saw. She carefully evaluated and graded each of the papers. It was apparent that the digital world with spell check and Grammarly had changed the concept of writing. Her assignments at least forced the boys to avoid texting-style writing. The papers had capital letters, spelled out words, and full sentences.

 

Monday's homeschool started with Daniela passing out the corrected papers. I've reviewed your 'it starts with P eating stories,' and I'm proud of all of you. They actually were a fun read for me. The winner was Jeff, who had ninety-one P words that counted. I want Jeff to read his paper, but I need to ask Gavin and Elon questions before doing that. Gavin, where did you come up with the word pagophagia?"

 

"Do I really have to say?"

 

"Yes, you really have to say."

 

"Google Mame. I Googled unique words that start with P and found one that seemed to apply to our subject matter."

 

"Nice idea. I love this digital world of ours. But, do you know what the word actually means? Or did you just cut and paste?

 

"I do know what it means." Gavin thought for a moment. "The reason is probably that it is such an unusual thing. It's a medical term for someone who frequently chews ice or consumes a lot of iced drinks. They believe this behavior is caused by iron-deficiency anemia."

 

"Well, you certainly increased my vocabulary," responded Daniela.

 

"You all used the word palate. Elon, I'm going to pick on you. That word has several meanings. Did you pick up on that?"

 

"I did. It can mean the roof of the mouth, which wouldn't work in my story. Then there is a meaning related to a person who has a broad knowledge of things. Again that won't work, but it also means a sense of taste. That's the meaning I used in my paper."

 

"Very good. "Now, Jeff, please read your paper.

 

Jeff replaced Daniela at the lectern and, with a big smile on his face, began reading. "My plump belly is due to my particular passion for eating. Principally, my palate loves a diet that consists of junk foods such as potato chips, peanuts and pretzels, popcorn, and pastries such as powdered sugar donuts. It's pointless for me to try and change. That's because when we go on a picnic, my parents, particularly my papa, downs pilsner beer and my mom prosecco while munching on pepperoni and pineapple topped pizza, pickled eggs, pate, and pulled pork sandwiches. Then there is the perfectly prepared prime rib at dinner in the parlor, with peas and parsnips, followed by pumpkin pie or pound cake. . ."

 

Applause and hooting filled the library when Jeff finished reading. Daniela reviewed several other words used in the papers with the boys.

 

"I think this worked well," said Daniela. "So, every week, I'm going to give you an 'it starts with' assignment. Tomorrow, I'm going to introduce you to Martin Lusk. He will teach you all about computers and how to write computer code. He will be here once a week. Actually, he will be teaching you and me how to write computer code. I talked with him yesterday, and to make it fun, he has agreed to help us develop our own computer game."

. . .

 

Until Saturday.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard V. Rupp, Author

Website – www.richardvrupp.com Email – rupprisk@gmail.com