Matters of Gravity

Episode #26

Breakfast on this morning was about options, trivial and otherwise, Wheaties or Raisin Bran, and the alps or the northwest.

"Wheaties," Roger said.

"There's a lot to recommend the cascade slopes; from Bachelor to Whistler there are a lot of decent resorts," Margie said, seeming to have just continued a conversation Roger had just happened into. "Would we have a problem flying into North Bend to get to Bachelor?" Maria asked, whereupon they all looked from one to the other. "Maybe we should leave Bachelor out of the tour."

"It'd be nice to do a complete tour though. Would you be alright with it Tommy? Roger? We would just pass through the airport at North Bend," Margie contributed.

"It'd be fine," Tommy said. "I think I need to straighten out some of those memories anyway."

"Yeah. Me too," Roger added after a bit of thought."

"So, we're doing the complete tour then – the tour de force?" Maria asked.

"Yes, can we schedule the flights to begin right after our wedding? Then end up doing Baker and collapse at the Canyon if we're done with skiing."

"And then kayaking," Tommy said. "I like doing that."

"Yeah, I'm up for that."

"Should I work a schedule while you two are out doing what you do?" Margie asked.

They all agreed that that would be fine. Tommy went to work out and Roger and Maria went to their separate destinations, Roger dropping Maria off at Lisa's on his way to the campus, Maria regretting that she couldn't be in two places at once.

There were a couple of professors in Julie's office when Roger arrived so he walked the halls till their meeting was over, each of them acknowledging Roger as they left, with deference to his being an alumnus and, of course, the achievements in his sports career. Roger only recognized one of them vaguely and another he thought he remembered as being President of the University. It amused him as he convinced himself that Julie would not have been informing them of 'the plan'. This must be something else.

"So... is this a bad day to proceed?" he asked as he entered the office. "No. Just a day at the office; you are so lucky to be retired Roger."

"Actually, I've never actually done a day's work in my life," he laughed. "I've had the same luxury that Willie Mays bragged about with that statement on his own behalf. So I've never been anything but retired."

"I guess I shouldn't complain either; I've always done what I love as well. But I guess at a certain point seniority forces responsibility. You had to have felt that your last few years – announcers always made a point of what it meant for a team to have you in the dugout."

"So isn't Ben maintaining a very tight ship?"

She laughed at his insight. "No, he isn't really. This is hush hush top secret stuff though."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Roger laughed. "Ben's been a bad boy?"

"A very bad boy – with boys no less."

"Oh god."

"As of Monday I'll be acting dean whether I want to or not."

"I think it's a role that suits your acting ability."

"Roger, could we just get back to work? I haven't had time to completely absorb the notion of the gravity well at the center of electrically-charged particles, but I see the merits. Doesn't gravitational potential enter into the formula for particle mass though? And how do you see mass per se and gravitational charge as distinct one from the other?