"right there, in a straight line with those two stars in cassopelia, 70 light years away, visible with the naked eye." i would sputter.

"i don't see anything carlee." oh well, if your eyes were better you could....i could see it perfectly in my imagination.

i was in an advanced science course in high school, taught by a rather interesting individual named thomas hampton, who held a phd in something, no one really knew what. he was quiet and very nice, and maybe his doctorate was in underwater basket weaving, who cared. he referred to me as his "prise student" and that embarassed me, but everything else did too that year, i was going through the age of embarrasment; acne was rampant, and self esteem was not to be heard of, i didn't even like to be seen in public. the colonel explained to me that it was merely a "stage" but i didn't think so. no, i would be like this the rest of my life, and that's that........

my classmates would come to me with their problems in phyics and mathematics, and i was "expected" to answer all of their questions exactly. god, i wanted to go out and buy some large glasses, put them on my face and announce to the world that carlee was a nerd, a geek, an unattractive nerd-geek, who no one could love but her father.......school would soon be out, i would graduate--but to what i didn't know. i had no idea what i wanted to do with the rest of my life, no idea at all. college was an option for me, but i was tired of school, another four years would have been intolerable--i wanted to just crawl in a hole and pretend that life just didn't exist.

then one day, in the early spring, mr. hampton called me to his office after class.

"carlee, your my prize student." (oh, please.) "i have been talking about you to a colleague of mine, dr. raymond craig. do you know him?"

"no sir, i've never heard of him." i answered.

"dr. craig is a renouned astrophysicist and wishes your company this week end at his home in nashville." i didn't know what to say; what would dr. craig want with me anyway. "dr. craig has, at great expence, built an observatory in the outskirts of nashville, and has recently acquired a 36 inch reflecting telescope from a group in sweden, he wanted to show it off, and he asked me if i knew of anyone deserving, i mentioned your name."

"my father would have a cow if i went off for the weekend with a complete stranger mr. hampton."

"your father's out of the country carlee."

"i know, but he will return sometime." gads.....

"it makes no difference to me carlee, i just thought it would be something you would enjoy."

gosh, maybe it would be something i would enjoy; a chance to see the heavens rather than just dream about them. but, what if he hurt me, or raped me--you can't tell about people these days....i thought about it though, as i walked out the door. i'm certain dr. craig didn't invite me personally, he didn't know me from adam, this was hampton's doings, and maybe it was ok. 36 inches eh, big scope, mt. palamor is 200, i have access to none. oh, i still had time to think about it; gosh, it was only tuesday.

i dreamed about the weekend that night. the colonel had taken the disney wall paper off the walls 100 years ago, and had replaced it with a colorful-young lady's print. i often wished the disney stuff back, i did when i work up the next morning crying.

over morning coffee, i thought about it, more and more i thought about it. in the computer lab at school, i tried to find out anything i could about dr. raymond craig, nothing turned. at lunch, under the hugh oak tree in the front yard of the school, i queried by friend katie about the week end thing.

"gosh, carlee, i'm not sure--mr. hampton seems to be on the up and up, maybe it will be alright." (and maybe you will see my picture on a milk carton next week katie). i don't know why in the hell i always choose katie to talk to when i'm looking for someone to help me with important matters. she's more insecure than i am......

i finished my bologny sandwich (the lunch of champions) and scurried to fourth period science class. "carlee, you remind me of a pretty squirrel, you don't hurry, you scurry." my dad would tell me. gosh, what would he think? would he tell me that was a borderline adult and should make my own decisions? or would he tell me this was the craziest thing he'd ever heard of?

science class was nice, they showed a movie of a great planetarium in st. louis, and everything looked so real, it was great. st. louis must be quite a city to have something like that. i have two good internet friends there, fredie and heather, maybe i should consider getting out of kentucky and-----escaping again carlee? yep, i am going to go to dr. craig's this week end. there, i've made my decision.......

i went to see dr. hampton after school, and told him that i would to visit dr. craig the week end, but i didn't know nashville very well.

