One of Many Halloween Stories

Dracula and Frankenstein Go Out

  

It had been many years since Dracula left his coffin in the spooky old castle in the woods.  The moon was out shining clearly that night.  It was a full moon and it was also Halloween.  “What a perfect night to go out,” thought the vampire.

“I should see if Frankie wants to go,” said Dracula.  He sent out a bat with the message.  The little black bat flew out of the castle and down the road to Frankenstein’s laboratory.

The Frankenstein monster was sleeping.  He did not care about Halloween anymore.  Dracula’s bat flew into Frankie’s room and flapped its wings around his face until he woke up.  “What is going on?” asked Frankie.  Dracula’s bat gave Frankenstein the message.  It read, “We are going to have a party and go trick-or-treating tonight.  It is Halloween my friend.”  Frankie made a monster roar.  The bat flew away.

While this was going on, Dracula was getting ready.  There was a lot of dust on his cape from sleeping so long.  He decided to get a new set of clothes for the night.  He looked at the closet and saw 14 identical sets of white shirts, black pants, and black capes.  Dracula chose the darkest black set with the whitest shirt.

Just then, the bat came back.  Dracula said, “Is he going out tonight?” and the bat made some bat noises.  Dracula could understand the bat language just fine.  The bat told him that he thought Frankie might be going.  The vampire finished polishing his shiny black shoes and got into his shiny black car.  He drove down the rocky road to Frankenstein’s laboratory.  He got out and knocked on the monster’s door.

Frankie was slow to answer.  He looked tired.  “Hi Drac,” he said.  “Listen, I don’t feel like going out.”

Dracula said, “But Frank, there is going to be candy.  Lots and lots of candy!”  That seemed to change Frankie’s mind.  “Let me get ready,” he said.

“You look just fine.  Let’s go now,” said Drac.  “You are always the scariest guy around.”

They parked the car in a neighborhood where the children were already out ringing doorbells and shouting “Trick-or-Treat!” to the people at the door.  It looked like the kids were happy and getting lots of candy.

“Hey, no one looks scared tonight,” said Frankenstein.  Dracula answered, “Well, that will be our job, OK?”  They laughed together and stomped down the street to the first door.  The rang the doorbell and both roared when a little girl opened it.  She just looked up at them and said, “Aren’t you a little old to be trick-or-treating?  And you are supposed to say ‘Trick-or-Treat’.  I will not give you a treat unless you say it.”

Frankie and Drac said, “Trick-or-Treat” together and waited to get their candy.  The little girl told them that they would need a bag to hold their candy.  They had forgotten the most important thing.

So they went to a pumpkin patch and each carved out a pumpkin.  Then they went back.

This time they remembered to say “Trick-or-Treat” and the little girl gave them some candy.  They continued through the neighborhood until their pumpkins were full.  They had so much fun that they forgot to scare anyone.

“Hey Drac,” said Frankie.

“Yes?”

“Let’s do this again next year, OK?”

“It’s a deal.”

The monsters shared their candy and went back to their castle and laboratory to sleep.

Robert Reeder, 2012

Another Slime Story

Caily and the Slime Monster

Caily was a happy six year-old with a lot of curiosity.  She lived in a big house with her parents, a black and white Great Dane dog named Ugland, and a calico cat named Astarte.  They liked to run and chase each other through the house until all would get exhausted.  The animals usually got tired out before Caily.

The rain made everything outside grey and dark.  Caily’s friends were sick with colds, so their mothers would not let them come over to play.

This rainy day Caily was putting her auburn hair up in pigtails the way she liked it.  Breakfast was over and she was still in her pajamas.  She wandered through the house looking for something to do.

“We’re off to the store for a while.  Don’t leave the house,” her mom yelled as her parents went out to the garage to drive away.

Caily shouted after them, “Who’s in charge then?”

“Astarte is!” Dad yelled, and they were off.

“OK, fine,” thought Caily to herself.  “I’ll just have to find something to do.”

She found Dad’s guitar and spent a few minutes with it strumming and trying to make a song.  It didn’t sound the way she had hoped it would, so she set it down and wandered around the house some more.  She stopped at a hallway mirror.  “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the greatest of them all?”  Caily waited patiently for a moment, and then prompted the Mirror in a whisper, “Why, YOU, my dear!”  She then replied to her freckle-face in the mirror, “Oh, THANK YOU!”  And off she went, tearing around the house some more.

The string was hanging down from the attic door.  “Hmm…,” thought Caily, “…I should check this out.”  Normally she wasn’t allowed up there.

Astarte followed Caily up the steps after she pulled down the ladder.  “Hey cat, you can’t be up here, even if you are in charge.”  Astarte ignored her and moved into the attic.  Astarte sniffed at some boxes and then let out a loud meow.  Then Caily saw it, a glowing green slime about the size of a dinner plate.  It had been sleeping, and now the cat woke it up.  An old doll had its feet stuck in the slime.  As the slime started moving, Caily thought it seemed almost animal-like.

