The Barista
Chapter 18- Pondering
Tag for 215- The Fifth Race (Can anyone tell me why the word 'tag' is used to refer
to post episodic stories?? Yeah, it's shorter than 'Post-episodic tale' but it doesn't
really explain much, does it?)
Disclaimer: I haven't said it for a while, but the only character that's mine (hee, hee-
I own her don't I?) is Kira. Everyone else belongs to a chattel of companies
somewhere on the west coast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is one of those picture postcard days here in Colorado Springs. The Rockies are all
covered with a thick blanket of snow, the sun is shining brightly and the forecast is
for a high of 28 F with no wind. That might sound cold to you, but up here, it's just
perfect. All things considered, mid-January doesn't get much better than this.
I'm in a good mood as I take the long way home from work. I cut through the park
behind the University and skirt around the edge of the playground. I smile as I take
in the guys playing Frisbee. It had been about 3 weeks since my last park foray and
that had ended with a free breakfast! I had only seen Daniel once since then. It was
right before the weather went all wacky last week. That (the weather, not Daniel)
had been weird. Usually acute instances of global warming don't just stop after
three days, but for some reason it did. Someone up there likes us, that's for sure.
I'm so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I nearly walk right past him. Actually I
*do* walk past him but then I stop and turn back around. Yep- it's him all right.
Jack O'Neill.
Jack O'Neill sitting by himself on a park bench watching the world go by. He looks
sad. The sound of children's laughter from the nearby playground seems to catch his
attention and he turns to stare ata child being pushed on a swing. Only his eyes
move, as he watches the little boy swing up in a high arch and then back down with
gleefull squeals.
It's a little weird to see him so still. Hell, it's a little weird to see him out here by
himself. I may not know Colonel Jack all that well, but he strikes me as a private
guy. The kind of guy who'd much rather hang out in the quiet of his house than in a
noisy park. It's a little disconcerting.
Well, I can't just walk past and not say hello. Well, I *could* but I'm not going too.
I clear my throat and take a step forward.
"Oh, hey Kira." Jack says off handly as he looks up and slowly takes in my presence
before turning back towards the kids in the park. Absently I wonder if maybe one of
those kids is his. I sit down next to him.
And I surprise myself by just sitting. For several long minutes I just sit. I also take
in the kids playing in the park, the brilliant blue of the sky and the general feeling of
everything being ok in the universe. Maybe Jack has something here. He doesn't
seem to mind my presence so after a few minutes, I take a moment to
surreptitiously study him. I notice how incredibly tired he looks. He has large dark
smudges under his eyes and he looks much older. My eyes begin to move upwards
and suddenly I let out an audible gasp.
Jack O'Neill has gone gray! There! Along the temples, he's really and truly gray.
Actually, it's more silver than gray.. When the hell did that happen?
Jack turns towards me and gives me a funny look as my cheeks grow uncomfortably
warm. Smooth move Meyers.
"Something wrong Kira?" Jack asks cocking his head slightly to one side.
"Uh, no." I say in a voice slightly higher than my own natural alto.
"Uh huh." Jack says clearly not believing me.
"You have gray hair Jack." Might as well get it out in the open.
Unselfconsciously Jack runs a hand through his short brown and silver hair and gives
me a short chuckle. "Yeah, I've been noticing that myself lately. I'm going to blame
it on Daniel."
"What'd he do this time?" I ask smiling, hoping I'd get a story. Somehow I know
any story told by Colonel Jack O'Neill was bound to be interesting.
"More like a cumulative effect." Jack says with a small smile. He then turns back
towards the kids. I wonder if I should leave him to his solitude. I'm just about
ready to stand up when the sound of Jack's voice anchors me back to the bench.
"Have you always been smart Kira?" Jack asks continuing to look straight ahead. I
give him a quixotic look as I ponder his question.
"Define smart." I reply. Jack laughs genuinely this time and turns to look at me.
"Good in school, high IQ. You know- smart."
I shrug. Well when he puts it that way.. "I guess. I mean, I'm not Mensa*
material, but I hold my own." I say.
"Carter and Daniel are smart." Jack says with a nod. A multi-lingual archaeologist
and a PhD-toting Astrophysicist? I think 'smart' is putting it lightly.
