To the amazement of her teachers, Ashley had completed all of her pre-holiday assignments by December 7th, which was her last day of school as she had to leave Rapid City the next day. On her last day, her home-room teacher commented that she hadn’t seen Ashley so happy and energetic since her return from Sioux Falls as the State Gymnastics Champion. The twelve-year-old only grinned.
Early on the 8th, Ashley had her small pack and her heavy winter coat all ready to go. At her father’s advice, she was traveling light and would not need to check any baggage. He explained to her that having your luggage go a thousand miles in the wrong direction because it got in the wrong pile at the station was the quickest way to ruin the fun of a trip. She understood.
Ashley was glad her bus was not following the Interstate highways.
Instead it worked its way down U.S. Highway 85 along the eastern border of Wyoming, passing through miles and miles of snow-covered fields and hills.
It went through little towns with names like Hat Creek, before crossing the North Platte River and finally arriving, toward evening, in Cheyenne.
Not long ago that bus trip would have been a major dream-come-true for Ashley. Even though her eyes had been wide open the entire way, it was now part of a larger journey, and the knowledge that more was to come forced her to hold back some of her excitement.
When the transfer van pulled up to the Cheyenne train station, the long, sleek train was already at the platform, gleaming in the station lights. Ashley
couldn’t take her eyes from it as she stepped off the van and made her way, along with the other people, into the station.
“This is a night train, young lady. You have to be twelve years old to ride unaccompanied,” the man behind the counter said as she presented her ticket.
“I
am twelve,” she said, and dug out her I.D. card.
“Yes you are. My mistake. Here’s your boarding pass.”
She was glad her father had advised her to travel light. She saw people lugging suitcases around while trying to figure out tickets, schedules, and boarding passes, all the while trying to say good-bye to family and friends, and it didn’t look like much fun. After going the wrong way along the platform at first, she finally found her coach, and the conductor directed her to her reserved seat, which she was happy to discover was by the window.
She found that her little pack fit nicely on the floor at her feet, and she realized that her big coat would make a wonderful blanket at night. As she tried out the seat that was going to be hers alone for the next full day, she found it was soft and comfortable, and big enough that she could curl up in it to sleep.
Ashley let out a sigh of happiness just as a group of three adults were taking their seats behind her, and realizing that their third seat was the aisle seat beside Ashley. They spent five minutes discussing which of them would sit together and which beside the little girl, and only made their final decision as the train started to move.
“Hi, I’m Ashley,” she said to the man who sat down self-consciously beside her.
“Uh... I’m John, John Phillips. Aren’t you too young to travel alone?”
“No,” she said, and genuinely didn’t mind his question, because she knew she was much shorter than most twelve-year-olds, but neither did she feel any need to dig out her I.D. card again.
Ashley came to the conclusion that John Phillips didn’t want to talk to her any more than necessary, as he quickly busied himself with his carry-on luggage, so she settled into her seat to enjoy the feel of the train. It had vibrations that came from machines somewhere in that coach; she had felt them even at the station. There was the occasional clicking sound that came from the train’s wheels. A very slight swaying motion that changed depending
on whether the train was on a straight stretch of track, or going around a curve, made itself known through Ashley’s acute sense of balance. She liked all the sounds and vibrations she felt, and thought it would be easy to fall asleep, just as it had always been easy for her to sleep in a moving car.
But as much as Ashley was enjoying herself, she had some regret that part of the trip would be at night and she wouldn’t be able to see much. She watched the lights of Cheyenne, Wyoming disappear behind them as the train made its way westward and evening deepened into night.
It wasn’t long before the conductor came by and gave pamphlets that told about the train to all of the people who had just boarded. Ashley read hers, and decided that a snack in the Lounge Car would be fun. She pulled her little purse out of her pack, slipped by John Phillips, who was reading a magazine, and headed up the aisle.
The sensation of walking on a floor that was itself moving forward at sixty or seventy miles per hour was exciting, and Ashley was at first grinning like a clown, but she soon got used to it. She had to pass through three other coaches before she came to the Lounge Car, and found that it had a snack counter on the top level for everyone, and a bar on the bottom level for adults.
She hopped onto a free stool at the counter.
“Hi, kid,” the blond lady behind the counter said. “Where you headed on this cold December night?”
Ashley decided right away she liked this lady. “Portland, Oregon.”
“Visiting
family?”
“Naa. Going to a place where I can get elite gymnastics training. Small root beer float, please.”
“Sure. Elite, huh? Cool! Is that like the Olympics and stuff?”
Ashley noticed out of the corner of her eye that the older lady drinking coffee three stools down was getting very interested. “Maybe I’ll get to go to the Olympics someday. Right now I can compete in the National Championships, ‘cause I got the gold medal in South Dakota... if I’m ready, that is.”
“Way cool!” the serving lady said as she scooped out the ice cream for the root beer float. “I love watching that stuff on T.V. I have a seven-year-old niece who’s taking lessons.”
“Ashley Riddle!” the lady drinking coffee said suddenly. “I knew I had seen you somewhere. I was at the South Dakota State Championships last year when you got that gold medal!” She moved over next to the youth. “I’ll pick up the cost of her float,” she said to the lady behind the counter.
Ashley was grinning from ear to ear by this time. Everyone in Rapid City had ceased congratulating her on her championship long ago because they saw her all the time. “Thanks!” was all she could think to say.
“You know, there are gyms, mostly in the East and Midwest, where you can live and train at the same time...” the lady beside her said.
“Yeah, I know. I tried writing to them. My parents can’t afford them. I found a place in Oregon where I can train in exchange for doing chores and stuff... if they accept me.” The root beer float appeared in front of Ashley, and the lady behind the counter went to help some people who had just sat down.
“Well, that’s very good to hear. Are you keeping in shape while you look for a gym?”
“Yeah. I didn’t for awhile, but then I got back into it. Some of my level seven skills had slipped, but I got them back.”
“I remember your routines in Sioux Falls. Very smooth and light. I knew you were elite material when I saw your floor exercise. Your vault was okay, but your beam and bars really shined!”
“I got a ten on the beam, ‘cause they had already given a 9.9 to someone else.”
“Yes, I remember! The girl who got the silver. And then you got a 9.9 on the bars, and I could have sworn you were six feet tall during that routine!”
Ashley smiled, remembering her efforts to stretch herself out to the maximum.
Just then, a man of about the same age as the older lady came in and stood beside her.
“Hello, Jack. This is Ashley Riddle, Gymnastics Champion of South Dakota.”
“Hello, young lady,” he said with a smile.
“May we treat you to breakfast in the Dining Car, Ashley?” the lady asked, getting up from her stool.
“Um... wow... I guess so!”
“It would be our pleasure. Meet us at six o’clock? It’s a lot less crowded then.”
“Okay! I get up early, too.”
“Well, good night, Ashley. I’m really glad I got to meet you.” She and her companion headed for the stairs to the bar.
“Hey!” Ashley called after her. “What’s your name?”
“Kimberly. Nineteen ninety-one.”
“Champion?” Ashley asked, her eyes big with amazement as she voiced the only reason she could guess that the lady had added a year to her name.
The lady nodded.
“What
state?”
She shook her head. “World,” she whispered with a coy smile, and then disappeared down the stairs.
Ashley finished her float thoughtfully. She had just met a world champion gymnast. Kim... Kim... the last name almost came to her.
More people were coming in, and the lady behind the counter was busy.
Ashley got up and wandered around the upper level of the Lounge Car, played a couple of video games, and peeked at the magazines and newspapers that were available, but soon found herself yawning, and noticed that it was almost eleven o’clock. She made her way back to her car, brushed her teeth, and was soon asleep, curled up under her big warm coat.
Ashley woke several times during the night. The first time, the world outside her window was completely dark, and John Phillips had leaned his seat back and was fast asleep. But she could tell what had awakened her: there was a new sound, a deep, powerful, throbbing rumble, and Ashley guessed that the locomotives were starting to pull the train over the highest part of the Rocky Mountains. In her groggy state, she thought about the huge steam locomotives that pulled trains in the early days of the railroad, one of which was on display in her favorite park in Rapid City, never again to belch smoke or hiss steam. Then, to the sounds of the modern locomotive somewhere ahead of her in the darkness, she drifted back to sleep.
The next time she woke, the train was stopping at a medium-size town somewhere in Wyoming. Ashley could see a handful of people on the
platform getting on the train, and two or three getting off. John Phillips was not in his seat, but he returned a moment later, and when he sleepily glanced at Ashley, she smiled back, and then curled up again.
The third time she woke, she could see a few scattered lights outside the train — some in houses, some attached to barns or grain storage bins, even a vehicle or two on a back road. Feeling that morning was close, she dug her watch out of her purse — 5:15. Close enough to the agreed upon breakfast time that she didn’t want to go back to sleep. John Phillips looked like he had finally gotten comfortable and was completely still. She read the part of the pamphlet again that told about the Dining Car, and realized that breakfast was not at all cheap on a train. She could pay for her own, as her parents had given her a fair amount of spending money, saying that since they didn’t have to pay the Rapid City gym anymore, they had more money than they knew what to do with. But she also felt proud that she was going to be the guest of a world champion gymnast. She put away the pamphlet, shouldered her purse, and carefully stepped over John Phillips.
Ten minutes later she had refreshed and groomed herself, and was making her way toward the rear of the train. When she stepped into the Dining Car, she was surprised that so many people were already up — about a third of the tables were already taken.
“Just one?” the smiling hostess said, coming up to Ashley.
“No, there are three of us, but the others aren’t here yet. I guess I’m a little early.”
“Do you want to go ahead and get a table? They’ll fill up quickly with people who are getting off in Pocatello or Boise.”
“Yeah, I guess I should...”
The hostess seated her, and when an impatient waiter stopped at her table a moment latter with pad and pen poised, she quickly ordered a bowl of cereal. He gave her a strange look, then rushed off to take another order.
At about 6:05, Kimberly and Jack showed up. As soon as they sat down with Ashley, the same waiter was back, and another, and they quickly transformed the table into a masterpiece of fine dining with flowers, fancy silverware, cloth napkins, and other accessories. The waiter with the pad and
pen, in an apologetic voice, said, “There was a slight misunderstanding — the young lady has already ordered a bowl of cereal, but she has not yet seen the deluxe menu.”
Kimberly smiled. “Take a look at the menu, Ashley. Get anything you want. I know how much work it takes to become even a State Champion, and it’s the least I can do to honor you.”
“Um... gosh... is bacon and eggs here somewhere?”
The waiter pointed out the lowest cost item on the deluxe menu.
“Scrambled, please. And may I have some orange juice?”
The waiter wrote it all down, Kimberly and Jack ordered, and with kind words and a slight bow, he was gone, directly to the kitchen this time.
Kimberly snickered. “You caught them off guard, Ashley!”
“Do you get all this for being a world champion?” Ashley asked.
“No, Honey. You get all this for paying for it, no matter how you made the money. My championship was a long time ago, Ashley. Only another gymnast has any reason to remember it.”
Cups of coffee and Ashley’s orange juice arrived, complete with a lime twist, a maraschino cherry, and two straws.
“I figured out who you are. I’m going to learn the somersault named after you as soon as I find a gym.”
“I’m honored, Ashley. I certainly can’t do it anymore! It’s a standard level nine skill these days. Someday, there may be moves named after you, and then you can sit back and watch ten-year-olds learn them!”
Both females giggled simultaneously. Fruit compotes were placed in front of each of them.
“So, Ashley Riddle, what wisdom can I pass on to someone who has chosen to follow the same path I once did?” Kim asked.
During breakfast, the sky behind the train slowly took on its blush of morning color, and Ashley asked every question about elite gymnastics that came to her mind. Houses became more numerous as she worked her way through the massive portions of scrambled eggs and bacon that filled her plate, and then as she nibbled at a fancy custard-like dessert, Kim shared memories of the many world-class gymnastics meets she had attended.
