Prologue & Chapter One

Prologue

In the fiction novel "Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, the word "plankton" does not appear.  In this blog, entitled "Escape from Reality" the words "giraffe", "turtle","internet", and "schematic", and the term "we’re not in Kansas any more" appear once, and very early at that.  In fact, in the first paragraph.

You’re probably scratching your head and wondering "What has happen to this guy?"

Nothing. It’s just that both of them are works of fiction. In the latter’s case, a newly created escape from reality over this most recent Labor Day weekend. And what is Labor Day here in the United States but our last gasp chance to escape from reality.  After that, for most of us not including me, it’s back to school, or back to work.

2 - A cruel hoax ahead.

So, escape with me, from the reality world where smog, traffic, noise, and crowds jam our lives with frustration and less than perfect thoughts. Escape to the world of quiet, peaceful, relaxation and beauty.

Chapter One

Escape from Reality

We quietly packed a cooler with sodas, and water and a small bag with crackers and cheese, making sure that none of our neighbors had a clue of what was about to happen.  Our escape mode only fits four people and we didn’t want to have twenty or more beating at the exterior of our vehicle trying to escape with us.  We dressed in cotton clothing of the early twenty-first century, which kept us cool from the high temperatures that kept the area where we live near or above the 100 degree mark most of the summer.

3 - I've looked. Nothing.

  In the early morning light (actually early for us means about 11 a.m.) we quickly moved the cooler into the vehicle.  We had already devoured one meal this day, consisting of sweetened circles of wheat that resemble very small donuts soaked in fluid taken from a bovine.  We pressed the power button and life arose from the depths of the vehicle.  No noise, in this day and age the sound of an engine would have made our escape even harder.  The lights of the instrument panel came on in their cool blue color, telling us that everything was working properly and all we needed to do was shift the mode to forward or reverse and the thrusters would do the rest.  With one quick shift we slowly eased from our property and made our way along the darkly paved passageways towards the high-speed connector that would lead us out of our reality.

4 - You could see a clouds, but no mountains. Not even the foothills.

Knowing that time was not a major obstacle we maneuvered at a modest velocity along our escape route.  We took a few photographs along the way in case, for some unknown reason, we were unable to remember where we had come from.  Black holes and other quirks in the space time continuum have caused travelers to be lost forever and we didn’t want to be in that category.  At least not yet.  Just escaping reality for awhile was the goal.

We passed an area where it appears people procreate, but that is not the case.  Maybe someone just had a strange sense of humor, but it is a real actual passageway in our town.

As we moved eastward across the flatlands we could not even see the destination ahead of us the air was so bad.

5 - Look close, there they are.

  A mere sixty miles ahead of us we would be there, and yet we could not see half that distance.  We continued.  Slowly, as if someone began to lift one layer at a time of flimsy gauze we began to see the high areas we were headed towards.  And as we began to leave the flatlands and enter the low rolling areas we could see more and more.  We passed a man-made holding area for the liquid that falls from the sky and noted how little was left at the end of this summer.  We had seen it lower in what are called drought years, but this year there was still enough for a few people to play in and on it and enjoy themselves.

A few more photographs brought us to the entrance to the escape area.  It has only been about 35 miles and has only taken us about a half hour to get to this point.