Dang Valley: Beginnings

By Steve Rincavage

The story about Johnny North, a high school senior from Anchorage, Alaska and the vicissitudes that have been special delivered from the 98.6% parallel Oh Henry galaxy. The Dang family of Pennsylvania discovers Johnny in their barn and reveals to him that serendipity is alive and well on Planet Three. Various topics of faith, adventure, occupation, relationships and science get sprinkled with relevant music and poetry. To Johnny North, Dang Valley has the mixed-up ingredients of the Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Mr. Ed, Huckleberry Finn and Woodstock shoved into a blender where the only item left spinning is the maelstrom of life. George Dang, the old patriarch in town, helps entwine all the little stories into the big stories of consciousness and existence. Who better than Mark Twain to begin each chapter with an anecdote from the past to enlighten the present. Sometimes it is best to enjoy the ride from the outside and march fourth with twenty-twenty vision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329775572

Book preview

Dang Valley Timeline: 1998

Introduction

There is in life only one moment and in eternity only one.  It is so brief that it is represented by the fleeting of a luminous mote through the thin ray of sunlight- and it is visible but a fraction of a second. The moments that preceded it have been lived, are forgotten and are without value; the moments that have not been lived have no existence and will have no value except in the moment that each shall be lived.  While you are asleep you are dead; and whether you stay dead an hour or a billion years the time to you is the same.

What would happen one night if you went to bed in the comfort of your home only to wake up the next morning in an unknown setting?  Would you seek professional help or run for the caves in the hills?  This quandary is presented to an Alaskan teenager, Johnny North, and the Dang family of Pennsylvania as they embark on a journey of discovery, faith and adventure.  Little does Johnny know there is an existing 98.6% parallel universe tucked away in a corner of space the inhabitants refer to as Planet Three in the Oh Henry galaxy.  Like earth, it is a place created over five billion years ago by a string of unpredictable events permeating changes in power and perception.

Along your journey, attitude will take you to the top of the mountain or lay you comatose on a hospital bed with nothing but life support keeping you alive.  What would you do if you had nowhere to turn except to yourself?  No family, no town and no friends to assist you through life’s quest.  Would you rely on your faith or would you abandon it to follow the thunderstorms and tumbleweeds rolling down the mesquite plains?  Would you examine your dreams to see if they revealed anything positive about you?  On the other hand, maybe they left you wondering if you should be locked in a dungeon with warmongers and mindless murderers.  Relief is defined as waking up from these bizarre dreams knowing you did not commit all those unthinkable injustices, or did you?

Sometimes the wind carries you smiling to your next destination and other times it blows unforgiving sand in your frowning face.  What do you do when you have been beaten down like a scolded dog with its tail between its legs?  Do you hide for cover or do you seek another lover?  How many times have you regretted not saying or doing things differently after the fact?  Do you believe fate provides a reason for everything or does spontaneous combustion rule your roost?  What would it take to change your perception of learning, occupation, health and science? 

As you are contemplating these exchanges of dialogue and views, put your mind inside of the mind of the ones under the microscope.  How would you weave your way through these same channels of existence?  To Johnny North, Dang Valley has the mixed-up ingredients of the Twilight Zone, Star Trek, Mr. Ed, Huckleberry Finn and Woodstock shoved into a blender where the only item left spinning is the maelstrom of life.  Fortunately, through Johnny’s serendipity, the Dang family embraces his disposition and dreams.  Sometimes it is best to enjoy the ride from the inside and march forth with twenty-twenty vision.

1.  Beginnings

If you grant that one man's conscience doesn't know right from wrong, it is an admission that there are others like it.  This single admissions pulls down the whole doctrine of infallibility of judgment in consciences.

Mark Twain - What is Man?

Johnny North, relaxing at home in Anchorage, wondered when the next aurora borealis would paint the northern skies with color and movement.  This was always a special event for him and his family.  The beauty of the spectacle along with its connection to the cosmos provided a refreshing perspective on life.  The October sky, filled with mystery, had Johnny contemplating his unplanned future, I’ll be out of high school after this year and I’d like to travel the world before settling on a college or an occupation.  Johnny did not want to tell his parents of his intentions until he was further along in school.  He thought his mom and dad would initially resent this but since they were believers in the Alaskan mindset of independent thinking, time would be on his side.