When they finished breakfast, Ashley felt as full as after a Thanksgiving
feast. The train was entering the outskirts of a city and was beginning to slow.
“Pocatello, Idaho,” a voice came over the speakers. “The train will be in the station for ten minutes.”
“We’re getting off here to visit my oldest son,” Kim said.
In a less than happy voice, Ashley said, “Gosh... I’m sure glad I got to meet you.”
“Will you write to us when you find a gym?” the older lady asked.
“Sure!”
Jack handed Ashley a card with their address on it as they all stood up from the table . Jack and Kimberly Collins, Attorneys-at-Law, Omaha, Nebraska. “Thanks,” Ashley said. “For breakfast, and the root beer float, and everything!”
The two lady gymnasts spontaneously hugged each other for a moment, and then Ashley shook Jack’s hand.
Kim and Jack headed for their bedroom to get ready, and Ashley reluctantly wandered back toward her seat. When she arrived, John Phillips wasn’t there, and Ashley figured he was at breakfast.
A cold but sunny day was dawning as the train came to a stop at the Pocatello platform. Ashley didn’t feel like exploring the train station — her heart was still with the new friends she had made, who were even then crossing the platform and disappearing from her sight.
Ten minutes later Ashley watched the houses and streets of Pocatello fade into the potato fields of the Snake River Valley as the train accelerated steadily for its high-speed dash to Boise. From the pamphlet, she knew that this was the only part of her journey during which the train could achieve its top speed of one hundred and fifty miles per hour. In little more than an hour, it pulled into the big station in the capital city, and many people, including John Phillips and the couple in the seats across the aisle, got off.
Ashley wandered around the station for as long as she could, still in a thoughtful mood, and as soon as the train resumed its course, she went to the Lounge Car. The man behind the snack counter was not nearly as friendly as the lady the night before, and there was no world champion gymnast to talk to. She made the rounds of video games and magazines, watched the last few
miles of Idaho and the first few miles of Oregon roll by, and then headed back to her seat.
Ashley stood, eyes wide and mouth agape. All the zippers of her pack were open, and half her clothes were on the floor. She suddenly felt terrible, but didn’t know what to do. She looked around. About halfway through the car the conductor was talking to an old lady. She practically ran up to him.
In a voice close to tears, she interrupted them. “Sir, someone just tore open my pack.”
“What?... just a moment, ma’am... what happened, little one?” the black man asked, bending down to Ashley’s level.
“I went to the lounge for awhile, and someone tore open my pack.”
“Show
me,
honey.”
He followed her to the scene.
“Well... I hope you didn’t have any valuables in there...?”
“No,” Ashley said, sitting down and trying to hold back the tears.
“Take a look and see if anything’s missing.” After glancing around, he continued, “It doesn’t look like anyone would have seen who did it.”
“Nothing’s missing,” she said, but that didn’t make her feel any better, and as she picked up her clothes, leotards, and other things and piled them on her lap, she started sobbing softly.
The conductor sat down in the seat beside her. “There, there, Honey.
Nothing like this has ever happened to you before, has it?”
Ashley shook her head.
“In every train full of people, there’s a bad apple of some kind. I know,
‘cause I get to watch out for ‘em. Sometimes it’s a drunk, or sometimes a loud mouth, you know, someone who wants to talk all the time, even at three in the morning. And sometimes... like you just experienced... it’s a thief. Now you know, you can do two different things at a time like this.”
“I can?” Ashley said, getting curious and wiping at her tears.
“Yes, you can. If you’re like some people, you can get all mad and bitter, and go buy a lock and key, or carry everything you own around with you all the time. And if you do that, you know who won?”
“Who?”
“The thief won, ‘cause now you’re playing his game. He knows how to pick
your lock, and he knows how to pick your pocket. But you know what else you can do?”
“What?”
“You can say to yourself, ‘Self, you got off lucky!’”
Ashley
chuckled.
“You can say to yourself, ‘The thief came, and didn’t find a thing he wanted. Sure, I’ve got to refold my clothes, but I bet he won’t be in my pack again. Total waste of a good thief’s time, it was.’”
Ashley chuckled again.
“AND,” the black man went on, “you’ve learned something about traveling, now haven’t you?”
“Yep!”
“And Bob here is going to be keeping a sharp eye out for someone who likes to go through people’s carry-on stuff, you can be sure. So which kind are you, the kind to run out and buy a lock and key, or the kind to step back and see the bigger picture?”
“The second kind,” Ashley said with a smile. “You sure are smart.”
“That’s a sport. Now you have some work to do too.”
“I
do?”
“Fold your clothes, and then help me keep that sharp eye out. The next poor kid may not be smart enough to take their valuables with them.”
“Okay. Thanks, Bob.”
“See ya, kid. I’ll go finish with the lady down the hall, and then write up my report on this. What’s your name?”
“Ashley
Riddle.”
“You take care, Ashley.”
Ashley spent the next hour carefully folding all her clothes and putting them back in her pack just like she had them. She thought she had had more hair bands than she found, but almost laughed out loud at herself when she considered, just for a second, telling Bob that one or two hair bands might be missing. She glanced at each person who walked by, but none of them looked like a thief. She remembered John Phillips, and realized that even though he wasn’t very talkative, he never touched her stuff.
She and Bob the conductor were on a first name basis from that point on, and every time she passed him, she would say, “Hi, Bob! All’s well!” And he would respond saying, “No news is good news, Ashley!”
The Dining Car served lunch, but as Ashley still felt full from breakfast, she instead took as long a walk as she could near the station when the train stopped in Pendleton, Oregon. She had disciplined herself for years to eat lightly, and she didn’t want to get out of that habit, especially not twice in one day. As the train began to follow the Columbia River westward toward Portland, she had a cup of yogurt in the Lounge, and promised herself a light but yummy dinner.
The scenery was more interesting to Ashley now. Wyoming and Idaho had been about the same as South Dakota, and she had been unable to see the Rocky Mountains because she had crossed them at night. But the Blue Mountains she had just left behind, and now the Columbia River were new and different. She spent much of the afternoon gazing at the huge river that occasionally slowed and spread out behind dams, and grinned with delight when the westering sun set it afire with dancing orange light.
The twilight was fading when the fir trees of the Pacific Northwest began to cover the hills and mountains that bordered the great river, and high cliffs rose up along both banks. Ashley waited until the main dinner crowd had left the Dining Car before she sat down and selected broiled teriyaki chicken. As she savored the tasty meal, she thought back over all the places she had been in just the last two days. She remembered the ticket man in Cheyenne, and the lady at the snack counter. She knew she would never forget Kim and Jack, or Bob the conductor. Even John Phillips would be remembered.
The train stopped in Hood River, Oregon at about seven o’clock, but because of delays waiting for other trains (freight trains filled with perishable food that were running late, Bob explained), the passenger train didn’t get into Portland until 8:30.
Ashley buttoned her coat, shouldered her pack, said good-bye to Bob, and with some regret, stepped off the train. A light rain was falling. Looking back from the station doors at the huge, sleek machine gleaming under the bright platform lights, she knew she’d never forget her first train ride.
The station was busy with people going every which way, but she soon noticed a gray-haired lady, about fifty years old, standing off to one side with a sign in her hand. It had Lyceum’s symbol in one corner, which she easily recognized, and bold letters that said ASHLEY R.
Chapter 14: A Foot in the Door
“Hi! I’m Ashley,” she said to the lady holding the sign with her name on it.
“Hello, Ashley,” the lady said, tucking the sign under her arm and extending her hand. “I’m Sister Heather.”
“The same Sister Heather that I’ve been writing to?” Ashley asked, taking her hand and feeling more than a little in awe.
“The same. How was your trip?”
“Fantastic! I’d never been on a train before.”
“Do you have baggage to get?”
“Nope. This is all I brought. Where’s Lyceum from here?”
“About forty miles south. Shall we go?”
Sister Heather led the way to a small car in the parking lot. Ashley noticed a small Lyceum symbol on the door.
“I hope you don’t mind the rain,” the older lady said.
“Naa,” Ashley said, putting her pack on the back seat and then belting herself in the front. “It’s a lot warmer here than where I’ve been.”
As soon as Sister Heather had secured her own belt, she pressed several buttons on the console. “KFM-937 to base.”
Ashley watched and listened with interest.
“Base. Go ahead 937,” said an unseen male voice with an oriental accent.
“This is Heather. I’m leaving the train station with my passenger.
Anything on the board I should do?”
“Greetings, Heather. This is Li. I will check.”
While the radio was silent, Sister Heather asked Ashley, “Have you ever seen downtown Portland before?”
“Nope. I’d never been outside South Dakota, except to go to Devil’s Tower.”
“I’ll go right up Broadway so you can see some of the sights. There are prettier streets, but they’re for pedestrians only.”
The voice returned to the radio. “Heather, Brother Phil acquired some additional hours at the pizza restaurant where he works. He gets off at nine o’clock. Can you pick him up?”
“The one in Tigard, right?”
“Yes. And Mary needs twenty pounds of cream cheese for something tomorrow.”
“We can handle both of those.”
“Thank you. Base clear.”
“KFM-937 clear,” the older lady said.
“So you guys have radios, huh? I thought a big bus or something would pick me up.”
Sister Heather turned on the running lights and steered the electric car onto the street. “In this car I’ve got radio and telephone. Some of our vehicles have SatLink too. We have big buses, medium size buses, and vans, but since you were the only person I was meeting on this train, I thought a car would be enough. I’ve never seen a fat gymnast before!” she said, cracking a smile at the adolescent beside her.
Ashley giggled. “There’s no such thing. There’s always a fat girl or two who tries to take lessons, but they don’t last long.”
With the ice broken, Ashley told Sister Heather all about her train journey as she looked at the buildings and streets of downtown Portland. By the time she had told about her experiences with Kim the world champion, and Bob the conductor, they were on an expressway heading south. When she finished listing the many towns, rivers, and mountains she had seen along the way, they had left the expressway and were entering the parking lot of a pizza restaurant.
The clock on the instrument panel said 9:05, and a few moments later a man of about twenty-five opened a rear door and slid in, his coat damp from
the misty rain. “Ashley, this is Brother Phil,” Heather said.
They shook hands over the seats, and as Heather drove, Phil told stories of the comic things that had happened that day at work, everything from a pizza that had landed on the kitchen floor face down, to a little old lady who had drunk too much beer and then started playing video games at the top of her lungs. Ashley laughed at almost everything he said.
They stopped at a grocery store, and Phil’s narrative continued inside as Heather stacked up the cream cheese and Ashley selected a package of hair bands.
As their journey south along the Interstate highway continued, Brother Phil became quiet and started to yawn. Sister Heather told about some funny experiences she had had recently while serving a banquet to some conference guests at Lyceum. About twenty minutes later they turned off the highway onto a two-lane road.
Everyone was quiet after that. Ashley glanced back at Brother Phil, and he looked ready to fall asleep. She glanced at Sister Heather, and she appeared to be lost in thought about something. The road started to wind into a hilly region and lights shown from farm houses and barns. Suddenly Ashley herself yawned, and realized how long and exciting a day it had been.
A quarter of an hour later, when they had seemingly left all farms and houses behind, they suddenly came to the entrance to Lyceum. Ashley sat up as tall as she could in order to see everything. Sister Heather guided the little car into the entrance road and followed lighted roadways until she came to a parking lot where dozens of vehicles of all sizes were arrayed side by side under a protective roof built of sturdy yellow logs.
As soon as the car was parked, Brother Phil grabbed the cream cheese, and Sister Heather went around to the front of the car to plug in a heavy power cable. Ashley got her pack from the back seat and stepped out from under the carport. The falling mist tickled her face. She turned and gazed at the modern two-level building at the end of the parking area, framed by deep green fir trees and glowing with warm lights that sparkled through large glass windows. When Sister Heather stepped beside her, Ashley said, “It’s beautiful! Is the gym in there?”
