Trip Log 4
Captain’s Log Stardate 2022.2.4. At last, we are in Red River arriving in midafternoon Thursday. We launched late in the morning from Alamosa and didn’t even clear the city limits before we stopped for breakfast. Of course, that was part of the plan because the local eatery sells a cinnamon roll that would choke a horse if horses liked cinnamon rolls. Being gifted with opposable thumbs we cut it into bits and shared it.
After breakfast we lollygagged through the countryside to our destination, arriving calmly and in good spirits. The crew then departed for their billets in separate quarters all throughout the city. Mine is commodious as befits a Starfleet commander even if I’m not in charge. Upon arrival, we immediately began preparations to witness the goings on of the musician we were there to study. We ate a sandwich and took a nap. I also walked around the town even though the weather was in the mid-teens. It actually felt nice.
In the evening as we gathered to hear the music that is the purpose of our visit, I was amazed to note how many expeditions similar to ours had launched throughout the universe. I thought that if I could step back in space outside our universe, I would have seen them, long traces of light, launching from scattered points, streaking across the sky, and then colliding in a loud, colorful burst of laughter and camaraderie in this one warm place where we all came to greet the music. And while the music was quite good, I wondered, through the laughter and the smiles, if perhaps the journeys and warm gathering of friends was also a story and equally important, if not more so, especially to the travelers, as the music they came to hear.
John W. Wilson is the author The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale