The Road Not Taken
Chapter 19
October 20, 1973
The fall semester was in full swing. Sam had started all of his classes and basketball practice was back in his life. He'd been glad that working the farm over the summer had helped to get his leg back into shape. He and Katie had played basketball every day but he was glad to have a little more competition now. The team's medical staff had been concerned that he'd need more physical therapy to get back in the game fully, but was glad when he was able to slide right back in.
Sam smiled as he recalled his summer. Carnegie Hall had been a treat. Katie had been awestruck by the big city lights and sounds and coming back to the farm was a let down for her. While Katie had never been as content as the boys were with the farm, after seeing the sights of New York, the cows definitely weren't her favorite companions. She was getting antsy about being the sole Beckett child at home when Sam was at school. Although she'd decided that going after a modeling career was a pretty silly idea, she still wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else than rural Indiana. Sam felt certain she'd snap out of it soon though. After all, the farm was home. Then again, he figured that it was a good idea that he'd promised her that trip to New York when she graduated high school. It would give her something to set her sights on.
Continuing to think back to the New York trip, he took the framed photo of Donna and himself at the top of the Empire State Building off his desk. Sam couldn't believe she'd actually talked him into going to the top. The things you'd do for someone you love and he certainly felt that way about Donna. When they'd gotten off the elevator, a trip that had taken two stages, Sam had felt okay. He'd still felt like he was inside the building and really couldn't see much outside. When he'd stepped out with Donna onto the observation platform, however, he'd frozen. His mind all but shut down as the irrational fear of heights took its toll. All around him he could only see the tops of buildings. He found he couldn't look around anywhere without feeling dizzy and nauseated. Donna had asked his mother to take a quick photo of the two of them and then had suggested that Sam go back down to the ground floor and wait for them. She hadn't had to suggest it twice and he'd agreed readily. It rather embarrassed him that she'd needed to lead him to the elevator. Reaching the ground floor of the building had given him a great feeling of relief. Now, looking into the photo, he could see Donna's radiantly smiling face next to the forced smile and terrified eyes of his own visage. He didn't have any intention of taking another picture to remedy that. At least Donna looked great!
Sam had continued to take a variety of classes in addition to his required coursework. Most of the nuts and bolts of the Agricultural coursework were pretty straightforward to him. He was fascinated, though, by the myriad biology classes he had to take finding the world of flora and fauna incredibly diverse. He'd learned about the life cycle of various insect pests which was important to know in farming since one needed to know when to apply pesticides to end specific infestations. He figured that since he planned to continue following organic methods that would mean he wouldn't be applying that knowledge directly unless there was a natural material that could be used. Still learning how most farmers handled the work might provide some insight as to potential organic useful tools.
Sam was glad that this would be the second year to room with Ryan. During the previous year Sam had found another soul that loved to discuss new ideas and concepts. Ryan had been intrigued when Sam had brought up some interesting ideas, which would entail merging biological brain and nerve cells within a computer chip matrix. Ryan stated that with Sam's imagination he should write science fiction. Sam laughed and said he'd leave that to the real masters like Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, and Ellison. It had been fun to read through Ryan's textbooks and see what computer science had to offer. Some of the on the edge innovators in the field were even talking about networks of individual computers rather than the mainframes that were the staple of the computing work. It was a fascinating field.
Sam checked his watch, finding that it was about time to meet Ryan. They were attending a lecture on a computer programming language that had been developed in recent years called C. This newer program language had many attributes that make it attractive for writing system software. Ryan had convinced Sam to join him for the lecture tonight. He headed over to the lecture hall to hear the visiting speaker. Ryan had saved him a seat and they listened, engrossed in the presentation. Afterwards, Ryan discussed some ideas he had for using the new language to program for use in systems utilizing parallel/associative processing. Sam was intrigued by Ryan's concepts.
They headed out to a coffee shop not far from campus. Walking in, they found a booth and both ordered cheeseburgers and cokes. While they were waiting for their food, Ryan took some of the napkins and was drawing his concept. Sam pointed out some innovations that he thought might be helpful.
Ryan stopped and looked over at Sam, amazed. "How do you do that?"
Sam was surprised. "Do what?"
"You read a few of my textbooks, go to some lectures, and suddenly, you show an understanding of this field that most of the students in the department don't get."
With a slightly sarcastic smile, Sam answered, "I doubt that."
Ryan shook his head. His voice held absolute sincerity as he continued, "No, Sam. You really do. I could see you going into this field. You have a natural affinity for it. Why are you going into agriculture again?"
"I'm the only one in the family that will be able to keep the family farm going. My brother is dead and my sister's not real keen on the concept of farming. The farm is my Dad's life. I need to be there to help him. Besides, the farm has been in the family since my great-grandparents settled in Elk Ridge. I'll be the fourth generation to farm the same land and hopefully pass it down to my children someday."
"Yeah. I guess that makes sense. Family seems to be pretty important to you."
"It is."
"It just seems like there are so many things that you're good at besides farming. Since we became roommates, I've seen you take advanced physics and mathematics, play piano at the level of a concert pianist, and you're one of the best players on our basketball team. You know more about astronomy and archeology than anyone else I know and you have a pretty extensive grasp of medical concepts. And now I can see you could set computer science on its ear as well. And those are just a few of the things you do well. It just seems that farming wouldn't be your first choice of career. I mean, is there anything you can't do?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Ryan, I'm not that good. Yeah, I have a lot of interests and I try to learn as much about things that interest me as I can. So does everyone else."
"I don't think so. Okay, so people have hobbies and interests and they do them because they like to. You're at a level with most of the things that interest you that you could easily become an expert in those fields. Hell, you should be teaching some of the professors around here."
"You're exaggerating, Ryan."
"I'm just afraid, Beckett, that one day you're going to wake up and wonder where the time has gone and what you could have done. I know that your family is important but it's your life."
"You're right. It's my life and I've decided what I want to do with it. For over 100 years, the Becketts have been in Elk Ridge. That seems like a pretty good legacy to continue."
Putting his hands up, Ryan acquiesced. "Okay, I'll leave you be. If there's one thing I've learned, once you've made up your mind about something it's nearly impossible to steer you in another direction. I guess it's that tenacity that makes you so go at so many things."
With a lop sided grin, Sam responded, "I suppose it's a Beckett trait. My mother has always said that my father could out stubborn a mule. I guess in that, I take after my Dad."
Ryan agreed. Their food had arrived and they both were hungry. It didn't take long to finish their meal.
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Sam and Ryan returned to their room. They had both gotten into their studies when the phone rang. Sam picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Sam."
"Hi, Donna."
"I wanted to find out what you're planning for Thanksgiving."
"Just planning on going home. You want to join me again this year? I know the family would love to have you again."
"Actually, Sam, I was wondering if you'd like to come out to San Francisco. I'd like you to meet Mom."
"Sure, Donna. That sounds great.
"Okay. We can get into the specifics later. I just wanted to find out if you could come. I've got to go."
"No problem." He stopped for a moment and his voice got quieter. "I love you and I miss you."
"I love you, too. Thanksgiving's only about a month away. That's not too long to wait to see you again."
"That's true. Doesn't mean I don't want to be with you now."
"I know. I feel that way to. Anyways, I'd better go. Mom will kill me if I rack up too many long distance calls this month."
Sam laughed and said goodbye. As he hung up the phone, he realized he made up his mind and Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to do something about it.