“No,” Sister Heather said with a slight chuckle in her voice as they walked
toward the building. “That’s just the Residential Lobby. Many years ago it was the first residence hall, but now it’s where all the walkways from all the newer halls come together.”
“Do you live in one of them?” Ashley asked as they stepped through the large double doors into the spacious building and saw racks full of raincoats, shelves stuffed with different kinds of boots and overshoes, a barrel full of umbrellas, and plenty of benches, couches, work tables and coffee tables.
“Yes. My residence hall is called Aurora Borealis, and it’s off in the trees, that way,” she said, pointing to one of the many doors leading out of the building. “I’ll show it to you when we’re all less sleepy, but right now I need to show you your own room for the week. Are you hungry?”
“No. I had a pretty big dinner on the train.”
“Okay, we’ll skip the Dining Hall for now. You’ll see it tomorrow morning.” They walked side by side into a glass-enclosed corridor that led away from the Residential Lobby. Ashley could faintly see small but lush gardens through the glass, and other enclosed corridors beyond.
A minute later they stepped into a huge circular lobby, and Ashley’s eyes grew big and round as she took in the massive room, where twenty or thirty people were still scattered, some talking near glowing fireplaces, some reading, some examining an art exhibition on the far side.
Sister Heather stepped behind a counter where Ashley could see all kinds of computers, video monitors, and stacks of books and pamphlets. A middle-aged man who looked Chinese was rolling his chair from one place to another as he performed different tasks.
“Hi, Brother Li. Phil and the cream cheese are in. Where are we putting Ashley for evaluation week?”
“Greetings, Ashley! Let me see...” He rolled to a computer screen and tapped at the keys. “Ashley... Ashley... ah, yes. The adults will fill two dorms, so Ashley may use a single. Is Antelope okay?”
“Fine. Mark her as having arrived, please.”
“Done.”
“Thanks,
Li.”
“Have a most wonderful visit, Ashley!” Li said as he rolled his chair to another part of the office.
“Thank you. I love it here already!” Ashley said.
Sister Heather walked with Ashley toward the center of the room. “This is the Main Lobby. From here, walkways go to just about everywhere. And this,” she said, stopping at the sculptured metal fountain that towered above them,” was done for us by the famous artist Geno Dezzutti, and incorporates themes from all three of Lyceum’s missions.”
“It’s beautiful!” Ashley said, gazing up at the intertwined shapes of people, books and scrolls, animals and trees, buildings, and the Earth itself. Water trickled from one bronze bowl to another, each lit from beneath by a different color of light.
“Over there is a visiting exhibition of works from the Vatican Museum. It’s only here through tomorrow.”
“Wow! The Vatican? Where the Pope lives?”
“Yes. You’re Catholic, if I remember correctly.”
Ashley
nodded.
“And this walkway leads us to the Lyceum Lodge.” They walked through one of the large archways out of the Main Lobby and into another glass-walled corridor. “We have a companion arranged for you while you’re here.”
“You’re a nice companion!” Ashley said.
“Why, thank you, Ashley. But I’m a long way from twelve years old, and all I know about gymnastics is what I’ve read since I became your contact person.
Also, I’m at work during most of your free time. Your companion’s name is Sister Tabitha. She’s eleven, and she’s an elite gymnast.”
“Is she the one who got a medal at the State Championships?”
“No. That’s Sister Karen. She’s thirteen. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon.
But you’ll like Tabitha. She’ll come to your room tomorrow morning and take you to breakfast. Tomorrow you’re free until six o’clock, as most of the other prospective members will be arriving at various times during the day.”
They walked through the lobby of the Lodge, down a passageway, and stopped at a door that said Antelope in letters carved into a single piece of wood. “This is your room,” Heather said, opening the door. “It’s a single, but I think you’ll like it. If you ever get lost in the Lodge, remember that all the rooms are in alphabetical order.”
At the older lady’s beckoning, Ashley stepped in and found a cozy little
room with rough wood paneling, a small old-fashioned wood frame bed, pictures of antelope in places that could have been South Dakota, several sets of antelope horns on the walls, and a curtain that led to a tiny bathroom with a shower. “It’s perfect for me!” she said, setting down her pack.
“I think everything you’ll need for the night is here. There’s someone in the office all night long.”
“I think I’ll fall right to sleep,” Ashley said, starting to yawn.
“I work tomorrow, but I can meet you and Tabitha for dinner if you’d like.”
“Would you? That would be great! Thank you, Sister Heather.”
When the older lady had gone, Ashley walked around the tiny room, touching the walls, looking at the antelope horns, opening the drawers in the little desk. She was still getting used to the idea that she was really there, at Lyceum, after waiting so long and traveling so far. She found a writing tablet, pencils, cups, towels, soap... all the usual things. She started yawning irresistibly as she was unpacking her clothes, so she slipped into her pajamas, turned back the bed covers, and switched off the lamp that had a shade made from a real antelope hide.
Had she heard something? From the depths of sleep, Ashley tried to separate what her ears had thought they heard from her lingering dreams.
She opened her eyes and finally heard it clearly — someone knocking. Light was filtering through the small curtained window as she hopped up and opened the door.
“Hi!” said a very freckled girl about her size in a leotard and sockies. “I’m Tabitha. Are you awake yet?”
“Wow. What time is it? Come on in. Did I sleep in? I feel like I just woke from the dead!”
“A little after eight, I think. You look like you just woke from the dead!”
she said, holding in a laugh.
Ashley giggled, and soon they were both laughing hysterically as Ashley looked in the mirror and discovered that her hair was sticking out all over her head.
“Well, at least I don’t look like I wandered through a spray paint factory!”
Ashley teased back with a glimmer of fun in her eyes.
Tabitha chuckled, and for the next ten minutes, they were both a constant stream of giggles and jabs at each other as Ashley showered and dressed.
Finally she shouldered her purse, and they were off, still chattering and giggling as they made their way toward the lobby.
Tabitha showed Ashley the passage that led directly from the Lodge to the Dining Hall. Ashley had never seen a dining room so big before. She could see that it had three parts. The largest part was right in front of them and looked like a huge restaurant and snack bar. The fine dining room was to the right, behind a wall, and on the left was a large section with long tables separated from the middle part with planters. Beyond it all she could see doorways that led to the kitchen with waitresses and cooks going in and out.
“Jeez! How many people can eat in here?”
“About a thousand, I think,” Tabitha said. “The members have all eaten breakfast, but I waited.”
Ashley could see that the separate section with long tables was in the final stages of being cleaned up, and she guessed that was where the members ate.
The fine dining room looked empty. “How much does breakfast cost? Food was expensive on the train!”
“For you, nothing, silly! You’re our guest here this week. Didn’t Heather give you some meal coupons when you got here?”
“Oh, yeah. She gave me an envelope last night with my schedule for today on it. Here it is...” Ashley said, digging in her purse.
“Look
inside.”
“Here they are... one breakfast, one lunch, one snack, one dinner, one Recreation Center pass.”
“Let’s eat! I’m starved.”
They picked a small table and both girls selected a hearty but low-fat breakfast, and while they ate, Ashley told Tabitha about the state championship meet where she had taken her gold metal. Then she shared the fateful day when she had learned she couldn’t get elite training in her old gym.
“Complete bummer,” Tabitha said in empathy. “That would have made me mad as a hornet. It’s so stupid when the world just wastes people who have talents. So, what do you want to do? Heather told me that today would be a good time to give you a tour.”
“What I’d really like to see most is the gym. Could we?”
“Sure! It’s open to the public today, but there’s hardly anyone there until about eleven. That’s where I was instead of going to breakfast with the other members.”
“You mean, you can use it any time you want?” Ashley asked incredulously.
“Uh huh. Unless it’s reserved, which isn’t very often.”
“And I’d love to see that big wooden floor where you do meets sometimes.”
“That’s called the Arena. I think something’s in there today, but we can look from the control room.”
They bussed their own table, thanked the waitress whom Tabitha knew by name, headed out a different door and were soon passing through the Main Lobby. Another passage took them to a building Ashley hadn’t seen. In the building’s lobby, Tabitha did a complete turn without stopping. “There’s the Library, that’s the Museum, in there’s the Planetarium, and those are all classrooms and stuff. Recreation Center’s this way.”
Ashley tried to glance at everything, but had to run to keep up with her guide.
When they arrived in the next lobby, Ashley could see locker rooms, offices, equipment check-out counters, and pro shops, all separated by lounges, display cases, and even a small fountain. Tabitha disappeared into the office, and Ashley was drawn to photographs, paintings, and sculptures of famous athletes that were sprinkled around the lobby. She smiled when she found several pictures of Olympic gymnasts performing on the rings, the bars, and other apparatus.
“Did you bring a leotard?” Tabitha inquired, dashing up beside her.
“Got one in my purse!”
They entered the locker room and found the locker that Tabitha had just arranged for Ashley, who used her favorite number to program its combination. As soon as she was in her leotard, they returned to the lobby of the Recreation Center.
Tabitha pointed down each of the passages. “That way’s the pool, down there’s the Arena, in there’s the basketball court and a bunch of other courts, that door leads to the outside stuff, and the gym’s this way.”
Tabitha led the way down a short corridor that brought them to the magnificent gymnasium Ashley remembered from her books. She stood in the doorway and gazed at it with a huge grin on her face. She had finally made it, all the way from South Dakota.
“Since you’re not a member yet, you have to check in with the coach-on-duty.” She located and jogged over to a brown skinned man of about thirty.
“Sister Tabitha, level nine gymnast, requests permission to use the gym!”
The man in shorts and T-shirt smiled and ruffled Tabitha’s hair. “Be good, kid.”
Copying her companion, Ashley stepped up to him. “Ashley Riddle, current South Dakota State Gymnastics Champion, requests permission to use the gym!”
“Hello, Ashley. I’m Brother Carlos. Welcome to Lyceum. Did you bring your pass?”
“Yep!” she said, and handed it to him.
“Good. I’ll put it on the guest board in the gym office, and you won’t have to mess with it anymore, okay?”
“Okay!”
“Have a good time. Stick with what you know unless you’re working with a gymnastics coach.”
“I
will.”
Ashley just wandered for a few minutes, looking this way and that with eyes open wide. There was more of everything than she had ever seen before in one gym: four balance beams, three uneven parallel bars, and two vaulting runways. And there were also the rings, high bars, pummel horses, and parallel bars that men used, none of which were available at her old gym in Rapid City. She smiled, thinking it would be fun to try some of them someday, especially the rings. Her old gym had a trampoline, but here she found four of them, all well matted and one of them double size. Then she spotted the weight-lifting equipment, and thought that would be fun to try also. And the huge gym had plenty of mats for warming up and short tumbling moves, so the big tumbling mat in the center of the gym would stay free for longer routines. Finally she spotted the climbing ropes that went all the way up to the ceiling. She excitedly turned to Tabitha, who had been
walking along with her. “I’ve never climbed a rope like that. I bet it’s great for building arm strength!”
“Our coach requires it every day! What do you want to do first?”
“Warm-up and stretch! After two days on buses and trains, I’m stiff as a board!”
They both smiled and choose a matted area of floor to use. There were only two other people in the gym, a woman using a weight machine, and a man on a pummel horse. It took Ashley a good half hour to work out all the kinks and get her muscles and joints flowing like she was used to. Tabitha stayed with her the entire time, and they did several two-person stretching exercises.
“That feels much better!” Ashley said as she did a forward and then backward walkover. “Can we use the floor?”
“Sure.”
Ashley started with her old level five floor routine to get the feel of it.
“Smooth! But you couldn’t have gotten your championship with that routine!”
“Of course not. Here’s my level seven routine. Critique me, okay?”