"that's alright carlee." he said. "i will be glad to drive you down, it's really not easy to find.i can pick you up sunday morning, i have business in nashville myself this week end."

"thank you dr. hampton, you can pick me up at my house after school friday."

"good, i'll call dr. craig tonight. and thanks, carlee." he ended. god, i'm being set up, i just know it.

friday came quickly, it was 4 pm and i was packing. dr. hampton told me to be sure to pack a red dress, and i did (for whatever reason). i was wearing a light blue one, it was a couple of years old, but i liked it. it was short, and the colonel had told me when i picked it out

"too much skin carlee."

"oh, dad, this is the 1990's."

"well, i guess, since i well remember the 1960's, i suppose it will do." he paid for it, and i kissed him on the cheek, he blushed, i remember it so clearly. little girl, growing up so rapidly. it was sweet.

dr. hampton pulled up in our driveway in a hugh blue lincoln (my hearst, i thought) gosh, the spooks were moving in on me again. i locked up, scotched taped up a phoney note to mrs. darcey in the back door, and walked to the car. it was cool inside, dr. hampton had a cd of eric clapton on, unplugged, i think. he looked nice in a matching blue suit.

"is the music alright carlee?" he asked.

"wonderful dr. hampton." i responded.

bowling green came quickly, we drove through the beautiful campus of western ky. university, happy faces every where, hugh dormitories, and apartment buildings for the married with children.

"you know carlee, when i attended this university, there were very few married couples, a sign of the times." he said. "it was western ky. state college then, and that old building they have preserved was snell hall, formally a college itself." that was interesting to me. "the large science building across from it is named after kelley thompson, once a bmoc."

"bmoc?" i asked.

"big man on campus."

"oh, i'll bet you were a bmoc, dr. hampton..."

"no carlee, not me, neither then nor now." he smiled. i wanted to say something nice to dr. hampton, but couldn't find the right words. a squirrel suddenly ran out in front of us; dr. hampton almost ran his lincoln into a stone wall avoiding him.

"i'm sorry carlee." he explained--

"oh, that's alright dr. hampton, my dad have always taught me never to kill a mockingbird, or a squirrel."

"to kill a mockingbird was a fine southern novel by harper lee, but why a squirrel?"

"i'm not sure." was the only answer i could deliver. maybe i knew though. might have......

it was 5 pm when we crossed the tennessee border. eric clapton continued to sing, and dr. hampton had uttered a sound since bowling green. finally-"that's a pretty dress carlee, it looks very nice on you." not 'you look very nice in it' is it me or the dress. i had to smile at what my thinking was; was it a gentleman's way, or how it came out?

"thanks."

nashville is a very large town. i had been here early in the summer to she shania twain in outdoor concert (she was great), my dad had brought me to opryland twice before it closed; it was like most cities, dirty, and bustling--i didn't like it very much.

"you must lock you door carlee." dr. hampton explained. and i did. another sign of the times. it took almost as long to get through nashville as it did to get to it. finally we got off the parkway and were heading down a two laned road to who knows where. western tennessee is flatlands, nashville, memphis and reelfoot lake are the only points of interest in that entire side of the state. carl perkins (whoever he is or was) was born in the reelfoot area. my dad, being a fan of perkins, said he would take me there next summer. the drive throughout the countryside seemed long. i didn't asked him how far it was to dr. craig's, i felt that would be childish.........

"the next segment is not for the weak at heart, be warned."

he turned into a driveway off a gravel road, and backed out.

"sorry carlee."

"no problem dr. hampton." i wasn't worried, just scared to death, my heart pounded. the big lincoln spunthe second class highways, turned to third class. dr. hampton was lost on the back roads of tennessee at the exit, he was mad at himself, i could tell. he drove about 3 miles, then suddenly stopped. he turned the overhead light on (it wasn't dark, but dusky) and picked up a map from above his sunvisor, put on his glasses and studied very hard.