A splendid night fell on the horizon and Johnny’s perceptions of the physical world were rolling in like a strong Anchorage avalanche.  With the moonbeams bouncing off the mountains, he could feel the large tidal swings on Turnagain Arm shift and move vast amounts of water and silt.  With tides up to 40 feet, he would sometimes surf the crest with his father, especially when a full moon was present.  Timing was everything, if you were off by a few minutes with the tides you had to paddle a long shameful way back to shore.  Johnny envisioned the salmon as they struggled up their sacred rivers to spawn and wondered about the beluga whales and how they used sonar to navigate the silty waters to prey.  He thought of the bald eagles, polar bears and the grizzlies and their role as the predator.  Then there were the caribou, moose and herons with the impending winter about to drastically change their focus on life.  Living near the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge had a major influence on those who enjoyed the natural world.

Johnny located the North Star by following the Big Dipper's cup, a tip his father taught him in Boy Scouts.  He thought about the explorers who utilized this star as a tool to navigate through the dark, unknown spaces.  His mind then recalled an article he recently read about multiple universes and the expanding galaxy.  Johnny knew for every star he could see, there was an existing galaxy.  He thought, What would these life forms call their galaxy, surely not the Milky Way, and their constellations would be made up of stars with different names, like the Big Drinker.  His mind now drifted further into the developing concept of multiple universes.  He reflected about the space where they were contiguous and imagined this area to be filled with enormous energy, black holes and revelation.  Johnny considered the rules of a static universe but fancied himself to a dynamic one where the possibilities of time travel and the unknown were endless.  He wondered if time was indeed a variable in the universe’s master equation that had yet to be cracked.  Johnny reflected out loud, Could it be time is just nothing more than a human invention to catalog our meager lives?

After viewing the heavenly skies until eight o'clock, Johnny went directly to his room and reviewed some of his homework due tomorrow at Bear Valley High.  His favorite subjects were history and mathematics.  He loved to read about American history the most, particularly the era of the nineteenth century.  He felt the qualities of the common man and his discoveries rooted in these years to be very fascinating.  Compared to the fast-paced society of today, the few big events of that century changed the world forever.  In particular, the Civil and Indian wars constructed the foundation for many laws and patterns of living in present-day America.

He read some interesting quotes from Abraham Lincoln, one being, We know nothing of what will happen in the future, but by the analogy of past experience.  Another one read, Great distance in either time or space has wonderful power to lull and render quiescent the human mind.  Johnny enjoyed some other quips and then proceeded to his trigonometry homework.  The process of solving mathematical problems provided some needed structure to his teenage life compared to the other, more nebulous studies.  There may be multiple ways to solve the equation but there was only one right answer.  In a world of so many unknowns, this conciseness laid well on his demeanor.  The stated problem could spiral you into a gravity-eating black hole or do a turnabout and beam a ray of sunshine into your righteous soul.  In many cases you would add, subtract, multiply or divide to the left side of the equation only to give it back to the right side.  Life had many of those same qualities; today you could earn a trip up Euphoria Lane but tomorrow comes and every possible pothole reveals itself on your journey back to Reality Way.

One of Johnny’s favorite classes was a combination of the two disciplines mentioned above.  The course was called The History of Mathematics.  He marveled at those who created and manipulated the rules by going against the grain of common society and questioning its deepest beliefs.  Mathematicians like Archimedes, Fermat, Descartes and Newton turned the world into a clean sheet where one could take their thoughts beyond even their wildest imaginations when those around them proved incomplete.  These great minds discovered there were general rules you had to follow, but more importantly, there were many more you had to break to ascend to the next level.

Johnny was working on an interesting problem of a six-by-six magic square that was given as a homework assignment by his math teacher, Mrs. Lynch.  Earlier that day, they completed a magic square of rank three in class where the sum of the numbers in each row, column and diagonal equated to the same number, in this case, fifteen.