The slime was making a move toward her.  “Oh, you’re a BAD slime!” shouted the spunky six year-old.  The slime was move to her and the attic ladder.  “It’s gunning for my feet!” she yelled to Astarte, but the cat was already down the ladder.  Caily was right behind.  And the slime was right behind her.  They all raced around the house.  Ugland the Great Dane joined in the chase, thinking it was a game.  He soon realized that it wasn’t a game.  He howled loudly as the slime caught a paw.  He was stuck.  Just then, the doorbell rang.

Normally Caily wouldn’t open the door if her parents were out, but this was different.  This was an emergency.  She opened the door.  It was a delivery man with a package for Mom.  “Hey, is your mom here?”.  Caily gave him a warning, but it was too late – the slime moved in and jumped on his feet, sticking him to the doormat.  “I’ll try to get help,” said Caily.  “Ugland, go find me some shoes!”.  The dog just looked at her.  His paw was still stuck, and the slimy goop was getting bigger each minute.  “Bad, BAD slime!” she shouted.  Now she had to dance around the green glowing goo.  It definitely wanted to get her.

The next-door neighbor came over to see what was going on.  “No, no, stay away!” yelled Caily, but her neighbor was just too curious.  The slime got her and she was now stuck next to the deliveryman.  Ugland was howling like mad.  The slime continued to gun for Caily’s feet.  “I’ve GOT to get my shoes!” she growled.

After about 10 minutes of this, more people started showing up, and soon there were three neighbors, two friends, a policeman, and two neighborhood dogs stuck in the slime, which was now moving down their street.

Caily made a sprint for her bedroom.  The shoes weren’t there.  She remembered she left them in the car.  She raced for the garage.  Whew, good thing the parents took the van.  She quickly put on her shoes and then came back to the house.  The slime was growing, and it looked angry.

Caily thought hard.  She thought she remembered that slimes don’t like salt.  “That’s it,” she thought, “I’ll get that ugly slime with some salt.”

She had to jump over the nasty slime to get into the kitchen.  It almost snagged her this time.  But she got two salt shakers.  “Aha, I’ll get you now.”

The first one to free was Ugland.  The poor dog was really mad, and all four paws were stuck.  Even his tail was stuck in the goo.  Caily wanted to cry when she saw Astarte – the cat was also stuck, evidently while trying to free her dog friend.  “I’m here and I’ll get you free.”  Caily sprinkled the salt like mad.  And it worked!  The slime backed away quickly, and it even let out a small scream.  Caily’s pets were free.

Caily gave Ugland a salt shaker and told him what to do, “Go salt the slime, boy!”  And off he went, shaking salt all over the slime, helping Caily free the neighbors, and animals, the friends, the policeman, and the deliveryman.  Everyone cheered!

But it was too late for Caily – she was now out of salt, and the slime now had her cornered.  It wanted its revenge.  “Bad, BAD slime!” she yelled as the green glowing goo moved in and slimed her feet, legs, and hands.  Just then, her parents came through the front door to see their daughter morphing into a slime monster…

Copyright 2012, Robert B. Reeder

Swamp Slime Time

Swamp Slime Time

(c) Robert B. Reeder, 2012

The sun was down and the moon was high in the sky.  It shone through the pink curtains in Jenny’s bedroom window to the floor, highlighting her stuffed animal collection.  Jenny owned a pretty good collection of animals, and they included a couple bears, a frog, a rhino, a lion, a couple horses, three sheep, and a dolphin.  The dolphin was her favorite.  The moonlight made it look like it was swimming underwater as Jenny was drifting off to sleep.

Jenny lived with her parents and her brother James in the country outside of town.  They had a little farm with some real horses and sheep.  Down the road from them was the swamp.  Jenny was not allowed to go to the swamp, unless with Dad, to catch crayfish.  She knew that her brother went there without permission all the time.  He was one of those younger brothers who liked to act like he was the older one.  “I’m big enough.  I can take care of myself!” he would say.  But Jenny knew he was just a snot-nosed kid who always needed her help.

Later that night, when everyone was in bed, Jenny heard a tap at her window.  She jumped up quickly to see what it was.  She saw booger-face James through the window.  He looked worried.

“Hurry, let me in!” he whispered.

Jenny replied, “OK, what’s the big deal?  Let me help you up.”  James didn't want help getting up.  He just wanted the window open.

“I’m big enough.  I can take care of myself!” he whispered hoarsely.  He was panting, and it was clear he had been running.  “Ew…you stink!” she told him.

James explained that he had been down to the swamp looking for pirate treasure.  He thought there might be some alligators nearby, so he went to investigate.  He didn't find alligators, but there was a funny-looking stone, which he picked up.  Underneath the stone was a glowing green slime.  “I think I woke it up,” he said, “and now it is after me!”

Sure enough, when they looked out the window they saw a glowing green goo moving to the house, following James’ muddy footprints.  “You are in trouble” said Jenny, stating the obvious.

“I’m big enough.  I can take care of myself!” grumbled James.  “I need to find something to fight this thing.”  The green slime thing was getting bigger as it slowly eased to their lawn.  What’s more, there appeared to be a small army of banana slugs approaching with it.  They were glowing yellow, and each one was the size of a pickle.  Jenny swore she heard them chanting as they got closer.  The sheep and horses were starting to make noise.  The animals knew something was wrong.  It wouldn't be long before Dad was up.

