DIGITAL UNIVERSE

Lenny Longwood has been a librarian at the Solomon Science Center for eight years  where the main attraction is the new exhibit, Digital Universe, at the Hiram Planetarium.  It is the most complete and accurate 3-D atlas of the Universe from the local solar neighborhood out to the edge of the observable Universe.  This exhibit was on loan from the Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in New York City.

Astronomy has been his passion since he was in the seventh grade when his class went on a field trip to the Byron Observatory. Having moved to Headsmouth, Alaska from Paradox, Delaware ten years ago, he has been witness to countless meteor showers, x-class solar flares, geminid shooting stars,  and various eclipses.  He has seen  obscure constellations such as the Chameleon, Fornax, and Reticulum with his catadioptric telescope .  February is his favorite month because the Aurora Borealis can be seen nightly.

That night the Center had a private black tie affair to preview Digital Universe.  Special guests included Mayor Richard Johnson and his wife, Jane, Prime Ministers from Croatia and Serbia, and actors from the action-packed  blockbuster, Frostbite, Sunshine Hennessy, Mary Maggie Faithful, Michael Archer, and rapper S & M. The caterers served champagne and hors d’oeuvres and  a string quartet was on hand to play at the reception.

When he first started working at the Observatory, he befriended a woman that worked at the Center.  Her name was Alice who worked as part-time curator at the observatory.  She was twenty-six and a native of Alaska.  On her days off she volunteered at the ASPCA and was studying to be a veterinarian.

She sat with him at lunch one day and just started chit-chatting.  She asked him out to dinner at her favorite restaurant, Serendipity. She was the first person he talked to in Headsmouth that made him feel comfortable.

Lenny Longwood got dressed and picked Alice up for the preview.  She looked lovely in a red dress with her red hair and matching lipstick, but he couldn’t bring himself to pay her the compliment.

“How nice you look, Lenny,” she said.

“Oh, thank  you, Alice.  Uhm...You look nice, too,”  he replied.

“Can you believe all those actors are going to be there?”

“Yes, it’s great,” he said.  He especially found Mary Maggie Faithful comely.

“I wonder if I’d be able to talk to Michael Archer.  Even for a minute.”

“Well, you just might,” he said vaguely.

“You know Dick and Jane will be there.”

“Who?”

“The Johnsons.”

“I see,”  Lenny said.

“Well, here we go,” she said as they pulled up to the Center.  The valet whisked the car away to the back of the building.  They walked into the Center and saw the Johnsons talking with Marly A. Hewett, the docent of the Planetarium.

Reviews

[Craig2591]

I saw no typos or errors. You have a straight, to-the -point style of writing. Efficient. I like that. The story could perhaps use a touch more description and color, but that's just personal preference.

I found your book in the Write a Book contest which I also entered.