They took turns watching each other on each of the apparatus. Their skill level was roughly similar, except that Tabitha had mastered many of the difficult elite moves such as the double twisting back somersault on the floor, the Comaneci bar dismount, and the twisting aerial on the beam. It was the first time Ashley had seen most of the elite moves in person.
“Magic!” she said after watching Tabitha’s beam routine. “Pure magic!”
“That’s what people said about the side aerial once, and now it’s a level five skill!” They both snickered.
Eventually the gym started getting crowded, and they realized it was two o’clock in the afternoon. They ate sandwiches together in the Dining Hall, and then headed back toward the Arena. When they arrived at its large double doors, they were closed and a sign told the girls that it was reserved all day long. They could hear rhythmic modern dance music coming from within.
“Follow me,” Tabitha said, and led Ashley through a small door off to the
side that said Staff Only, up narrow stairs, and into a long, curving hallway that was almost completely dark, except that tinted windows on the inside of the curve looked over the Arena. They could see that on the huge polished wood floor below, ringed by rows and rows of now-empty seats and roofed by a gently curving dome and massive wooden beams, a company of dancers was practicing, with full production lights and sound. “Be quiet,” Tabitha whispered.
They walked along, and soon came to a man and a lady working at a complex control panel. Both wore headsets, and were obviously concentrating on instructions from someone in the Arena. Tabitha grabbed Ashley’s hand, and stepped to the side where they wouldn’t be in anyone’s way or line of sight.
After a few more minutes, the dancers stopped, and the lady spoke. “Time index 15:40. That’s the scene four break.”
“Let’s make our adjustment notes — it doesn’t look like we have long,” the man said. Then he noticed the two girls. “Hi, Tabby.”
“Hi, Brother Glen. We’ll be quiet.”
“Thanks,” he said, and then turned back to the lady beside him. “I want to check the bass amplification level during the first minute of that scene.
Sounded weak to me, and it’s important to the score.”
The dancers soon started their rehearsal again, and the technicians had to concentrate on dozens of lighting and sound levels. Tabitha tugged on Ashley’s hand, and they walked further around the curving passage, passing racks and shelves of all kinds of lighting and sound equipment. When they were about a third of the way around, Tabitha stopped at one of the tinted windows.
“We can whisper now. And this is one of the best views of the Arena. It’s one hundred feet across on the floor. The seats hold about fifteen hundred people. And there are six places, like the one you see over there, for teams or judges to sit.”
“It’s neat! And it’ll hold all the gymnastics apparatus?”
“Men’s or women’s, but not both at once. Sometimes we have our dance classes in here.”
“You take dance lessons?”
“Yep. They’re required for elite gymnasts.” She grinned at Ashley.
A little later, when they finally exited the Arena and headed back toward the locker room, they saw that it was already four o’clock. “Sister Heather said she’d meet us for dinner at five,” Ashley said.
“Great! We get to eat in the Garden Dining Room, and I think there’s prime rib and broiled halibut tonight!”
“Yum!” Ashley agreed. “I should wash my hair and put on my dress.”
“Want to meet somewhere?”
“Main Lobby?” Ashley suggested.
“Yeah! Ten ‘til?”
“Okay!” They slapped each other’s hands, raced together back to the Main Lobby, and then went their separate directions.
When they found each other twenty minutes later, they both giggled, seeing each other in formal dresses after their day spent in nothing but leotards. They headed for the Dining Hall hand in hand.
Sister Heather was already there in the little waiting lounge at the entrance to the dining room.
“Well, I don’t have to worry about you two getting along okay!” she said as the girls entered. “I invited Sister Karen to join us. She should be here any moment.”
“Great!” Tabitha said. “Karen’s our team captain. She’s fun.”
The hostess showed them to a table. A brown-haired thirteen-year-old girl with hazel eyes dashed in just as they were sitting down. Heather introduced them, and then Tabitha told Karen what she and Ashley had done that day.
“I had to work in my garden all day long,” Karen said in a less than excited voice as they all looked at menus. “Part of it washed away in the last rain storm!”
The other two girls didn’t laugh, as Karen had obviously had a rough day.
Ashley looked at her menu. She was surprised to discover that there were only three items on it: one meat, one fish, and one vegetable entree. “I’ve never seen a menu like this before.”
“It is different, isn’t it. Our dining room just serves a few special items each evening,” Heather explained. “You can get a combo of any two, or even
all three.”
“I’m having a triple combo, large portion,” Karen said.
“Karen! You’re gonna get fat!” Tabitha taunted.
“Don’t worry about it! I forgot to eat lunch.”
“Triple, light portion for me,” Tabitha said.
A waitress arrived and exchanged greetings with the other members at the table. Her name badge identified her as Sister Helen. They all ordered, with Ashley following Tabitha’s lead.
“Shall we get a chilled bottle of sparkling cider?” Heather suggested.
Everyone agreed with smiles and nods.
Suddenly Ashley’s attention was caught by the scene outside the large windows of the dining room. It was an intricate garden of miniature hills and valleys, rivers and cobblestone roads, with tiny houses, shops, castles, and other structures nestled amongst little bonsai trees and manicured lawns.
The lights in the houses were coming on, one by one, as the sky overhead darkened into evening.
“It’s beautiful!” Ashley said in an awe-struck whisper. She watched as a little boat, complete with lighted cabin, moved slowly down the nearest river, and noticed that the tiny clock hands on the church tower were telling the correct time.
“You like our little fantasy garden?” Sister Heather asked. “You made some of those buildings, didn’t you Karen?”
“Two of them. And I helped with some others. Brother Felix is working on Count Dracula’s Castle, to go over there in those wooded hills.”
“Many people eat dinner here just to look at the garden, but they usually love the food too,” Heather said.
Soon they were busy with sparkling cider in wine stems, fresh croissants and whipped butter, and fresh fruit and tasty cheese appetizers. Ashley noticed that the lights slowly dimmed in the dining room and hidden outside illumination simulated moonlight over the garden of miniatures. The candle on their table spread a warm glow as their platters arrived with succulent prime rib, lightly broiled halibut, and a delicate mixture of steamed vegetables, several of which Ashley had never seen before. Heather pointed out the creamed horseradish, bearnaise, and lemon butter sauces in the
middle of the table, and explained what each was for. Karen reminded the younger gymnasts how much fat they contained.
By the time they had finished the little cups of mint chocolate mousse that the waitress brought for dessert, it was five minutes before six, and Tabitha quickly guided Ashley out of the Dining Room, through the Main Lobby, and down two more corridors to Conference Center One, where a tall black lady was greeting the prospective members.
“See you, Ashley. You’re out at nine. I’ll meet you here.”
Ashley watched the eleven-year-old gymnast as she waved and then headed back toward the Main Lobby, leaving Ashley there to do what she had come to do. She felt she had already known Tabitha for a long time. When she finally turned around, the tall lady smiled and extended a hand.
“You must be Ashley!” she said in a melodic, southern accent.
“That’s
me!”
“Come on in and get comfortable. There are a couple more folks who should be here any minute.”
Ashley stepped into the pleasantly decorated conference room. Inside were about twenty people, and enough tables and comfortable chairs to hold them. She figured they ranged in age from about twenty to about seventy, and that would make her the youngest one there, but the thought didn’t bother her. They looked like nice people. She spotted an empty chair beside a quiet-looking middle-aged man, and headed for it.
“Um, is anyone sitting here?” she asked.
“No,” he said, a little surprised that she wanted to sit beside him, and pulled out the chair for her.
“Thank you,” she said, and slipped into the chair. At that moment two more people came in, about thirty and fifty, Ashley guessed, and then the black lady entered and pulled the door closed behind her.
“Well, well! Since you’re all here, I guess I don’t need to stand in the lobby any longer, do I?” she said in an animated voice. Everyone laughed. “It’s nice to have everyone here on time. Doesn’t always happen! When I call your name, please stand and take a bow.”
Several people looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“William of Atlanta, Georgia?”
Bearded, over-weight William stood self-consciously and bowed.
“Jennifer of Troy, Oregon?”
She continued through her list, and people started loosening up. When she came to Ashley of Rapid City, South Dakota, Ashley stood and bowed just like she did for the gymnastics judges.
“This over here is Brother Paul.”
The red-haired young man of about twenty-five, who was sitting at a front table facing the rest of the group, stood and bowed. “Of Devonshire, England.”
“And I, in case you haven’t guessed, am Sister Clairebeth, from the sometimes-great state of Mississippi.” She bowed to some laughter. “Not only is the right number of people here, you are the right people!” More laughter. “Brother Paul and I are two of about a dozen members who make up the evaluation team that will be guiding you through this sometimes fun, sometimes uncomfortable, but alas necessary, process. Let’s start with first things first. Have any of you not had a chance to eat dinner?”
One timid hand went up, and the middle-aged lady attached to it said, “My bus was running very late, and I only got here at 5:45.”
“Nooo problem!” Sister Clairebeth said. “I don’t want anyone fainting on me. Any special diet?”
The lady shook her head.
“Anyone else? Okay.” She pulled a pager from her belt and pressed some keys.
“Kitchen. Sister Mary here,” a voice said.
“Mary! This is C.B. I need a tray! Can I send Paul for it?”
“C.B.! Just tell me what you want!”
“Food! Calories, protein, you know!” Clairebeth said, and several people laughed.
Chuckling, the lady in the kitchen said, “I should have something around here that fits that description. Give me five minutes.”
“Thanks! See you in the pool tonight!” She set down the pager. “Walk slowly, Paul.”
Brother Paul headed for the door. “I need to stop by the photocopier
anyway.”
“So, while Paul plays gopher, we begin. In front of you in the red binders are your workbooks. Open to page one, and you will see a formal letter of welcome to Lyceum, complete with THE RULES. Rule One, you are guests, which means that we take care of your needs while you are here, including local transportation. But remember: we’re not mind readers, so if you need something that we haven’t anticipated, ASK. The flip side of being a guest is that you must act like one. You have the privileges of VISITORS at this point, not MEMBERS. If a door says Staff Only, guess what that means?”
Several people smiled knowingly.
“Right! If you are with a member, such as your contact person, that’s different. Questions?”
Everyone appeared comfortable with Rule One.
“Good. Rule Two, complete and total respect of everyone and everything.
You are not here to express your views on politics, religion, or anything else.
You are here to quietly decide if Lyceum is for you, and to let us pick at your brains and your souls so we can decide if you are for Lyceum. Questions?”
“How many people do you accept?” a late middle-aged lady asked.
“Good question. There is absolutely no quota or target. We can accept all of you, or none of you, and both situations have happened in the past. But I can give you some statistics.” She flipped through a notebook. “Last year, we had sixty-three formal applications for membership. Forty-five of those got to this point, where y’all are today. Twenty-two got to the end of the week and still wanted to be members. We accepted fifteen, told two that we would mentor them for a year or so while they prepared more fully, and told the rest that they would, in our opinion, be happier elsewhere.”
Several people chuckled and Brother Paul arrived with the tray.
The lady who asked the question was figuring on paper. “So you accept about a third of those who get to this point?”
Sister Clairebeth referred to her notebook. “Over the last ten years, it has averaged twenty-eight percent. In a group this size, that would be six or seven. But remember, that’s just an average. And notice that most of those who did not become members de-selected themselves. It’s easiest on everyone that way, of course.”
Several people nodded understandingly.
“Okay, moving along and turning the page, here is your schedule for the week. The wake-up alarms in your rooms will be programmed for six o’clock in the morning.” There were a couple of moans. “That’s when the members generally get up too,” she said, smiling. “Wednesday is an exception. Sister Rachael will wake you at about four.” More, louder moans. “Notice especially the blocks of time on your schedules that say Free Time. They are primarily for you to use, as you see fit, to decide if you like Lyceum enough to become a member. You can explore the campus to your heart’s content, as everything at Lyceum is open to the public unless, for a good reason, it says otherwise. You can use the library, the Recreation Center, the shrines and chapels, et cetera, ad infinitim. In your workbooks is a list of when everything is open. Also with your free time, you can talk to the members. They know what questions they can answer and what is confidential. And you can respectfully observe anything that is open to the public. If you want to see something that is not open to the public, ASK. We can probably arrange it. BUT REMEMBER, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to do whatever you need to do to decide if Lyceum is for you or not.”
Ashley felt she already knew the answer to that question, and so she planned to use her free time in the gym.
“You should read and study everything in your workbooks. We will be going over the Lyceum Constitution together, which is in your blue binders, but you should probably spend some personal time with it also. These three books,” she said, grabbing them from the top of the supply cabinet near her and holding them up, “which all of you received in the mail in order to get to this point, are also basic, essential reading. If you did not bring yours, I will happily give you another set. In addition, I have about fifty other books that you should look over, one or more of which may be of interest to you. These include the only four anti-Lyceum books that have, to our knowledge, been published. This cabinet will generally be with us wherever we meet for the next week, and you can each borrow one book at a time.”
Ashley had never been a fast reader, and so had no hopes of digging through stacks of books. She hoped that asking questions would supply her with whatever information she needed.
Just then a short little man slipped in and handed Sister Clairebeth a note.
The black lady read it, a frown forming on her face. Ashley watched and listened.
“Ooooo!” Clairebeth exclaimed. “I was afraid those factions weren’t going to see eye to eye. Please tell the Secretary I’m free after nine o’clock our time, and we can get a SatLink channel set up right away, putting us on-line with Ghana by mid-morning tomorrow, their time. Arrange for appropriate gifts for each party to help break the ice, and I’ll change clothes before we Link.”
The man nodded and left. Someone asked the facilitator what was happening, but she replied that she was not at liberty to say. Ashley felt totally lost.
The introductory session went on with more ground rules, and a detailed look at the activities scheduled for the week, most of which sounded like fun to Ashley but evoked moans from many of the adults. There were more questions and answers. At about eight o’clock, a large cart of snacks and beverages arrived and they took a break.
Then Brother Paul stood and went over things like Lodge check-in for those who hadn’t yet done so, laundry, and meals.
“What access do we have to the Healing Arts Clinic?” an elderly man asked.
“The same access that any visitor has,” Brother Paul said. “We take care of any emergency without charge, as long as we have the skills and facilities. If you need or prefer a hospital, they of course charge for their services. Our rates for elective care are very reasonable.”
“Thank you,” the man said.
“It’s 8:55, and I need to cover one more topic,” Paul said. “If, at any time during the week, you decide that you do not want to go on with it, we’ll understand. We’ll cover your lodging and meals for at least another day, longer if you are traveling on reserved tickets that can’t be moved up. If you’ll give us an hour of your time to fill out an evaluation of us and our process, then we have a fifty dollar gift certificate for you to use in the Gift Shop before you go.”
He took a deep breath. “That’s it for today. We’re off to a good start. You are now in one of those blocks of Free Time, but remember to get some sleep,
as six a.m. is only nine hours away! I’ll see you again on Tuesday. Remember that you meet in the Dining Hall at seven tomorrow morning.”
He and Clairebeth packed their supply cabinet while most of the prospective members filtered out the door, referring to their workbooks to decide what they wanted to do with the rest of their evening, and where things were located. A few lingered to ask questions. Ashley hopped up and dashed into the Conference Center Lobby. There was Tabitha sitting cross-legged in a chair, again wearing her leotard.
“How was it?” she asked as Ashley bounced over.
“All sounded easy to me. Rules and schedules and stuff. Been to the gym?”
“Nope. I wanted to wait for you, so I did some schoolwork and other things. Gym’s closed now, so we’ll probably have it to ourselves, us and Karen.”
At that moment, Sister Clairebeth was wheeling her book and supply cabinet out of the conference room. “So, Ashley! Are there any questions you have that I can answer more easily now that the crowd is gone?”
“Um... I hope I don’t have to read all those books you have in your cabinet,” she said, pointing to it.
“No, not at all! In someone your age, your own morals and ethics are what’s important. Those books are just for the adults who want to intellectualize the process to death.”
“Good. And I was wondering... am I... I mean would I be... I mean, would me and Tabitha be the youngest ones here?”
Nope. We had a six-year-old girl once.”
“Wow! Had?” Ashley said, noticing Clairebeth’s use of the past tense.
“What happened to her?”
“Time passed. Now she’s eight and a half,” the black lady said, grinning.
Ashley
smiled.
“Good night, you two!”
“Good night, Sister Clairebeth!” both girls said at once.
Ashley and Tabitha talked a little while longer, and then were soon in the gym, along with Karen and a man using a weight machine. Karen was in a much better mood now that her garden was back in shape. They tumbled and
played on the balance beams until almost eleven o’clock, and then all headed for bed.
Ashley set her workbook and her copy of the Lyceum Constitution lovingly on her little desk in the room called Antelope, hung up her dress, and was soon fast asleep.
Chapter 15: But What Would I Do?
Ashley was groggy for awhile after the wake-up alarm chimed in her room, but as seven o’clock approached, she joined the other prospective members as they all converged in the lobby of the Lyceum Lodge. Greetings and yawns were exchanged, and they all headed for the Dining Hall.
When they arrived, they found a long table in the main restaurant section with a sign on it that said Reserved for Evaluation Group. A very ancient-looking gray-haired man sat at one end sipping tea. As they selected seats, he watched them with sharp eyes over his tea cup.
Ashley noticed that no one immediately sat next to the quiet middle-aged man, so she again asked his permission, and he again pulled the chair out for her, a little less timidly than the night before. She noticed, once everyone had selected a chair, that there were exactly enough places for the group.
As soon as they were all seated, the gray-haired man spoke for the first time in a slow and precise voice. “Good morning. My name is Ted. The Brother part is optional — you may use it if you wish, as I don’t mind either way. At 7:30 we will bus our own table, and at 7:45 we will meet in Preparation Room A in the Ecumenical Temple. Enjoy your breakfast.”
A moment later pitchers of juice and milk and pots of hot water arrived, followed closely by platters of pastries and cheeses and sliced meats. Tubs of whipped butter and jam completed the meal.
Brother Ted did not initiate any further conversation, and when spoken to, gave only one-word answers. Everyone soon realized that he wanted to eat his
breakfast in silence.
At 7:30, as instructed, they all began to clear the table onto an empty cart that stood nearby. Ashley noticed that Ted did his share of the cleaning, even though he moved slowly. At 7:40, he began to walk toward what everyone hoped was Preparation Room A, as no one else in the group had ever been there.
They passed slowly through the Main Lobby, following behind Brother Ted, and noticed a fairly large number of nicely dressed people arriving, most of them making their way toward the Dining Hall. They entered a glass walled corridor that Ashley had not yet explored, and a little later passed through a dimly lit circular lobby.
As they slowly followed their guide along the next section of glass corridor, they could see gardens on both sides, now in a state of winter dormancy and yet well tended. They could also glimpse the sheer concrete and glass walls and the sweeping roof of the large building they were approaching.
The walkway soon entered the Ecumenical Temple’s huge mass, and a wide lobby opened on both their left and right, appearing to completely encircle the building. Straight ahead of them was a large archway that led to the interior of the structure, but at that moment it was covered by a heavy curtain. Brother Ted turned to the right, and they soon came to the door of Preparation Room A.
Inside were shelves and closets, dressing rooms and restrooms. There were plenty of benches and a few chairs, and they arrayed themselves on these as best they could, taking into account Ted’s choice of a chair by one wall.
There was a long moment of silence.
“Today is Sunday,” he began, “and so a very good day to talk about Religion. In about an hour, you will have the privilege of observing one of the most beautiful celebrations that Lyceum hosts. It is called Whispers From Many Sacred Places, and requires the talents of more than a hundred of our members to produce. Based on the number of people who attended last year, and the fact that the weather is good, we expect close to two thousand visitors.” Someone whistled. “Luckily our group has reserved seats.”
For the next half hour, Ted spoke on what seemed to be a random
collection of topics, all of which could be loosely referred to as Religious History. He spoke of ancient Druids and modern evangelists, golden stupas and massive cathedrals. Everyone was amazed at the breadth of his knowledge. Ashley hoped she didn’t need to remember much of what he was telling them.
Suddenly Brother Ted said, “It is time,” and he rose and led them out of the room and through the now open passageway into the Temple.
Ashley remembered her first glimpse of the interior of the Lyceum Ecumenical Temple for the rest of her life. As she stepped inside, the walls seemed to fall away from her in all directions. The vast interior opened out to her left and right, and she could see the main walkway at her level going completely around and connecting with three other entrances. The high curved ceiling rose above her to dizzying heights, where she could see a balcony and many hanging banners. Rows and rows of seats, quickly filling with people, extended above and even behind her. Finally she noticed that more seats, already full of people, dropped down in front of her to a large circular floor far below.
Brother Ted led them to a small roped-off area somewhat above the main walkway, and as soon as they were seated, a formally dressed usher took down the rope. Ashley gazed in wonder all around the room, and soon music began and an unseen choir softly sang.
As soon as everyone was seated, dancers dressed as different kinds of angels and spirits began to prance to and fro. Ashley was pretty sure she recognized Tabitha as a Woods Sprite and Karen as a white robed, winged angel.
The drama began as two hunched figures in furry costumes, speaking to each other softly with grunts and gestures, piled up stones on the floor of the Temple. Everyone was completely silent, and the tap of the stones as they touched could be clearly heard. When they had finished constructing their crude table, and had exchanged a few more grunts, one of them placed a piece of fruit on the top of the pile, and they both cast their eyes upward. The choir again sang and the spirits danced. Ashley was deeply touched.
With each passing drama, the visitors that filled the seats were asked to participate more and more, first with a few spoken words, then with choruses
of song, then with the reception of small gifts that the dancing spirits distributed. Ashley noticed that the lighting, the music, and the banners changed with each drama.
In the final event, a dozen people of all ages, races, and cultures, speaking many different languages, worked together to build some kind of mysterious machine, and out of the machine came loaf upon loaf of freshly baked bread.
The dozen, with the help of the dancing spirits and ushers, carried baskets of bread to every row of the people, while the music played and the choir sang, and all the people broke the bread and shared it thoughtfully.
At the very end, the twelve people each bowed to the visitors and each spoke in a different language. To know what they were saying, Ashley had to wait for the very last one, who spoke in English.
“Welcome to this humble place. We hope that you will enjoy your visit, and find peace, comfort, and inspiration here. We are at your service.”
By the time the evaluation group filed out of the Ecumenical Temple and returned to Preparation Room A, it was nearly eleven o’clock. They spent the rest of the morning discussing the production they had just seen. Almost everyone in the room had been moved by some part of it, and at least a little bothered by some other part. Brother Ted was completely willing to stay out of the discussion when it seemed to be moving along without him, but he asked questions when the group fell silent, and answered questions when asked... but with few words.
The group was surprised to find that lunch on Sunday for the members consisted of a do-it-yourself situation in the Residential Lobby, with stacks of paper plates, loaves of sandwich bread, sliced meats, cheeses, tomatoes, jars of mayonnaise, and other condiments and sandwich trimmings. Ted reminded them that service came first at Lyceum, and at that moment, many of the two thousand people who had attended the public inspirational service were still jamming the Dining Hall. But he promised them a very pleasant dinner.
After they had eaten and reconvened in a room somewhere in Conference Center One, they became aware that they had already lost one person. Two
other members joined Brother Ted for the afternoon, and they took turns going over all the information in the Lyceum Constitution that had anything to do with religion.
When they finished for the day at five o’clock, two other prospective members were looking pretty uncomfortable. Ashley was thoughtful all during dinner, aware that many things had been said that she didn’t understand, and hoping that not too much of it applied directly to her.
That evening was free time, so she and Tabitha went to the gym, and were soon having so much fun that Ashley forgot to put several questions to her companion that she had been meaning to ask.