"I've never really been book-smart." Jack says softly. "I was much more interested
in girls and cars when I was a kid." I smile. I could *so* see that.
"But you're a Colonel in the United States military!" I say in rebuttal. I couldn't
quite remember if he was Army or Air Force.
Jack shrugs and does a funny hand wave as if that doesn't matter. "But I'm not
smart. Sure I can dismantle and reassemble a P90 in less than 15 seconds, but what
does that matter?"
"When you're being chased by a big-ass bear and that gun can save your life?" I
answer.
Jack gives me another funny look. "Well sure, that might save a life or two, but
what about solving the riddles of the universe?!" Jack says this angrily. I take a
moment to ponder this.
"Solving the riddles of the universe?"
"Yeah- meaning of life stuff." Jack says with a heavy sigh. "What if you were smart
enough to figure out the answers to all those meaning of life type questions?" I'm
pretty sure it's a rhetorical question but I decide to answer anyway.
"I heard Stephen Hawkings speak once." I say.
"The guy in the wheelchair?" Jack asks.
I nod. "Yeah. He was giving a lecture at CSU and I managed to get my hands on a
ticket and attend."
"Stephen Hawkings is smart." Jack concedes with a nod.
"Able to solve riddles of the universe smart." I say. Jack shrugs. "But if he found
himself on a mountain being chased by a bear, he'd be dead in seconds."
"Your point?" Jack says tiredly.
"There will always be people who will attempt to solve the riddles of the universe
Jack, but without guys who can keep them safe, they'll never find the answers."
"Maybe." Jack concedes. "Still being smart can be pretty cool." He says this in a
strange, nearly nostalgic voice. Kinda like Charly from that book, Flowers for
Algernon.**
"Jack, if I were trapped on a desert island with only my history books and
intelligence, I'd probably die of sunstroke. I don't know how to make a fire from
scratch, where to find fresh water, how to find shelter in a driving rain- hell how to
BUILD shelter in a driving rain. But I bet you do." Jack let out a short hmmph and
gave me a wry smile as he gave me a small affirmative nod.
"And you don't think that's smart?!" I say incredulously. "Hey, if trapped on an
island of Ancient Greeks, I might be able to help you out, but only with the language
and culture stuff. If suddenly the Greeks decided they needed me as a virgin
sacrifice.."
"Virgin, right." Jack said under his breath.
"Hey!" I say giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs. "I might still be a virgin." I can't
believe I'm saying this to him.
"Kira, you're 21 years old and cute as a button, there's no way you're a virgin." I
don't know whether to be complimented or insulted. Still, Jack just called me cute.
Those thoughts should keep me warm tonight.
"ANYWAY," I say continuing my what-if scenario. "If I were overtaken by a dozen.."
"Two." Jack says getting into the game.
"Half a dozen fierce warriors," I say glaring at him. "And I were taken to the alter
and told that now I would die. There probably isn't anything I could do about it.
Sure, I'd try and talk sense into them, site some historical precedence or something.
But sometimes that just might not work."
"No kidding." Jack mumbles.
"And who's going to be the one to save my butt from the burner?" I don't wait for
his answer. "Guys like you Jack; smart military guys who can assess a situation and
do what needs to be done. No pondering, no questioning, you just do it."
Jack just sits there for several long moments mulling over what I have said.
"Smart military guys can make mistakes you know."
"So can smart, meaning of life guys." I answer. Jack sighs deeply and goes back to
staring at the kids on the swing set. I continue to sit with him for another five
minutes before standing up. It's time for me to go. Jack looks at me as I stand. His
silver hairs sparkle in the strong sunshine. I decide that Jack O'Neill looks quite
dignified with gray hair.
"Your ears are turning pink Jack, don't stay out here too long." I chide.
Jack smiles, eyes twinkling. "Just a little while longer mom."
I laugh and give him a short wave. "Bye Jack."
"Bye Kira. Thanks." Not really sure what he's thanking me for, but that's ok. Jack
seems a little less sad than when I sat down and that's not a bad thing at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Mensa- club for folks with really high IQ's.
** Flowers For Algernon. A book by Daniel Keyes about a guy with a really low IQ
who gains intelligence only to eventually lose it again.