The six-by-six square was proving to be a much greater challenge.  Johnny manipulated the numbers one through thirty-six in many different combinations before eventually finding a pattern of numbers that made the square have a purpose.  The diagonal calculations proved to be the most daunting due to all the summation changes so he made a point to keep them consistent.  Other than that, he did not follow any defined process to get his results but the final solution left him feeling challenged.  Nothing like trial and error combined with brute force to work through the problem.  The old Edisonian adage of 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration was on his mind when he substantiated that the diagonal row equated to all the others.  He knew this to be the magic sum using the equation (n³+n)/2 = 111, where n=6.

Johnny glanced at the clock radio and was surprised that an hour and a half had elapsed since it felt like he started the six-by-six magic square just minutes ago.  He smiled at the magic square one last time and dated his homework, October 8th, 1998, before inserting it into his binder.  He could not wait to share it with his teacher and classmates tomorrow. 

Johnny then decided to watch the last half-hour of Star Trek, The Next Generation.  He had seen every episode so missing the beginning of this one was not a concern to him.  It was The Inner Light episode, Stardate 45944.1, where Captain Jean-Luc Picard is neurologically linked to a space probe while the Enterprise journeys through the galaxy.  The probe creates a simulation where Picard ends up living on a planet assuming the identity of an iron weaver with a devoted wife.  He tries desperately to communicate with the Enterprise which strikes an emotional chord in Johnny.  For Picard, it feels like years go by as he drops his shields and starts providing love in return to his newfound wife.  He ends up having children and eventually assists in raising the grandchildren.  Picard finds the love for his wife and children most pleasing, never realizing how fulfilling a family life could be.

As some twenty-five years pass by, Picard takes an interest in the flute and learns how to play quite well.  He also becomes a valued member of the community and realizes its soil conditions will cause the planet to starve itself to death.  Then one day, Picard witnesses a rocket launching of the probe that he was linked to minutes before.  He goes unconscious momentarily and wakes up on the bridge of the Enterprise in the present day.  Obviously rattled, Picard asks his crew how long he had been unconscious.  Riker responds, Twenty, twenty-five minutes.  Picard contemplates the situation moments later in his private quarters analyzing and reminiscing twenty-five years of heartfelt emotions.  Johnny really enjoyed the scene where Picard wonders what those twenty-five years were all about as he plays a folk song on his Ressikan flute.  Even Einstein would have appreciated the dynamics of space, time and energy in this episode considering Picard could not play the flute thirty minutes ago.

After turning off the television, Johnny briefly visited his mother and his sister, Julie, who were gathered around the sewing machine. 

How’s the dress coming?

One stitch at a time Johnny, replied his mom.  Are you ready for school tomorrow?

Yea, I have a trig test tomorrow and I finally solved a six-by-six magic square, I couldn’t believe it.

That’s great son.  I’ll wake you up in the morning.

It amazed Johnny how they could talk about every subject in the world and still get the dress made.  It was more like the elaborate dialogue was the project and the dress just a by-product.  His father was in northern Alaska examining the status of some oil fields.  Like many other Alaskans, he had a pilot license to cover the vast expanses of land and water.  Johnny would frequently fly with him and enjoyed the three-thousand-foot view of the Alaskan wilderness the most.  The thrill of landing with pontoons on a crystal, glacier-fed lake was an experience he placed at the top of his adventure list.

Johnny talked briefly with his mom and sister before heading to his room.  His mom ran the bed-and-breakfast that was attached to the side of the house which required Johnny and Julie to keep the place clean and proper.  Johnny enjoyed the adventurous visitors from far-off places the most.  Travelers from Australia and Sweden had a different outlook on life he found refreshing and tried to incorporate into his demeanor.  Once he made it to his bedroom, he turned off the light, said a few silent prayers to his God, rolled on his side and closed his tired hazel eyes feeling happy with life and its constant splendor.