Jenny came up with a plan.  “OK, you know that slugs are killed by salt, right?  Sneak into the kitchen and get all the salt you can find!  I’m going to try to distract it.”  So James went off to the kitchen and Jenny slipped out her bedroom window.  As she dropped to the lawn she thought she heard animal noises in her bedroom, but she moved on to the green goo.

“Hey you stupid slime!” she hissed at the green glow and its slug companions.  The slime stopped for a moment and seemed to rise up to consider what was happening.  Little girls were not allowed to confront swamp slime monsters.  The slime shook like it was laughing.  “Oh, this isn't good,” thought Jenny.  “Where is that little creep with the salt?!”

The slime settled down and became quicker in its approach now, and it spread out to trap Jenny.  The slugs looked angry.  Stupid and angry.  And gross.  They left stinking trails of yellow slime behind them as they circled in.

Then she saw James.  He had gathered every salt box and shaker the family had.  Some he held, and others were stuffed into his coveralls.  He raced to his sister as fast as he could, but he tripped and was soon surrounded by slime.  “Let me help you,” said Jenny, but James wanted to fight this himself.  “I’m big enough.  I can take care of myself!”  Unfortunately, he couldn't, and the slime was holding him down, preparing to get its revenge.

Just then, a quiet army approached from the house, led by Jenny’s friend, the dolphin.  The stuffed animals were the sworn enemies of the green glowing goo, and they were ready for battle.  The horses raced in to rescue James.  The sheep and bears circled around Jenny.  The dolphin, frog, lion, and rhino each liberated the salt from James and began to sprinkle it on the slime and the slugs.  It was an epic battle, and in the end the slime retreated, shrinking into a small puddle.  James took the funny-looking stone and slapped it on top of the slime.  “That should hold you,” he said.

Jenny and James looked around.  The moon was lower in the sky now, and as it lit up the lawn there was no evidence of the major victory that had been won.  Jenny climbed back into her room, where the stuffed animals were sleeping in a pile.  She could swear that the dolphin had a smile on his face.  She drifted back to sleep.  In his bedroom down the hallway, her brother was congratulating himself, “I’m big enough.  I can take care of myself!” and he was soon asleep as well.

What Can Microbiology Teach Us About Humanity?

It was a prime-time TV special that first reeled me in to a lifetime fascination with microorganisms. It is the intense closeness and partnership we have with the invisible animals that keeps me fascinated.

As I continue to learn about the sheer numbers and diversity of living cells that work and live as our personal microbiomes my appreciation and curiosity grow. The study of microscopic life has the ability, as do the other branches of biology, to give us insight into our own natures.

As a boy living in rural Washington State, I enjoyed observing the birds around the countryside. The killdeers followed instinct, loping away from their eggs while putting on a "broken wing act". Pretending that they were crippled, and therefore easy prey, is supposed to lure the aggressive animal to them. I mimicked their killdeer call and mocked the poor birds even as I located their nests in the gravel. Other animals I loved to observe were the ubiquitous polliwogs. For an amateur scientist, the observation of the relatively rapid metamorphosis into frogs was the ideal project. All that was required was a mason jar, pond water, and some grass for them to eat.

My interests shifted one night from the macroscopic to the microscopic world. A television show that revealed to me the fact that microscopic organisms were living not only around us, but on us and in us. I was blown away. Mom told me to wash my hands to avoid germs. I always thought that these "germs" were made up to scare children, much like a fairy tale villain. Once the TV taught me, it was doctrine. The images and the narrative of the pseudo-investigative shock journalist sealed the deal.

Not many months after that I came down with acute appendicitis that left me hospitalized for almost three months (rupture, sepsis, life-saving emergency surgery and massive doses of antibiotics). It was Christmastime, and my parents gave me a microscope to pass the time in the hospital bed while recovering. Mom even donated some of her blood for me to study. That microscope had enough resolving power to visualize bee wings and leaf cells really well. With my nascent skills blood cells were borderline observable, and bacteria were impossible to see using that toy. When the electron microscope became available in college, that was nirvana.

My education and career has led me through various subsets of microbiology, including clinical micro, plant pathology/soil micro, environmental micro, medical device testing (with principles of cleaning, sanitization, sterilization), consumer products micro, and pharmaceutical microbiology. It has been a rich experience so far.

So, what can the bugs teach us about ourselves? In the years since I first gained an interest in bacteria and their neighbors, I have learned:

1. It's better when we work together and get along. (quorum sensing, biofilms)
2. There will always be a problem and an antagonist. (disease mechanisms, competition, antibiosis)
3. There is always a solution to crazy problems. (oil spill cleanup, energy production)
4. Life and inspiration can be found almost everywhere.  This world is designed to hold all kinds of life. (deep core samples and meteorites)

Other fascinating topics include ice nucleation, secondary metabolites, mutualism/symbiosis, extremophiles, cleanroom isolates, yogurt, cheese, etc.


Many of the problems we face as humanity can be aided by our partners who are always with us, on us, and in us. Just be sure to wash your hands.