The Road Not Taken: Another Path

Chapter 11

September 5, 1972

After Ezra had been hired, Sam had spent the next couple of weeks showing him the "ropes" of the farm. Ezra had taken to the job quickly, stating that the way the Beckett's ran their farm wasn't much different than the way his father had. Well, except for the organic techniques. Even after Sam had explained that by doing things organically, the amount they could reasonably charge increased significantly, Ezra was skeptical. However, he figured that if that was the way his employers wanted him to handle things, well, they were the boss.

Sam had initially felt sad, leaving the farm and returning to Purdue. After a few days, though, he started feeling a bit better. He was taking the coursework necessary for the Agriculture degree but having passed several CLEP tests, he had the schedule freedom to take a couple of electives that were to his liking. He was taking Modern Physics and Advanced Differential Equations. Spending time with Donna discussing their thoughts on these subjects had re-sparked Sam's interests. Maybe he wasn't going to have a practical purpose to use this knowledge, but it did make him happy.

This year Pete had decided to pledge at a fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, so Sam would be getting a new roommate. He'd been told that Ryan Leander was a Computer Science major. He was looking forward to meeting him. However, he needed to go to the Judo class with Pete and couldn't wait around.

"Hi, Sam. How was your summer?" Pete asked when he saw him.

Sam thought a moment. "Well, it was both the best summer ever and the worst."

Pete looked at Sam, showing concern. "What do you mean?"

"Which do you want to hear about first?"

"Tell me the worst part first. That way, you can tell me the great part and you'll end on a positive."

Sam sighed. "My Dad had a really severe heart attack. The doctor said he'll be a semi-invalid."

Pete's face fell. "Oh, man. I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

Sam looked at his friend, showing his gratitude. "Pete, your just being here is enough. It's nice to have a friend I can talk to."

"How is this going to affect your farm?" Pete recognized the difficulties that would arise. He was concerned that Sam would be called back home.

"We hired a man to help Dad out. He's got a family to take care of so the job is good for him. And he knows dairy farming. I think he'll be a real help to my dad."

"So you're not leaving school?"

Sam smiled. "No. I offered but my mother wouldn't hear of it. She convinced Dad this was the best choice. She wants me to finish college. I think that everything will work out in the long run."

Pete nodded. "Glad you'll be able to stay in school. So, is that the good news?"

Sam shook his head and took out his wallet. "Well, it is a good thing to stay in school, but something really wonderful happened this summer." He pulled Donna's picture out and handed it to Pete, saying, "She's the good news. Her name is Donna. God, she's just about the most wonderful woman in the world. She and I met in June and have been seeing and corresponding with each other all summer."

Pete took the picture in his hands and whistled. "Wow…she's a real looker." Pete looked over at Sam and said wickedly, "I wonder what she sees in you, Beckett."

Sam gave Pete an annoyed glance. "She's a physics major at Lawrence College in Marion, Ohio. We both enjoy the subject."

"Oh….okay….I get it…nerd love."

Sam was about to comment when the instructor called the class to order. He and Pete listened to and then practiced the day's new techniques. Afterwards, Pete said he had to get back to the Fraternity. His "brothers" would certainly have some "jobs" for him to do.

As Pete turned to leave he stated, "You ought to join, Sam. I'm sure they'd let you pledge too."

Sam shook his head, "No, that kind of thing isn't for me."

Pete shrugged. "Well, suit yourself. It is a lot of fun. Sometimes you need to loosen up more."

The skin around Sam's eyes crinkled just a bit as he threw Pete a smile. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

Sam walked back to the dorm. When he walked into the room, he found that the other side of the room had been filled with the items that announced the presence of his new roommate. He checked out the bookshelf and found quite a few books on computers and the collection of the novelizations of the Star Trek series, along with the book "The Physics of Star Trek." He turned as he heard the door open behind him.

"Hi. You must be Ryan."

"Yeah." Ryan held up his right hand with his palm facing Sam and the ring and middle finger forming a "V." "Live long and prosper."

Sam smiled, "You take this Star Trek stuff pretty seriously."

"I do. It had to be the best show ever and they killed it after only three seasons. Roddenberry was a flipping genius."

"I used to watch it too. It had some great concepts."

"Yeah. The networks should have continued the series. It was intelligent and they tackled a lot of important issues."

"Where are you from, Ryan?"

"I grew up in Jeffersonville, across the river from Louisville, Kentucky. Where are you from?"

"My family has a farm in Elk Ridge which is fairly close to Terre Haute."

Ryan smiled. "I don't know much about farming. I love computers though. It's cool what they are doing with mainframes. It would be neat if they someday had computers like the ones on Star Trek. You know, ones that had real artificial intelligence."

"Yeah, that would be fun," said Sam, nodding.

"Hey. Do you know when they show the Star Trek reruns in the area?"

"Hmmmm. I think I've seen a group watching in the student lounge at 10 p.m. on Tuesday nights"

"Today is Tuesday." It was a statement, not a question.

Sam grinned, "Yeah, it is."

"You want to go watch?"

"Okay. That might be fun."

Ryan finished putting his things away and the two went off to grab some dinner. They continued to talk about what had brought them to Purdue and the plans that they had for when they eventually graduated. Ryan had wondered why Sam, who seemed to understand a lot about computers, would choose to pursue a farming career. But as they said on Star Trek…Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

When they arrived at the student lounge, they found the chairs already taken so they sat on the floor. That night's episode was The Trouble With Tribbles. One of the students watching wondered why the wheat in the episode was called quadrotriticale. Sam had explained that it was an extrapolation from an actual hybrid of rye and wheat that bred true under less than idea conditions. The other watchers had thought that was really cool. Sam felt that among these fans of the show, his love of science and esoteric knowledge was appreciated. It gave him a warm glow.

After the show was over, Ryan and he walked back to the dorm. They continued to talk, getting to know one another. Sam felt that he and his new roommate would definitely become good friends.