This unconscious dimension created in interstellar mystery is where all forms of Johnny North’s reality converged with chaos in a hidden galaxy very similar to the Milky Way.  The planet, also the third rock from its sun, is referred to by its natives as Planet Three.  It has seven continents with many countries like Planet Earth but there are some distinct differences in the balance of power.  It is populated by human life forms known as thirdlings but deviations in their appearance are quite evident.  The animals are plentiful and have capabilities not possessed in Johnny’s home world.  All in all, the similarities made for an interesting comparison.  How could two planets be so similar after five billion years of evolution?  Parallel time-shifting rules were being tested here. 

The setting where the majority of this story explores is in the crevices and domiciles of Dang Valley, Pennsylvania.  It is located in the southern highlands where undulating hills form many ideal places to farm and harvest the land.  West of the Susquehanna River, east of the weathered Appalachians, Dang Valley was incorporated as a township in 1865.  It was named after Jed Dang, a captain in the Civil War, who was one generation removed from his Daddy's roots in Tennessee.  Jed came north three years before the brutal war started and changed his allegiance against slavery and bondage.  Tennessee Jed, that’s what they used to call him, led a surprise attack on the rebel forces near Harrisburg after the Gettysburg affair that resulted in a decisive victory for the Union.  Lincoln, rewarding his general’s actions, carved out a few thousand acres and created Dang Valley Township.  Today, Dang Valley consists mostly of small farms and a growing service-based industry of health care and technology companies.  Little did they know, this mundane town was about to be visited by a missing link fast asleep from another universe.

While the autumn sun peaked over the eastern Dang Valley hills, the rooster at George Dang’s farm began to pace the tin roof of the red-stained barn.  Following his daily routine, the rooster precariously climbed the Dang’s barn and let out a boisterous, Cockle-doodle-doo, how are you? 

As mentioned earlier, certain domesticated animals possessed a difference over their distant relatives on Planet Earth, the major adaptation being the ability to communicate rudimentarily using the native language.  Much like a parakeet can imitate certain sounds, many animals on Planet Three evolved to another level as evidenced by the Dang rooster.  After bellowing his cockle-doodle-doo, he continued that with another, How are you?  Then the genetics of onomatopoeia surfaced again, Cockle-doodle-doo, I love you … Friday morn, Friday morn.

Woken up by the boisterous rooster, Trey Dang, the eldest son of Paul Dang, groggily stuttered, Shut that Dang rooster up.  Trey rubbed his eyes and tried to make out the 4:16 numbers displayed on the digital clock.  During times of intense study and concentration, Trey would often find himself trying to solve these same numbers appearing on the clock as if they were part of some grand equation.  Fortunately, today was not one of those days, as Trey had to rise and deliver his morning newspapers.  He had been doing this job for the past three years and found a simple satisfaction in its end results.

The thirdling stretched his arms and yawned to the dawn as he proceeded downstairs by not touching any of the twelve steps.  Trey did this by utilizing an acrobatic routine of gymnastic skills learned in physical education.  The hand railings were his pommel horse and the second-floor overhang was his high bar.  After successfully swinging into the kitchen, the first piece of business was eating his customary two bowls of Cheerios.  Once finished, he poured an extra bowl of milk for his dog Lucky who quickly licked up every last drop.  Lucky then came over to rest his head on Trey’s leg while the job of rubber-banding the newspapers was completed on the kitchen floor.  Trey learned the hard way that if you folded over the newspapers twice and double-banded them, you could hurl them long distances without them ripping through the piercing and relentless Dang Valley wind.  Once the job of packaging his product was complete, he split his forty-two newspapers into separate canvas bags of twenty-one each.

Trey typically utilized his eighteen-speed Trek bicycle to deliver his newspapers on weekdays and rode his favorite horse, Flash, on the weekend.  He often invited his grandfather and cousin to join him on Sunday to keep him company.  Being a Friday, Trey felt rambunctious and thought he and Flash needed a refreshing ride through the valley together.  In Dang Valley, and other towns on Planet Three, riding horses through the streets was still common.  Suburban sprawl was not as evident compared to its parallel cousin and milk was delivered by horse and buggy in some towns. 

The teenager mounted Flash as they began trotting down the street.  Throwing newspapers from a horse was a bit different than tossing them from a bicycle.  First, you were much higher on the horse and had a better sense of balance.  It took weeks of practice before Trey and Flash were in sync with each other to the point where they could place each newspaper on the customer's front porch.  They often reaped the rewards of their excellent service record at collection time, especially during the holiday season.  His only worry was losing a customer or two every year to the online news available over the computer networks.  He figured there were still another thirty years left before the newspaper became obsolete.

Trey found great pleasure in his morning route.  For one hour, he had the whole town to himself since he rarely saw any life signs at five o'clock in the morning except for Bobo the milkman and his draft horses.  There was nothing like a majestic sunrise to bestow life’s forgotten textures.  He especially enjoyed watching the eastern horizon as Mother Nature painted her beautiful masterpieces signing them with various shades of violets and reds.  Once Trey delivered his last paper, he gave Flash a swift and gentle pat on the rump.  Flash knew exactly what this meant and could not be happier.  Trey led her off the main road as they dashed to the wooded trail leading them back to Dang Valley Farm.  Trey never felt more alive galloping through the shaded forest with Flash.  His body was in perfect rhythm with the horse as they dodged the random tree limbs and broke through the moist, insect-riddled, spider webs that were masterfully constructed the night before.

It was still early when Trey and Flash pulled into Dang Valley Farm.  The sun was glistening off the morning dew as Trey’s grandfather, George Dang, approached.  George adjusted his cap then pulled an apple from his dusty overalls and split it in two with his Swiss Army knife.  He tossed the first half of the apple to his grandson Trey, who caught it with his left hand on its descent.  He then gave the second half to the sweaty horse who devoured it in seconds.  George had a sixth sense when it came to horses and other farm animals.  When people in Dang Valley wanted advice about their sick animals, they often consulted George on possible therapies.

Trey and George took the saddle off Flash and walked her into the barn.  Little did they know that a human from another galaxy was sleeping in a stall by the sheep.  The duo was talking about next month’s basketball game against Bob Valley High. 

George asked, What are you goin’ to do different to beat those lads? 

Coach is makin’ us set better picks, replied Trey, and work more on the fundamentals, like playin’ good defense by movin’ our feet.

There’s nothin’ like getting back to the fundamentals, Coach Smiles is a smart man. 

A newfound cosmic relationship was about to commence as the two entered the barn with Flash.  Johnny North awoke hearing two voices in the distance.  It did not sound anything like his mother or sister.  He suddenly realized there was something drastically wrong with this reality.  It was one of those situations where one moment you feel you are in heaven and the next you swear you are in hell.  He took his two hands and proceeded to slowly lay them on the cold, compressed ground.  Johnny did not feel his familiar bed covers but two handfuls of loose hay and the absence of warm covers.  He did not know whether to scream or remain silent.  He chose the latter, rubbed his eyes and started to slowly sit up trying not to make any noise.  His heart was pounding while he heard the two strangers talking about basketball in the direction of the barn’s main entrance.  This calmed the earthling down a bit until he caught a glimpse of their faces.

He saw George Dang first with angelic sunbeams coming through the barn acting like a spotlight on his thin body and old-timers’ baseball cap.  Johnny rubbed his eyes again after noticing the color of George’s violet skin.  He had never seen skin of that hue except for alien characters on Star Trek.  That’s it, Johnny thought to himself, I’m still in my dream and since Star Trek was one of the last visions I had before I went to bed, these delusions make sense.

Everything was too real though.  There was the touch, the smell of manure and the realistic dimension of space and time.  He suddenly remembered the remarkable nightmare he had when he was five years old.  He was sitting on his father's bed while dinosaurs roamed the walls of the prehistoric room as hundreds of snakes slithered their way on his blankets and bedroom floor.  It was a bizarre dream, a rare one in full color, dimension and surround sound.  It also had vivid, living images of large, heart-beating dinosaurs