Get Your Eyes Open: My Photonic Adventures

By Anton J Kryka

This story is told by a young girl named Annie. This is her second adventure into a world with many unusual creatures.

It begins at her grandparent's home. Annie gets a new teacher, her grandmother. Along with her science and mathematics classes, Annie has lessons in music and cooking.

Captain Bart Bear sails in for a visit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anton J. Kryka Sr.
• Release date: Jun 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781941696033

Anton J Kryka

A. J. Kryka dreamt of being an author since high school, many years ago. After being laid off from his job of 37 years, it was time to take that step. He was born in Wisconsin. He earned a BS degree in mathematics from the UW-Stevens Point. He moved to Michigan after college. For most of his career, he was a computer programmer. His early interests were science, reading science fiction, and playing the guitar. Later in life, his world revolved around his wife, his four boys, and his job. His books are youthful fantasy adventures filled with suspense and humor. They also emphasize the strength of the family and the power of education. Everyone from grandparents to grandchildren can read and enjoy his books.

Book preview

EBookCover

Annie's Travel Adventures Book 2:

Get Your

Eyes Open

or

My Photonic Adventures

A. J. Kryka

© Copyright 2014 A. J. Kryka Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-941696-03-3 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-941696-04-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-941696-05-7 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015914640

First Edition 2014-05-26 Published by Anton J. Kryka Sr.

Second Edition 2015-09-06 Published by Anton J. Kryka Sr.

Salem Township, Michigan USA

Books by A. J. Kryka

Annie's Travel Adventures:

1. Turn On Your Ears

     or My Adventures as a Duck

2. Get Your Eyes Open

     or My Photonic Adventures

3. Power Up Your Brain

     or My Mathematical Christmas Adventures

The first chapters of each of these books can be viewed at

www.AJ-KRYKA.com.

picName

Turn On Your Ears Characters ()

01. Annette Annie Susan Baker

02. Grandfather (Nicholas Nick Baker)

03. Father (Joseph Joe Baker)

04. Austin (dog)

05. Holly (cat)

06. Ike (Isaac Franklin Scott)

07. Captain Bart (Bartholomew Bear)

08. Sheriff Scully Skunk

09. Officer Frank Blue-Snake

10. Mike Monkey (wagon driver)

11. Max Little-Dog

12. Sid Big-Dog

13. Guardian Frederick Fox

14. Judge Randolf Raccoon

15. Mister Tall-One Mushman

16. Mister Shorty Mushman

17. One Potato

18. Two Potato

19. Three Potato

20. Four Potato

21. Nurse Wilma Wolf

22. Crazy Tina Turkey

23. Henry Horse

24. Rita Reindeer

25. Senator Pugsley Pig

26. Senator Pudgy Pig

27. Tillie Turkey

28. Terrie Turkey

29. Tonnie Turkey

30. Torrie Turkey

31. River

32. Annabel Ant

33. Bill Blackbird

34. Carl Cardinal

35. Mister Engineer

36. Woody Woodchuck

37. Mister Conductor

38. Ida Idaho-Potato

39. Betsy McDonald

40. Roy McDonald

41. Harriet Horse

42. Ryan McDonald

43. Joanne (speaker)

44. Tom Turkey

45. Tim Turkey

46. Cowleen Cow

47. Beelinda Bee

48. Wylie Wolf

49. Wilbur Wolf

50. Annita Ant

51. Primo Pig, the Prime

52. Joanne (jailbird)

53. Helen Horse

54. Hadwin Horse

55. Harwin Horse

56. Bob Gale

57. Dorothy Gale

58. Rick Reindeer

59. Joanne Baker (Grandmother)

picName

Get Your Eyes Open Characters {}

60. Lady Liberty

61. Squeaky Squirrel

62. Battania Battie Bat

63. Dunstan Dusty Downright

64. Debra Downright

65. Dunstan Dustbin Downright III

66. Misses Dwight

67. Gracie Goat

68. Gus Goat

69. Dunstan Dustier Downright, the Elder

70. Glenda Goat

71. Frederic Freddy Fox

72. Becky Bear

31. River (Snowman)

73. Millicent Millie Monkey

74. Melville Mel Monkey

75. Manfield Mannie Monkey

76. Margaret Maggie Monkey

77. Mayor Martin Monkey

78. Martha Monkey

79. Madison Monkey

80. Misses Gallen

81. Andy Gallen (baby)

82. Mister Gallen

83. Hannah Gallen

84. Rachel Gallen

85. Commander Harman

86. Corporal Clifford

87. Billy Jackson

88. Mizz Kilbran

89. Martha (student)

90. Jane (student)

91. Edmond Eddie Elephant

92. Jack (the sleeping cook)

93. Mary Baker (Mother)

94. Karab Wolf, the Emperor of Kalifia

95. Blind General

96. General Rightfield

97. Squared Squirrel

98. Shirley Squirrel

99. Valter (Vohteerian)

100. Darwin (Dwarf)

101. Eternal Elm

102. Varick (Vohteerian)

Contents

1. Grandmother at Home or Chalkboard Lessons

2. Equations or Captain Bart Returns

3. Lemonade Economics or Captain Bart's Story

4. Captain Bart Sails Away or Grandmother's Departure

Day One: Spelunking or Friends My Size

  5. Blinding Darkness or Silver Light

  6. Bat-fully Sad or Flying Lessons

  7. Tracks or Straw Memories

  8. Dwarf Insight or Railroad News

  9. Home in the Mountain or Seeing in the Dark

  10. Neighborly or Solid Footing

  11. Mountain View or A One-Carrot Job

  12. Legs and Eggs or Got Milk?

  13. Cooking Lesson or An Egg-cellent Lunch

  14. Unexpected Guest or Historical News

  15. A Peaceful Ride or Goodbye and Hello

  16. A Wild Ride or Look Before You Leap

Day Two: The Other Side of the Mountain or New Traveling Companions

  17. Big Splash or Bear-ly Alive

  18. Dressed For the Occasion or Degrees

  19. Way the Wind Blows or Snowman River

  20. Sipping Water or Monkey Spies

  21. Bear Back Riding or Bonking Party

  22. Giving Rides or Spear Throwing

  23. Sight Seeing or Hypnotic Hype

  24. Shake Spear or Smile

  25. A Chuckle a Day or Motherly Advice

  26. Past and Present or Moving On

  27. Wolf Tales or Old Friends

  28. A Wonderful Lunch or Rumors of War

  29. Lunch Talk or Fare Talk

  30. All Aboard or Arrival Surprise

  31. Under Attack or A Barrel View

  32. A Counting or What Plan?

  33. Plan Correction or Truck Bed

Day Three: History Lesson or Let There Be Light

  34. Brain Washing or Equality

  35. Food Tasting or Escape From School

  36. Zoology or Elephant Tales

  37. The Rest of the Story or Midland Wild Man

  38. Hide and Seek or Glenda Butts In

  39. Clever Clothes or Kitchen Hideout

  40. Breakfast Talk or Who's All Here?

  41. A Short Long Story or Plans For Freedom

  42. Fitting Disguises or Bark Like a Dog

  43. Trucking or Into the Zoo

  44. Invisible Discussion or Sight Seeing

  45. First Battle or Escape

  46. Not on the Menu or Surprise Disguise

  47. Elephant Jokes or Battle Scene

  48. Movie Sail or Magic Bullets

  49. Riding a Wave or Another Battle

  50. Flying Fears or Reunion Flight

  51. Palace Plans or Sunshine Vision

  52. The Empty Chair or Sound Discussion

  53. Bad Hair Day or Karab On The Run

  54. Last Battle or Thoughts of Home

  55. Hello Goodbye or Homeward Bound

Chapter 1

Grandmother at Home

or

Chalkboard Lessons

My name is Annette, but everyone calls me Annie.

I used to spend most of my days with my grandfather, but that changed after Grandfather taught me to turn on my ears. I went on an adventure to help him, and we brought Grandmother home. Now I spend most of my days with Grandfather and Grandmother.

Every morning Father would drop me off at my grandparent's home on his way to work. Grandfather and Grandmother would always be waiting on the porch for me. Father usually did not stay long. There would be a few quick greetings, then Father would say, I best be getting to work. Annie, you be a good girl.

I will, I would say.

Have a good day, Joe, Grandmother would say.

Have fun, Grandfather would say.

Father would then walk down the sidewalk. As he turned to get into his truck, we would all wave to him, and he would wave back. As he drove out the driveway, we would go into the kitchen for breakfast.

A few things have changed since my last adventure. I used to help Grandfather a little with making breakfast. Now Grandmother has started teaching me how to cook. This may seem like a silly thing to learn, but Grandmother always has a reason for things. She has often sung the following silly little rhyme to me.

There was a hungry man.

His head was filled with rocks.

There was soup in a can

And bread in the breadbox.

He sat at the table

To calm his hungry mood.

Though quite young and able,

He could not see this food.

He could not see the soup.

He could not see the bread.

His eyes were filled with goop

And pebbles filled his head.

He had a hungry look.

An anger came his way.

He should have learned to cook,

But starved to death that day.

He was a silly man

With a head full of rocks.

He could not use a pan

And died near the breadbox.

Sometimes, you have to really open up your eyes to see what is right in front of you, Grandfather would say.

Grandmother has also changed my education. Annie, we need to make sure that you get a more proper education, Grandmother said. She bought me a mathematics book, a physics book, and a large chalkboard on wheels. She has even suggested that I might need to go to a real school, one called a high school, in a few years. I love my grandmother, but she does seem to have some strange ideas at times.

After breakfast, Grandmother was my teacher. She used these two new books. The chalkboard could be used in the kitchen or rolled out onto the front porch. If the weather was nice, Grandmother preferred outdoor schooling. Austin and Holly liked to lie on the porch and learn too.

Austin is a dog, and Holly is a cat. They live with Grandfather and Grandmother. They can both talk, but they let me answer all the hard questions. They are not very good at the chalkboard though. They have to hold the chalk in their mouths. Austin often tries to talk with the chalk in his mouth. This usually results in smaller pieces of chalk. Holly just dislikes the taste of the chalk. Annie, could you please write down the equation as I say it? she would always ask.

I do enjoy the things Grandmother teaches me. Grandfather usually listens quietly to my lessons, but now and then, he helps too. When I do not understand something and Grandmother cannot seem to explain it, Grandfather always comes through with an example.

Take your mathematics book, for example, Grandfather would say. It is just setting on this table. It is very happy to stay just where it is. That is called inertia. I'll put this piece of paper under it. If I pull the paper slowly, I move the book, because the force of friction is greater than the inertial force of the book. If I pull the paper quickly, the inertial force is greater than the frictional force, and the book does not move. All forces have a time dependent aspect.

Every now and then, Grandmother would say, I don't feel like doing mathematics today. Let's go play the piano. This seemed like it should have been a break in my schooling, but it wasn't. Grandmother would find some sheet music and play a short tune. Then she would explain all the things about notes and scales. She would explain how the keys on the piano are arranged. Then she would tell me that it was my turn to play. Grandfather would always add something about the physics of the piano and the mathematics of music.

In the afternoons, Grandmother and Grandfather would take turns telling stories. This usually took place in the swing in the backyard. Grandfather's stories were still mostly about The Four Brothers. Grandmother's stories seemed to be adventures that she has actually lived. Grandmother might be telling a story, and she would turn to Grandfather and say, Do you remember that blue house we lived in just after we were married? Grandfather would say, Yes, and Grandmother would continue with her story, and eventually that blue house came into the story.

Grandmother's stories were just as colorful and unusual as Grandfather's stories. I had always thought that Grandfather created stories from his imagination; that the people, creatures, and places did not really exist. But maybe his stories were real too.

Sometimes when Grandfather told a story, Grandmother would sit on the grass and brush Austin. She used a special wire brush. After several strokes, she would pull the hair off the brush and let it go into the breeze. These clouds of Austin don't get very far off the ground, she would say.

By the time Grandfather was done with the story, there would be many clouds of Austin scattered on the grass. Each cloud was stuck in the grass, gently moving with the breeze. I would sometimes brush Austin too and set each cloud free as well. If I wasn't careful, the wind might blow a cloud back at me. I eventually learned how to set them free.

* * *

There came a day when Father stopped for longer than usual as he dropped me off.

I have to be gone for about two weeks, Father said. Can you take care of Annie while I'm gone?

Certainly, we can, Grandmother said.

Father had already talked with me about this possibility, so I wasn't surprised. I liked being with Grandfather and Grandmother. I would just be sleeping in a different bed for a while.

Thank you, Father said. This project is very important. When I drop Annie off tomorrow, I'll bring a suitcase with her clothes.

The next day, when Father dropped me off, I carried a backpack, and Father carried a suitcase up to the porch.

Grandfather and Grandmother were waiting on the porch as usual. Let's take your things into the guest room, Grandmother said as she took the suitcase from Father.

Grandmother and I went into the house and headed back to the guest room. Grandmother took the clothes out of the suitcase and put them into a dresser as I unpacked my backpack.

When we came back out onto the porch, Father was still there.

This test run is very important, Father was saying.

I know, son, Grandfather said, but don't get too tied up in the politics. Politicians have a way of making the simplest things very complicated. Often the original, and publicly stated intention, yields the opposite result. Their solutions often become bigger diseases than what they started out to cure.

Father, I've heard you say that a thousand times, Father said. I will do my best to keep the project away from their control.

Annie is all unpacked, Grandmother said.