Monday morning was devoted to things that Ashley didn’t find particularly enjoyable, like writing resumes of their life experiences, taking tests, and talking about economic arrangements. She was able to pay attention to the economics because the facilitator would always give the numbers for age twelve, as well as for the adults. She learned that she had fewer work hours than the adults, but had to take more classes. That was okay with her, as long as there would be time left for her gymnastics training.
That afternoon, two members they hadn’t met before, a man and a woman both about sixty years old, took the group to a classroom in the Research Center, and went over all the material in their workbooks about scientific topics. Ashley noticed that different people were uncomfortable than had been the day before, and she wondered why. The group walked through several laboratories, watched a geology show in the Planetarium Theater, and observed some members as they prepared an archeological museum exhibit.
Since Ashley didn’t know much about science, she hoped she didn’t have to remember it all.
One thing did catch Ashley’s attention, and she used the mid-afternoon break time to examine it more fully. The corridor to the Research Center was not glass walled, as most of the other ones, but completely enclosed and lined with intricate murals. On one side was a graphic history of the world, with the present at the end closest to the Main Lobby, and the formation of the universe at the other. She was fascinated by the fact that it included normal textbook history, scientific stuff like geology and evolution, religious ideas,
and even mythology. Looking closely, she could see that it included time lines that were in months and days at one end, and in millions of years at the other.
Tiny captions labeled everything from the creation of the rings of Saturn to the invention of the electric light bulb. In several places she noticed that it was divided into two or more alternate paths, with explanations about each theory. She felt like she could gaze at it for hours, even though she currently understood little of it.
Again that evening she and Tabitha, along with Karen, went to the gym.
They asked if she had any questions they could answer, but she couldn’t think of any. Her mind was focused on the balance beam, wondering if she was ready to try her level seven routine again.
On Tuesday morning, the evaluation group met at 6:15 in the Residential Lobby, as their schedules instructed and as they had been reminded the previous day. Someone noticed that they had lost another person. A couple of minutes later, Brother Paul arrived.
“Good morning, everyone. As you may remember from your schedules, this morning and evening are devoted to observing, and in some ways experiencing, the day to day life of the resident members. There is no free time today, but everything we are doing will be low key and relaxing, and we’ll have all the usual meal and snack breaks.”
Even though the day’s activities sounded interesting, Ashley knew she would miss Tabitha, Karen, and the gym.
“Life for the members begins at 6:30 with a worship and reflection time in each residence hall. Forty to sixty members live in each hall, so we each have a group of people, a neighborhood if you will, that we get to know a little better than we generally do the rest of the members.”
“How many members are there?” a lady asked.
“About nine hundred and fifty. A shade under four hundred are currently on the campus. The rest are non-resident, or part-time but not here right now, or on assignment in New York or one of our planning offices, or on vacation. Please hold other questions for a little later, as we have to promptly head over to my residence hall, which is called Terrabithia. Remember, we will be there to observe, and not to participate or comment.”
He led them out one of the doors, and a covered outside walkway wound through the trees until they came to an irregularly shaped building that seemed to go up and up until it was almost as tall as the firs and pines. It reminded Ashley of a huge pile of toy building blocks. They entered the main door, and were soon standing in a large indoor courtyard. Many small doors surrounded them, some open that clearly went to laundry rooms, play rooms, craft rooms, store rooms, an office, and the like. Others were divided from each other by planters and had patio furniture and occasionally children’s toys near them. Looking up they could see the balconies of at least two more floors ringed by apartments and other kinds of rooms.
Their attention was quickly drawn to the meeting circle in the middle of the courtyard. It descended in carpeted steps to a much lower level, looking to Ashley like a miniature version of the Ecumenical Temple. It was quickly filling as the members of the hall quietly filtered out of the apartments and down the stairs. Some of them were dressed, and some were still in bath robes. A lady started softly playing chords on a guitar, and a man was setting up what looked like an altar on a small table at the bottom that was covered by a beautiful green cloth. When most of the residents were in place, Brother Paul pointed toward some stacks of chairs against one wall, and all the prospective members were soon seated around the meeting circle to watch.
“As you folks know, I’ve only done this once before,” the man at the bottom by the altar said, “and I seriously considered doing a human sacrifice of Brother Paul when he told me that the evaluation group would be here on my day...”
Everyone chuckled, and the man and Brother Paul grinned at each other.
“The things I have placed on this altar may look a little funny to some of you. This clock and this porcelain cat belonged to my grandmother, and were on the little table where she collected statues of Mother Mary, votive candles, rosaries, and other such things. I didn’t choose to be Catholic, but all those things, including the clock and the cat, make up my memory of the first sacred place that ever touched my life. I was ten years old when she died, and I remember kneeling in front of the little table when we opened her house to get it cleaned up to sell. I started talking to God at that little table, that sacred place in my deceased grandmother’s house on that day.”
He fell silent for a long time, and Ashley noticed that many people had their eyes closed, perhaps remembering their own grandmothers.
“Today I’m aware that Joe and Elizabeth are about to go on vacation, and I want to wish them a safe journey.” A long moment of silence passed. “I know that Terry is going to the hospital soon for surgery, and I want all our prayers to be with her.” Another silent minute passed. “I believe I heard that Brenda has a hard pre-med test coming up, and I pray that the angels will be whispering in her ears.”
Ashley thought she saw a teenage girl blush. After a couple more prayers and wishes, the simple service ended as the man blew out the candles, and all of the residents began to amble toward the Dining Hall. The prospective members already knew they were eating with the members that day, and that they should not sit beside any other prospective member or their contact person. Ashley found herself walking beside the lady who had played the guitar. They smiled at each other.
“May I sit beside you?” Ashley asked.
“Sure. I’m Carolyn.”
“I’m
Ashley.”
“How do you like Lyceum, Ashley?”
“I think it’s great. Don’t understand everything yet, but I’m working on it!” They both laughed as they entered the Dining Hall and found seats at one of the long tables in the members’ section. Ashley felt a little strange looking at the huge room from that side of the row of planters for the first time. “So, what do the members eat?”
Carolyn chuckled. “We have a joke about that here, because there’s almost always something on the table that was leftover from a banquet or buffet.
Sometimes the whole meal is leftovers!”
Ashley giggled, but was soon engrossed in the process of passing pitchers and platters up and down the table, and filling her plate with whatever looked tasty and low-fat.
“Are you on a diet?” Carolyn asked.
“Training diet. I’m a gymnast.”
“Wow, that’s exciting! Can you do a cartwheel?”
Ashley smiled at the question, but then reminded herself that Carolyn
knew nothing about her. “Uh huh.”
“Good morning, Brothers and Sisters,” an older lady said, standing up at her place. “I’d like to welcome our prospective members, who will be eating all three meals with us today. Members, please notice that there are some last minute schedule changes, as conference four twenty-six that starts this evening had some additional needs. These changes effect Brothers Malcolm and Randy Robert, and Sisters Tina, Helen, and Samantha. Also, Brother Chad is filling in for Brother Larry on transportation today, and so he won’t be on the grounds crew.”
Ashley listened to all kinds of conversation for the rest of breakfast, and then pitched in as the four hundred members cleared the tables, carted everything to the dish room and quickly processed it all through the commercial dish washers, put it all away, and reset the tables. Some grabbed brooms and mops and had the floors done in no time, and others grabbed vacuums and went over the corridors and the Residential Lobby. Ashley was amazed at how quickly and easily it was all done.
For the rest of the morning, they followed member after member to their workplaces. First Brother Paul led them to the massive Production and Maintenance building, and in one workshop they talked to an elderly couple who were skillfully making pieces of fine wooden doll house furniture. After they had explained the basics of their craft, Brother Paul asked them what else they did at Lyceum.
The white-haired man spoke first. “I also do some of the electronics repair work around here, and I often program the Planetarium computer. One day a week I go over to the zoo and brush animals.”
“I work in the kitchen some, and I write foundation grants and do some editing for the Publications Office,” the lady said.
They thanked the couple and wandered over to the automotive machine shop, where they found two men up to their elbows in grease, with a diesel engine hanging from a hoist between them.
“We do all our own rebuilding at Lyceum,” one man said. “We have an excellent hydraulic shop, every machine tool you could imagine, cylinder bore, hot tank, armature winder, everything. Our parts department rivals the dealers.”
“Do you work on little things, too?” a lady asked, a slight scowl on her face as she looked at the huge, greasy engine.
“Oh, sure. I did a bicycle last week.”
“I can beat that!” the other man said. “I fixed some roller skates!”
Several people chuckled.
“Is this about the worst you have to do?” a man asked, pointing at the diesel engine.
“Nope. There are jet turbines in our helicopters that make this thing look simple.”
Again Brother Paul asked them what they did on other days, and many were surprised to learn that one was a Certified Public Accountant and the other was a Doctor of Dental Surgery.
For the rest of the morning they continued talking to Lyceum members at work: a waitress in the Dining Hall who was also a Certified Teacher, a man editing a video tape for network broadcast who also trimmed trees, and a Medical Doctor in the Healing Arts Clinic who also made signs and posters.
On the way to lunch Ashley was thoughtful, trying to imagine what kind of work she might do if she was accepted as a member of Lyceum. It was hard, very hard, to think of anything she could do compared to the many skilled activities she had seen that morning.
After lunch, the prospective members followed Sister Clairebeth to a large office on the edge of the Main Lobby. It had a comfortable lounge, a long meeting table of dark, polished wood, and plenty of desks, work tables, computers, and communications consoles. One wall was a huge map of the world, with numerous lines drawn on it and pins stuck in it. A man and a woman were at work in one corner.
“Hey! It’s really good to see y’all again!” Sister Clairebeth began in her nearly flamboyant style. “I see the group has shrunk slightly, but that’s to be expected. This afternoon, I’m sure you know, is devoted to Lyceum’s mission of providing services on the international level. This is where the truly awesome responsibilities begin, and I’ll try to give you a sense of why that is.”
“Do
you ever go on assignments to other countries?” an older lady asked.
“I spend about two weeks a year abroad on assignment. I speak six African
languages fluently, as well as French, and I am certified to lead eleven of the fourteen types of international missions we offer. Three years ago, you might remember the Kenya Crisis? I was in there for two months. Absolutely exhausted when it was finally over!”
Several people laughed in sympathy.
Ashley felt particularly lost for the rest of the afternoon. Sister Clairebeth talked about aid missions, technical missions, mediation, arbitration, research missions, educational services, and many other things, but it was hard for Ashley to see how a twelve-year-old girl could fit into any of it.
Sister Clairebeth showed them on the map the six places where Lyceum had large planning offices that were getting ready to open new campuses, and the twenty-three other places where they had small offices and apartments for the support of international missions. Many times Clairebeth called for questions, but Ashley felt so confused that she couldn’t even think of what to ask.
At dinner time Ashley put it all out of her mind and enjoyed listening to the members around her talk about all the things they had done that day. And the evening turned out to be enjoyable because they went from building to building to see what members did in their spare time. They looked in on a large board game being played by six or seven members who were all speaking Chinese as they played. They stopped by a craft class where eight people were learning how to make glass beads and ornaments. And they found quite a few members in the swimming pool, some doing laps, some playing on the slides and diving boards, and some soaking in the hot pool.
Finally they entered a cozy viewing room where a movie was about to start, and were invited to stay. Their facilitator waved good night, and reminded them to get to bed early as their next meeting was at four o’clock the following morning. None of the evaluation group members yet knew why.
Chapter 16: Getting a Little Too Comfortable At four o’clock the following morning, a tall, sculptured lady of about fifty and a slender girl of about eight walked side by side into the Lyceum Lodge.
Both were wearing warm cloaks, hoods currently thrown back. When they came to the room called Antelope, they stopped, silently looked at each other for a moment, and then the tall lady continued on down the hallway. The small figure knocked on the door.