Chapter 18- Pondering
Tag for 215- The Fifth Race (Can anyone tell me why the word 'tag' is used to refer
to post episodic stories?? Yeah, it's shorter than 'Post-episodic tale' but it doesn't
really explain much, does it?)
Disclaimer: I haven't said it for a while, but the only character that's mine (hee, hee-
I own her don't I?) is Kira. Everyone else belongs to a chattel of companies
somewhere on the west coast.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is one of those picture postcard days here in Colorado Springs. The Rockies are all
covered with a thick blanket of snow, the sun is shining brightly and the forecast is
for a high of 28 F with no wind. That might sound cold to you, but up here, it's just
perfect. All things considered, mid-January doesn't get much better than this.
I'm in a good mood as I take the long way home from work. I cut through the park
behind the University and skirt around the edge of the playground. I smile as I take
in the guys playing Frisbee. It had been about 3 weeks since my last park foray and
that had ended with a free breakfast! I had only seen Daniel once since then. It was
right before the weather went all wacky last week. That (the weather, not Daniel)
had been weird. Usually acute instances of global warming don't just stop after
three days, but for some reason it did. Someone up there likes us, that's for sure.
I'm so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I nearly walk right past him. Actually I
*do* walk past him but then I stop and turn back around. Yep- it's him all right.
Jack O'Neill.
Jack O'Neill sitting by himself on a park bench watching the world go by. He looks
sad. The sound of children's laughter from the nearby playground seems to catch his
attention and he turns to stare ata child being pushed on a swing. Only his eyes
move, as he watches the little boy swing up in a high arch and then back down with
gleefull squeals.
It's a little weird to see him so still. Hell, it's a little weird to see him out here by
himself. I may not know Colonel Jack all that well, but he strikes me as a private
guy. The kind of guy who'd much rather hang out in the quiet of his house than in a
noisy park. It's a little disconcerting.
Well, I can't just walk past and not say hello. Well, I *could* but I'm not going too.
I clear my throat and take a step forward.
"Oh, hey Kira." Jack says off handly as he looks up and slowly takes in my presence
before turning back towards the kids in the park. Absently I wonder if maybe one of
those kids is his. I sit down next to him.
And I surprise myself by just sitting. For several long minutes I just sit. I also take
in the kids playing in the park, the brilliant blue of the sky and the general feeling of
everything being ok in the universe. Maybe Jack has something here. He doesn't
seem to mind my presence so after a few minutes, I take a moment to
surreptitiously study him. I notice how incredibly tired he looks. He has large dark
smudges under his eyes and he looks much older. My eyes begin to move upwards
and suddenly I let out an audible gasp.
Jack O'Neill has gone gray! There! Along the temples, he's really and truly gray.
Actually, it's more silver than gray.. When the hell did that happen?
Jack turns towards me and gives me a funny look as my cheeks grow uncomfortably
warm. Smooth move Meyers.
"Something wrong Kira?" Jack asks cocking his head slightly to one side.
"Uh, no." I say in a voice slightly higher than my own natural alto.
"Uh huh." Jack says clearly not believing me.
"You have gray hair Jack." Might as well get it out in the open.
Unselfconsciously Jack runs a hand through his short brown and silver hair and gives
me a short chuckle. "Yeah, I've been noticing that myself lately. I'm going to blame
it on Daniel."
"What'd he do this time?" I ask smiling, hoping I'd get a story. Somehow I know
any story told by Colonel Jack O'Neill was bound to be interesting.
"More like a cumulative effect." Jack says with a small smile. He then turns back
towards the kids. I wonder if I should leave him to his solitude. I'm just about
ready to stand up when the sound of Jack's voice anchors me back to the bench.
"Have you always been smart Kira?" Jack asks continuing to look straight ahead. I
give him a quixotic look as I ponder his question.
"Define smart." I reply. Jack laughs genuinely this time and turns to look at me.
"Good in school, high IQ. You know- smart."
I shrug. Well when he puts it that way.. "I guess. I mean, I'm not Mensa*
material, but I hold my own." I say.
"Carter and Daniel are smart." Jack says with a nod. A multi-lingual archaeologist
and a PhD-toting Astrophysicist? I think 'smart' is putting it lightly.