That's good, Father said. I had better get going. Annie, you be especially good for Grandfather and Grandmother. Learn your lessons.

I will, Father, I said.

Good luck on the project, Grandmother said.

Be careful and keep your eyes open, Joe, Grandfather said.

Grandfather always said, Have fun, when Father left. It felt strange for him to say, Be careful. But that is a different adventure.

For this adventure, I was happy to be spending even more time with Grandfather and Grandmother.

Chapter 2

Equations

or

Captain Bart Returns

Grandfather, Grandmother, and I went into the house after we waved goodbye to Father.

I'm getting used to cooking. I can now crack an egg without breaking the yoke, but since Grandmother came home, Grandfather's favorite breakfast has become omelets. So if I break a yoke, it doesn't matter.

I washed my hands before starting to cook. Then I made ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. Grandfather made tea with honey and lemon for all of us. Grandmother made slices of toast and spread them with strawberry jam.

On my first adventure, strawberries always made me think of Grandfather, but now strawberries make me think of Ike. Ike is a toad who lives in Grandfather's garden. He is also my guardian angel. He went with me on my first adventure.

After breakfast, there was my morning schooling. In mathematics, I was working on solving multiple linear equations. This may sound complicated, but it really isn't. If you have two variables in an equation like X + Y = 12, it defines a straight line. Three variables define a plane; not an airplane, something like a piece of paper. Four variable equations are box-like shapes.

Anyway, if you have two line equations, they cross at some point if they are not parallel. When solving multiple equations, you find where the two lines cross or as my math book says, intersect.

If you have two non-parallel planes, they can intersect to form a line. Three non-parallel planes can intersect a one point.

Four variable box shapes are much harder to picture. At what point do four infinitely large boxes touch each other?

Grandfather has tried to describe this, but my mind just goes blank trying to imagine such a thing. Grandfather has a much more vivid imagination than I do. I can solve the equations, but the answer doesn't mean much to me yet. Perhaps that is how Ike and I traveled to the world of our first adventure. My grandmother calls that place New Hope, but Grandfather calls it Annie's World and then smiles. Sometimes Grandfather is very sentimental.

After my morning schooling, Grandmother made sandwiches for lunch. Grandfather poured a glass of milk for each of us. The milk made me think of Cowleen, and then I thought about Betsy, Roy, and Ryan McDonald. Cowleen was the cow on the McDonald's farm in my first adventure.

After lunch, we all went out to the backyard and sat in the swing. Holly sat in Grandmother's lap. Austin lay on the grass near the swing. Grandfather began the story of The Four Brothers and The Toy Stealing Twister. I think I remember Grandfather telling this story before, but it was still a good story.

We all listened to Grandfather's story. The four brothers had left their toys all over the yard. They hadn't put any of them away. A passing twister stole all their toys, and the four brothers went to get them back. It was a good adventure.

Grandfather was getting close to the end of the story. The four brothers were returning home with their toys. Look, Grandmother said as she pointed down to the pond.

A big sailing ship was docking at Pirate's Cove. That is what Grandfather calls the dock on his pond. A bear was standing on the deck of the ship. He was wearing a blue coat and a three-cornered hat. The bear's name was Captain Bart. Up in the riggings of the ship, many squirrels were lowering the masts.

Grandfather hurriedly said, And the four brothers did not exactly live happily ever after. They had many, many more adventures. The end. Let's go see what Captain Bartholomew is up to.

Grandmother and I got off the swing and followed Grandfather down the hill to the pond. Austin and Holly walked with us. As we approached the dock, Captain Bart called out, We have brought something of yours back for you.

Just then, several flying squirrels appeared from around the stern of the ship. All of Captain Bart's crew could fly. They wore flying necklaces that Grandfather had made for them. They were pulling on a rope. At the end of the rope was Grandfather's paddleboat.

I thought that paddleboat would be gone forever, since Ike and I had left it on a faraway beach during our first adventure. Thank you, Captain Bartholomew, Grandfather said as he took the rope from the squirrels. He tied the paddleboat to the dock.

Nicholas, I request permission to come ashore, Captain Bart said.

You have no need of Nicholas's permission, Grandmother said laughingly. You have my permission.

Thank you, fine lady, Captain Bart said.

You have my permission as well, Grandfather said, smiling at Grandmother.

And thank you, Nicholas, Captain Bart added.

Lower the gangplank, Captain Bart ordered to his crew. Some squirrels pulled on ropes. Two flying squirrels carried the one end of the gangplank. The gangplank was quickly lowered onto the dock.

As Captain Bart came down the gangplank, a green and red creature flew around his head and stopped a