Ashley opened the door while still rubbing a sleepy eye with her other hand. “I’m almost ready.”
The tall figure entered each of the dorm rooms in which the adult prospective members were sleeping, shook each person once and said, “Come, follow me, dress warmly.” Some didn’t wake immediately, but those who did helped the others to come to life as soon as the tall lady had gone.
The two figures stood silently together in the lobby of the Lodge as the sleepy people began to emerge from their rooms. Then without a word the two members led them through the Main Lobby and out into the pre-dawn darkness. It was not raining, but everything was wet and cold. Ashley was glad for the warmth of her big coat that would keep her toasty even in South Dakota. There were lights along all the walkways they followed, but someone near the end of the line was already grumbling about the darkness.
Soon they entered the Asian Garden, and followed a trail that slowly wound its way through a dense pine forest in which Ashley glimpsed little lakes and partly hidden log buildings with strangely curving roofs and lights
twinkling inside. Some of them looked almost full size, and others appeared to be much smaller than normal. They walked on past, but Ashley hoped she could explore them someday.
A few minutes later they came out of the pine forest, descended a winding path down a little hill, and came to an elaborate oriental garden of plants and rocks, buildings and benches, where there were all sizes and shapes of shrines and statues, from tiny ones hidden in little rock grottos, to a huge Buddha in an open-air temple. The entire garden was delicately illuminated with hidden lamps that drew the eye to each item of importance, and also cast a warm glow over the entire area. Even though the scene was foreign to her, Ashley was surprised to discover that she felt completely comfortable.
The tall lady sat on a rock, pulled out a little tin, and began to roll a cigarette. The little girl strolled silently amongst the prospective members, her hood now covering her head, as some of them began to get familiar with the garden, and others just steeled themselves on a bench to grin and bear an unpleasant experience. Ashley gazed up at the huge Buddha statue, and came to the conclusion that to have a smile like that on his face, he must have been holding in some secret. Most everyone was silent for one reason or another, but one older lady became impatient for an explanation.
“Could you please tell me why we are here?” she asked the tall lady.
The other finished a drag on her cigarette before answering. “To learn what we can learn by being in this place.”
“But why at this ungodly hour?”
After another drag, “This is an hour that God has given us. And neither you, nor I, have too terribly many hours left in this lifetime to waste.”
About that time Ashley noticed a tiny little shrine that was so low to the ground, and so deep, that she was sure no adult would ever see it. And it was way off at the end of a short path where hardly anyone would ever go. She sat on the pebbly ground and peered inside. In the very back was a Buddha just a few inches high, and in front of him was a glass bowl partly filled with crystals, pretty rocks, coins, tiny toys, and other things. On each side of the Buddha was a little jade dragon statue, and a soft red glow came from a lamp she couldn’t see. Suddenly she felt inspired to dig in her coat pockets, where she found a shiny button. She placed it carefully in the dish, keeping an eye
on the dragons as she did so. Just after she let go of the button, she thought she heard someone behind her, but when she turned around, no one was there.
The group visited several more gardens before breakfast, and learned that the leader was Sister Rachael and that she would respond thoughtfully to any thoughtful question. Some of the group members had already learned that she wasted little time on gripes and insincere questions.
After they had eaten a hearty breakfast, Sister Rachael took them to the Ecumenical Temple to observe a meeting of the Lyceum Council. In the bottom section below the main aisle were about fifty members, and by listening, Ashley figured they were the ones in charge of things. Above the main aisle were the prospective members and about forty others. The ones in the bottom part worked their way through a long list of little problems, and a few big problems, all of which needed solving. Sometimes they would call on one of the members above the aisle to give information or suggestions. Often they would pause for a minute of silence as they all pondered a problem, and several people in the evaluation group were clearly uncomfortable with the quiet and the seemingly unproductive time.
Ashley discovered by listening that their guide for the day was in charge of the Art Gallery, and she hoped she would be able to see it.
That afternoon, Sister Rachael led them to a patch of ground on the back side of a building. It had weeds growing amongst rocks and sticks, and even a few pieces of trash had blown in and become entangled. Then she pointed to several wheelbarrows and garden carts sitting nearby, brimming with all manner of tools, bags of mulch, boxes of small plants, and stacks of stepping stones.
“Your task for the afternoon, as a group, is to use these things to beautify this space. Beware of any assumptions you may place upon yourselves. For example, some of you are elderly, and I did not say that you all had to get down and get dirty. Feel free to divide your labor as you see fit. Any questions?”
“What is our time limit?” a man asked who was obviously excited about the project.
“Four hours. That way you can get showers before dinner. You’ll need them.”
Sister Rachael stepped over to a stump and sat down to roll a cigarette. It didn’t take the group too long to select a leader, a man whom they already knew was a landscape gardener by trade. A couple of people were grumbling about the whole idea, and the leader quickly assigned them to be the refreshment committee, and to please take their time with their task. At someone’s suggestion, the oldest three were asked to go to the library and look up good designs, taking into account the materials they had to work with. The rest of them, including Ashley, got down to the business clearing the weeds and trash.
By five o’clock, Ashley more than anyone else was covered with mud. She had enjoyed doing the dirtiest jobs while others used long-handled tools. The grumblers had brought them their mid-afternoon snack, and the old folks had found a nice design that let the stepping stones meander through the area, clustering the plants in several loose groups. After they had all their tools and waste in the barrows and carts, they stood for a moment admiring their work.
Sister Rachael complemented them, grinned and winked at Ashley, and let them head for showers and clean clothes.
That evening was again free time, and Ashley was glad to see Tabitha and go to the gym. She told her companion many of her experiences of the previous two days as they warmed up and stretched. Karen joined them a little later, and the three elite gymnasts tumbled and played until they were all yawning and ready for bed.
After breakfast on Thursday, a tall, black-haired man named Brother Larry led them to the Main Lobby where they selected an unused area and arranged themselves on couches, chairs, and pillows. He put them through a long series of role plays that were designed to introduce them to some of the situations that could come up at Lyceum. Sometimes he would have them pretend to be answering the phone, and he would pretend to be the caller. At other times one person would pretend to be a member, and another would pretend to be a visitor. Sometimes he would give them specific instructions to follow, and at other times he made them improvise.
Ashley and several others were beginning to think the Main Lobby was not such a good place to meet, as visitors were often wandering into their area. A hunchbacked lady who acted retarded rolled by in a wheelchair, asked where a restroom was, and turned out to need help getting there. Brother Larry was busy with a role play, and it was several minutes before two ladies in the group decided to help the handicapped person. Somewhat later a teenage boy bouncing a basketball cut through and stopped to ask directions to the Recreation Center. Ashley told him, and her fellow group members later informed her that she had been grinning from ear to ear. And at almost lunch time, a man who obviously hadn’t washed his hair or shaved in weeks sat down between two of them on a couch and started asking about getting something free to eat. One man was offended and moved, but a lady gave him ten dollars. He thanked her profusely and left.
“Okay, everyone, it’s 11:45,” Brother Larry said, “and you’ve all done a good job. Allow me to introduce my co-facilitators.”
The wheelchair lady, now nicely dressed and groomed and no longer hunching over, came around a corner and Brother Larry bent down to hug her.
“Good to see you, Larry.”
“Thank you so much for helping with our role plays.” Then turning to the group, he said, “Sister Patricia spends most of her time as a Video Production Specialist.”
Several mouths dropped, and several others smiled knowingly.
Next the teenager with basketball appeared, shook Larry’s hand, and then smiled at Ashley.
“Brother Jason spends lots of time caring for our zoo animals, and is preparing to become a veterinarian.”
“I’m off to work. Good luck to all of you!” he said and headed across the Lobby.
The unshaven man appeared.
“And Brother John Michael is one of our helicopter pilots. We caught him like this because he just got back from a cross-country skiing vacation.”
Brother John Michael pulled out the ten dollars and handed it back to the generous lady. “I hope you folks will excuse me. I’m dying for a shave and a
hot shower!”
On the way to lunch, a couple of people in the group grumbled about the methods that were being used, but others said they had never seen such thorough selection techniques before.
After lunch, Brother Larry took them for a walk along one of the nature trails. They came to a place where there was a pile of pre-cut lumber, bags of hardware, and buckets of carpentry tools.
“This afternoon’s project is somewhat similar to the one you had yesterday. A Portland retailer stocked these kits that were supposed to make little rain or sun shelters. When they discovered that the manufacturer had left out the instructions, and had then gone out of business, they donated them to us. We’ve put some of them together, and they’re not hard at all.
What’s tough is figuring out which pieces go where. You’ll find that they absolutely refuse to go together wrong. We’ve already put in the foundation for you, as you can see. Enjoy!”
The group had a little trouble selecting a leader, as several of the men claimed carpentry knowledge. Finally they settled on a lady as a coordinator, who then assigned tasks. They began by dividing the structural from the roofing materials. Ashley found herself in the group trying to fit the frame together, and she was proud to discover the proper location of several of the pieces of hardware by trying them in different positions until the bolt holes lined up. By two o’clock they were ready to build.
The frame went up quickly, but the roof required some cutting and nailing.
Two men who had done it before put on the shingles, one working on each side, while others began to sand and stain the frame. At 4:30 they were nearing completion when Brother Larry showed up with a wooden bench that fit inside perfectly. The group put on the finishing touches, and then stood around to admire their work and compliment each other.
Ashley spent the first part of the evening in the gym with Tabitha, and then they both went to a movie that was being shown in one of the residence halls.
She was getting very used to life at Lyceum, and had almost forgotten that it was only for a week.
When Friday dawned, they had lost two more people, and Ashley was pretty sure she knew of a couple of others who were finishing out the week, but weren’t interested in membership. An elderly man named Brother Carl who had helped lead the group on Monday was back, and he had several more tests for them to take. He also gave them plenty of question and answer time, and Ashley asked about the murals on the walls leading to the Research Center. Brother Carl spoke slowly and with a tone of awe and fascination in his voice.
“Those beautiful works were created by the people here at Lyceum, usually as a part of a class of one kind or another. Magnificent, aren’t they? They are constantly being redone as we update our theories and gain new historical insights. People come from all over the world to photograph them. You, young lady, might be working on one of those murals someday!”
In the afternoon, Brother Carl led them to the Healing Arts Clinic, and said fare-well, saying he had a planetarium show to narrate. The doctors, nurses, and other people who were on duty in the clinic introduced themselves, gave the group a tour, and then handed out medical history forms. When they were done with those, each person was interviewed, and finally examined by three different people.
Ashley didn’t mind the interviews and exams, but she had always hated having her finger pricked for blood samples. When her last exam was over, she asked if they had found anything wrong.
The lady doctor chuckled. “No, Ashley, your body is like a perfectly tuned machine. Brother Howard didn’t even find any evidence of bursitis or tendonitis, which is unusual for a gymnast.”
“Thanks!”
“Have a good trip home!”
As Ashley waited for the rest of the group to finish, the last comment the doctor had made was echoing in her mind. She became painfully aware that tomorrow was her last day at Lyceum, and that she would soon have to leave Tabitha, and Karen, and the wonderful gym... at least for awhile.
They had dinner at four o’clock, and by five were looking over the shelves of equipment that they could choose from for their overnight campout.
Brother Paul reminded them of the only rule: that they could only take with them what they could carry in one trip. He assured them that the camping area would have plenty of trees to tie ropes to, and a pile of dry firewood, but nothing else.
They poked through the gear for a good hour, talking about what they might need. The group decided early to assume it would rain or snow. Ashley almost immediately knew what she wanted to take, but let the adults be in charge. The elderly ones in the group agreed to carry a couple of sleeping bags and a day pack each, which left more space on the pack frames of the others for heavier equipment.
Ashley hadn’t done much camping before, but it looked pretty easy. She strapped a large tent onto her pack frame, tried it on, and then started loading on more equipment.