"I've never really been book-smart." Jack says softly. "I was much more interested
in girls and cars when I was a kid." I smile. I could *so* see that.
"But you're a Colonel in the United States military!" I say in rebuttal. I couldn't
quite remember if he was Army or Air Force.
Jack shrugs and does a funny hand wave as if that doesn't matter. "But I'm not
smart. Sure I can dismantle and reassemble a P90 in less than 15 seconds, but what
does that matter?"
"When you're being chased by a big-ass bear and that gun can save your life?" I
answer.
Jack gives me another funny look. "Well sure, that might save a life or two, but
what about solving the riddles of the universe?!" Jack says this angrily. I take a
moment to ponder this.
"Solving the riddles of the universe?"
"Yeah- meaning of life stuff." Jack says with a heavy sigh. "What if you were smart
enough to figure out the answers to all those meaning of life type questions?" I'm
pretty sure it's a rhetorical question but I decide to answer anyway.
"I heard Stephen Hawkings speak once." I say.
"The guy in the wheelchair?" Jack asks.
I nod. "Yeah. He was giving a lecture at CSU and I managed to get my hands on a
ticket and attend."
"Stephen Hawkings is smart." Jack concedes with a nod.
"Able to solve riddles of the universe smart." I say. Jack shrugs. "But if he found
himself on a mountain being chased by a bear, he'd be dead in seconds."
"Your point?" Jack says tiredly.
"There will always be people who will attempt to solve the riddles of the universe
Jack, but without guys who can keep them safe, they'll never find the answers."
"Maybe." Jack concedes. "Still being smart can be pretty cool." He says this in a
strange, nearly nostalgic voice. Kinda like Charly from that book, Flowers for
Algernon.**
"Jack, if I were trapped on a desert island with only my history books and
intelligence, I'd probably die of sunstroke. I don't know how to make a fire from
scratch, where to find fresh water, how to find shelter in a driving rain- hell how to
BUILD shelter in a driving rain. But I bet you do." Jack let out a short hmmph and
gave me a wry smile as he gave me a small affirmative nod.
"And you don't think that's smart?!" I say incredulously. "Hey, if trapped on an
island of Ancient Greeks, I might be able to help you out, but only with the language
and culture stuff. If suddenly the Greeks decided they needed me as a virgin
sacrifice.."
"Virgin, right." Jack said under his breath.
"Hey!" I say giving him a sharp elbow to the ribs. "I might still be a virgin." I can't
believe I'm saying this to him.
"Kira, you're 21 years old and cute as a button, there's no way you're a virgin." I
don't know whether to be complimented or insulted. Still, Jack just called me cute.
Those thoughts should keep me warm tonight.
"ANYWAY," I say continuing my what-if scenario. "If I were overtaken by a dozen.."
"Two." Jack says getting into the game.
"Half a dozen fierce warriors," I say glaring at him. "And I were taken to the alter
and told that now I would die. There probably isn't anything I could do about it.
Sure, I'd try and talk sense into them, site some historical precedence or something.
But sometimes that just might not work."
"No kidding." Jack mumbles.
"And who's going to be the one to save my butt from the burner?" I don't wait for
his answer. "Guys like you Jack; smart military guys who can assess a situation and
do what needs to be done. No pondering, no questioning, you just do it."
Jack just sits there for several long moments mulling over what I have said.
"Smart military guys can make mistakes you know."
"So can smart, meaning of life guys." I answer. Jack sighs deeply and goes back to
staring at the kids on the swing set. I continue to sit with him for another five
minutes before standing up. It's time for me to go. Jack looks at me as I stand. His
silver hairs sparkle in the strong sunshine. I decide that Jack O'Neill looks quite
dignified with gray hair.
"Your ears are turning pink Jack, don't stay out here too long." I chide.
Jack smiles, eyes twinkling. "Just a little while longer mom."
I laugh and give him a short wave. "Bye Jack."
"Bye Kira. Thanks." Not really sure what he's thanking me for, but that's ok. Jack
seems a little less sad than when I sat down and that's not a bad thing at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Mensa- club for folks with really high IQ's.
** Flowers For Algernon. A book by Daniel Keyes about a guy with a really low IQ
who gains intelligence only to eventually lose it again.