We had a lovely Mothers’ Day at Brixswood Winery. The food was plentiful and delicious and the Bloody Marys were to die for… Then back home and a card game of Golf…and finally the last episode of Outer Range on Amazon Prime. At the conclusion of Outer Range which is a Science Fiction Western…I had more questions than I had answers. Suffice to say that the Science Fiction element of the 8-episode first season was regarding time travel and time running on parallel tracks.

‘My goodness I had a deep sleep,’ said Neva J. ‘I actually do not recall when I have slept so soundly,’ she continued. Grace looked at her daughter intently and decide to tell her what she was thinking. ‘Neva J., you must finish High School…I have been talking with the principal of your school and he has assured me that you have tested in the Genius percentile and that there is no telling how bright your future will be if you finish high school and then he has promised me that he will help you enroll in Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale,’ extolled Grace. ‘You will not have to depend on a lazy man as I did for my first marriage nor a drunkard…your dad…for my second marriage.’ ‘You may even discover a cure for a terrible disease like cancer or a medicine that will enable old people to remain sharper mentally…,’ said Grace. ‘But I want nice clothes and money in my pocket and I like that cute boy…Junior,’ replied Neva J. ‘All of that will be yours…and many times over…if you can defer gratification for a short while as you keep your eye on the prize, exclaimed Neva J.s’ mother.

Neva J. was flummoxed. She vividly remembered going to sleep in the Shawnee Christian Nursing Home…and waking up as a girl of 16 years with dreams of embarking on the world. She had a son who had sons…her grandsons…and she had been very old and frail…and extremely forgetful. Neva J. thought about what Grace had told her and she decided to change her direction and listen to her mom.

‘Mom…hurry up…it is almost time for you to receive your award,’ said Billy B. ‘Will Neva J. Bump please step forward, said President Joe Biden. ‘For her work in eradicating the dreaded disease of Alzheimer’s…I proudly award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Neva J. Bump. Neva J. slowly stepped forward with her grandsons…Aaron and Jonathon on either side of her…as she was 94 years old and of a crystal clear mind…and a happy heart…