“Ashley! You can’t possible carry such a heavy load!” one of the older ladies said.
Ashley smiled and finished strapping on a heavy food sack.
“You don’t know about Ashley yet, do you Kate?” Brother Paul said. “Have you ever wondered why she’s not in any of the usual social activities in the evenings? It’s because she goes to the gymnasium.”
“The gymnasium! Do you lift weights?” the lady asked.
“Everyone else has shared their professional qualifications. Why don’t you, Ashley?” Paul said.
“I don’t lift weights. I’m a gymnast.”
“But not just any gymnast!” Paul added.
Ashley rolled her eyes, but was grinning. “I’m the South Dakota State Champion.”
“Why, that’s wonderful, Ashley! And it’s certainly nothing to hide,” Kate said. “I bet you could carry twice that much weight!”
“I don’t know. I’m certainly not going to do any balance beam routines with this thing on my back!”
Everyone laughed and complimented Ashley on her championship. Soon they had everything packed that they wanted to take, and were following Brother Paul along a forested trail. The half mile walk seemed like nothing to Ashley, but some of the older people were complaining about sore shoulders.
The campsite was a level area of ground tucked away in the trees near a little stream. Brother Paul said good night, and the pile of dry firewood arrived a few minutes later in a wheelbarrow.
After tents were set up, with some nearly heated discussions about who was sleeping where, and some grumbling about lumpy ground which turned out to just be pine cones under the tents, they settled into marshmallows around the campfire. Mostly they talked about the evaluation week they were finishing, and what it had meant to each of them. Of the fifteen people left in the group, ten said they were still interested in membership, one admitted she wasn’t but wanted to finish the evaluation experience for what it had to teach her, and four didn’t say.
They crawled into their tents at about nine o’clock as a light rain started to fall. Ashley lay awake for awhile, pondering everything she had seen and heard, and saying a fervent prayer that she understood enough of it. When she finally did drift off, she slept soundly, only waking once when one of the ladies in her tent noisily got up during the night.
Chapter 17: Crossed Fingers and a Catalog Although the trees still dripped and the mosses and bracken were soggy, the sky dawned clear and promised a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest as Ashley and the rest of the evaluation group crawled out of their sleeping bags.
The experienced campers, who had protected the group’s supply of firewood in one of the tents, soon had a blaze going and breakfast drinks ready. Ashley did her morning stretching routine and rolled up her sleeping bag. By the time the sun began to filter through the trees, reconstituted scrambled eggs and canned breakfast meats were frying and tents were coming down.
Ashley could tell that the tent she was carrying was heavier wet than dry.
She and several others sang an old walking song on the short trip back, and nearly everyone was in good spirits as they unpacked and hung up the wet equipment in one of Lyceum’s many store rooms. By eleven o’clock they were showered and heading for the conference room listed on their schedules.
Sister Rachael entered the room. “Good morning, everyone! I’m glad the weather was at least somewhat cooperative with your campout. Today is the last day of this process, and I congratulate you on your perseverance.
Remember that all of us here were once tested in a like manner. Life is a never ending series of tests, as I’m sure you will agree. This week was easy compared to many of life’s tests, believe me.”
At that moment, more members of the evaluation team started arriving.
Sister Rachael continued. “The remainder of this morning is devoted to all the questions you have been afraid to ask up until now. We are all here,” she said, gesturing at the other team members, “so that we can be sure to have an answer for you. Right after lunch we begin self-evaluations.”
After a few moments of silence, a hand went up. “If we choose not to join now, can we re-apply in the future?”
“Yes, after at least one year has passed. Of course, you would have to go through this process again.”
A young man asked, “Do you do police background checks?”
“Yes, but the only thing that’s a definite obstacle to membership is outstanding warrants.”
Sister Clairebeth added, “We are more interested in who you are than who you were or what someone else thought of you.”
The questions continued, some of them fairly heavy ones, as everyone was aware that this was their last chance. Ashley listened, but few of the questions seemed to apply to her.
Lunchtime was quiet and thoughtful for most of the prospective members, as they pondered the final phases of the evaluation process at Lyceum. Ashley knew she wanted to live there, but wasn’t sure if she had enough to offer in return.
After lunch they spread out in a large conference room and each received the self-evaluation booklet. They were allowed to use their workbooks, any books about Lyceum, and any personal notes they had, but were asked not to bother the other prospective members. Sister Rachael sat in the lobby to answer any last minute questions or clarify items in the booklets.
Ashley found the questions easy, but was also aware that she was writing much shorter answers than most of the adults. Starting at three o’clock, most of the members of the evaluation team were available for final interviews.
Ashley was done with her booklet by then, and choose old Brother Ted for her interview. She wasn’t sure why.
He looked over her self-evaluation booklet slowly. “Do you think you’re ready, Ashley?”
“Um... I think so.”
“Do you know how religion is practiced by the members of Lyceum?”
She wasn’t sure her answers to that question, and several others he put to her, were quite correct, but she hoped they weren’t too very wrong. By 3:25
they finished and he went off to do another interview. She strolled the
corridors of the conference center to collect her thoughts during the thirty minutes of free time she had.
At four o’clock they gathered in the conference room for the last time.
“Well, well! You sure are a thoughtful looking bunch!” Sister Clairebeth began. “Since I started this process almost exactly a week ago, I get the honor of finishing it. I am very happy to have been able to spend this time with you folks. You are interesting people, all of you! Our last function together will be a really spectacular dinner party that is being prepared for us even as we speak, but first I want to go over some final items of business.
“For those of you who indicated in your self-evaluation booklets that you are still interested in being members of Lyceum, that decision will be made by the entire evaluation team starting next Monday. We will not mail the results to you until after Christmas. The letters will come by registered mail, so you might have to go down to your post office. On the envelopes that Brother Paul is about to distribute is your name, mailing address, and phone or Internet address as we have them in our records. Please make sure they are correct.”
Ashley checked hers as soon as Brother Paul handed the envelope to her.
“On these same envelopes are your travel arrangements as we currently understand them. Based on them, we have listed when and by what means you will be leaving Lyceum. Check and make sure we understand your plans correctly, as we are responsible for getting you to your bus or train station, airport, or whatever. Joe, Kate, and Ashley, you are on a van that departs the Welcome Center at seven o’clock this evening, so you have a fairly tight schedule after the dinner party. Bob, you are going by car at eleven tonight for your midnight flight. Mary, Jennifer, and John, you are on a van at six a.m. tomorrow morning. We’ll wake you at five.” She went over the other departure times, which stretched all the way to Monday morning.
“In your envelopes are meal coupons for whatever meals you will be taking at Lyceum after the dinner party tonight. Please check and see if you have the right number. Each of you also has a fifty dollar gift certificate that you can use in the Gift Shop. And lastly, you each have a Certificate of Completion for the Lyceum Evaluation Week. This is admittedly a very inadequate recognition of all the mental and physical effort you have put out this past
week, but it is worth one quarter credit in any undergraduate college program.”
Ashley looked inside her envelope. The Certificate of Completion was beautiful to her, with its gold lettering, her name in calligraphy, and several signatures. But she knew it wasn’t the same as becoming a member. She didn’t know how she was going to wait until after Christmas, but she knew she had no choice.
In a banquet room near the Dining Hall, the dinner party was everything they had imagined, with plenty of decorations and all kinds of goodies to choose from. Tabitha, Karen, and Sister Heather were there, and Ashley was glad. Most of the evaluation team was there, as well as other people whom Ashley had never seen before. Heather told her that they were the other contact persons.
Ashley didn’t stick to her training diet that evening. Tabitha’s eyes got big when she saw Ashley’s plate, piled with everything that looked good and a few items Ashley just wanted to taste. There was a sparkling punch with sherbet floating on top that everyone loved, and a dessert table from which Ashley had two servings, something layered with chocolate and nuts, and something made from frozen yogurt and fresh fruits.
Six o’clock was passing as Ashley sat back, feeling pleasantly stuffed.
Tabitha and Karen were giggling about some gymnastics move they were learning. Sister Heather was chatting with another prospective member.
Ashley closed her eyes and went over in her mind what she still had to do before leaving. She opened her eyes and saw the clock above the door change to 6:15.
Suddenly she hopped out of her seat. Both Tabitha and Karen stopped talking and looked up at her. They could see that her eyes were moist. “I have to go. No matter what happens, I’ll always remember you guys.” The other two gymnasts stood up and surrounded her with hugs. Soon tears were on Ashley’s cheeks.
By then Sister Heather had noticed, and also stood to give Ashley a farewell hug. Finally they separated and looked at each other.
“Cross your fingers!” was all Ashley could think of to say, her face tear
stained, but her eyes smiling.
Without further formalities, Ashley Riddle, the current Women’s Gymnastics Champion of South Dakota, walked quickly out of the banquet room. Even though her face was still wet, she felt very alive as she strode all the way to the Recreation Center to get her leotard and hair bands, back to the Lodge and the room called Antelope to stuff everything into her little pack, and finally to the Gift Shop, not too far off the Main Lobby, to select something for her parents.
She stood in the middle of the shop and gazed at all the things — books, disks, art prints, toys, educational kits, little statues and figures, greeting cards, souvenirs, personal care supplies, clothing... how could she possibly decide in only ten minutes?
“I sense that you are in a hurry, and may not be ready to choose something right now,” the young lady working at the counter said.
“Yeah, I have to catch the van, but I want to get something for my parents.”
“If you want, you could take our catalog and get something by mail after you get home...”
“Could I? That would be great! Then I wouldn’t have to take it on the train.”
The lady handed Ashley a catalog.
“Thanks!” She looked at the picture of one of Lyceum’s gardens on the cover, and then dashed back to the Main Lobby, out into the evening and across the well-lit plaza toward the Welcome Center.
She hadn’t gone very far across the plaza when she heard someone behind her call her name. She skidded to a stop and turned around. It was the slender little girl who had been with them in the oriental gardens.
“I know I’ll be dancing with you someday!” the girl called to Ashley.
Ashley didn’t know quite what to make of the statement, so she waved at the eight-year-old, and then resumed her run across the plaza.
Ashley peered out the window with big, wet, thoughtful eyes as the van she was in pulled away from the Welcome Center and quickly made its way out to the highway and back toward the Interstate. When it started raining, she
looked at the catalog from the Gift Shop, and soon realized that it was going to be hard to decide what to get her parents even with plenty of time to think about it. She knew she wanted her gift to arrive by Epiphany, so she would have to decide in the next few days.
By the time they reached Interstate 5, the rain had turned to snow, and Ashley was glad that Lyceum would have a white Christmas. By the time they got to Portland, an inch had accumulated. One of the two other prospective members on the van got off at the bus station, and Ashley waved good-bye.
Ashley got off at the train station, and watched as the van headed for the airport. The snow was still falling, transforming the city into a white wonderland and tickling her nose. When the van was finally out of sight, she turned and entered the station.
The train trip home was made special for Ashley because she was able to see things during the day that had been hidden by the darkness of night on her first journey. She enjoyed talking to the conductors and attendants, and spending time in the Lounge Car. By lunchtime the following day, which was the first meal she had eaten since the dinner party at Lyceum, she had decided what to get with her fifty dollar gift certificate. As she waited for her sandwich and salad in the Dining Car, she looked at the picture of the glass nativity sculpture in the catalog, hand crafted, it said, by Brother Keith. She remembered him as the one teaching a craft class they had observed.
The only adventure on the homeward journey that she could claim was the boy in her car who kept smiling at her. He was only about ten, and was pretty immature for Ashley’s taste, but she smiled back and even played a video game with him in the Lounge Car before his parents showed up and made him sit with them. Sometimes she wished she was taller so that boys her own age would like her.
She savored her last meal in the Dining Car as the daylight faded and the train approached Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was snowing there too, just as it had been when she left Portland. An hour later she was snugly tucked into her bus seat for the night run from Cheyenne to Rapid City, and points in between.