"damn, craig, every place he has ever lived has been in the boonies, damn son-of-a-bitch." i was startled by his language and tone, very unbecoming his demeanor. i remained silent though. "ok, i think i see where we went wrong." he was talking to himself, not me. the lincoln lunged forward and after a few miles, we hit asphalt again. dr. hampton turned left and was driving too fast, i cautioned him.

"we're not on a dead line dr. hampton, please slow down."

"yes we are carlee, i promised him that i'd have you there before eight o:clock." i didn't like that statement. it scared me.

he turned right on a very isolated road. it too was gravel; after a few miles he switched again to a paved road, and turned left. his speedometer was registering 80, but i said nothing too him. suddenly, i wanted to be home. dr. hampton was muttering something to himself, i couldn't hear what he was saying, didn't want to hear, turned my head--only to see blue light flashing behind us.

"god damn!" the doctor exclaimed, and started to slow down. apparantly not fast enough, because the cruiser behind us turned on their siren. he pulled off the road and came to a screeching hault.

"hands up, and out of the car!!!!"

we did as we were told, two tennessee state troopers came from their car very quickly.

"what the hell do you think you all are doin'"-the voice came from his side of the car.

"we're late and looking for dr. raymond carig's residence." he responded. i don't think i could have responded if my life depended upon it, i was shaking so hard. dr. hampton pulled his license from hiss wallet and showed it to the two officers. the shorter of the two took it back to the cruiser, and was gone for a time.

"is this your daughter dr. hampton?" the taller one asked.

"no, just my student, and a friend." he answered.

"you folks got no business speeding down this highway this time of night, haven't you heard about the wearwolf?" dr. hamton said nothing, neither did i. "hell, it killed a girl 'bout an hour ago, less than a mile from here." my god, a wearwolf; i hadn't thought of them since i was a little girl, my dad would sometimes quote: "even he, who is pure at heart, and says his prayers by night; may turn into a wolf, when the wolfbane blooms, and the moon his full and bright." he would quote that at appropriate times when we were alone and "funnin' around. he would end the quote with a wwwwwooooooooo. i would always act like i was very afraid, but we knew it was all in jest, and would smile at each other afterwards. i liked those times, but not tonight....lycantrophy was not one my favorite subjects.

how could i get into messes like this? i'm basically a nice girl, a little over sexed maybe, but i don't do any harm to anyone. jesus-------dr. hampton conferred with the patrolmen and they gave him the directions to dr. craig's home. he received a warning from them and they promptly left. a werewolf, i couldn't believe it, a warning from the tennessee state patrol for driving 80 mph in a 55 mph zone, i couldn't believe that either. maybe they were scared or going off duty and wanted to get home, ordinarily they would have put hampton on the chain gang.

"are you alright carlee?" (sure, except sweat is dripping down to my underwear and damn b and a half bra is irritation the hell out of my boobs)

"i'm ok." i answered.

"i think we're on the right track to craig's now, the officers were very helpful."

"what about the werewolf?" i questioned.

"you heard as much about it as i did carlee."

well, why not a werewolf, nothing else has gone right this night. we drove down gravel roads, dirt roads, and finally down a road that wasn't even a road. if he has a flat tire, i hope the werewolf does come and eat me, i could take this no longer, it was pitch black outside.

"are you sure this is the route the patrolmen gave you dr. hampton?" he could detect the apprehension in my voice.

"don't worry dear, we'll be there in no time." no time lasted for over a half an hour...finally, we saw a delapidated old farm house in the middle of nowhere, and dr. hampton pulled up into the driveway. he almost ran over a chicken.--we got out of the lincoln and proceeded to the house; it looked absolutely terrible, we were at the front door. dr. hampton knocked.

"COME!" and loud voice cried, it's him carlee, we are alright.