Bobby and the Martians
copyright 2008 - Stephen Redgwell (That's me)
"Hey Bob, is that a ham radio?" asked Doug's next door neighbour, as he walked into his buddy's garage.
"It sure is Doug. This was my first transmitter." Bob McDonald held up an old metal box with a big dial and some knobs on the face. It looked pretty old.
"This was my very first radio. Well, actually, it's only half of it. See, when I became an amateur radio operator, it was common to have the transmitter as a separate piece from the receiver. We used to build our own equipment a lot more in those days..."
---
Bob stared wistfully into the distance, his mind drifting back to his very first contact. It was 1951. He talked to a young boy his own age called Hans. Hans lived in Germany.
copyright 2008 - Stephen Redgwell (That's me)
"Hey Bob, is that a ham radio?" asked Doug's next door neighbour, as he walked into his buddy's garage.
"It sure is Doug. This was my first transmitter." Bob McDonald held up an old metal box with a big dial and some knobs on the face. It looked pretty old.
"This was my very first radio. Well, actually, it's only half of it. See, when I became an amateur radio operator, it was common to have the transmitter as a separate piece from the receiver. We used to build our own equipment a lot more in those days..."
---
Bob stared wistfully into the distance, his mind drifting back to his very first contact. It was 1951. He talked to a young boy his own age called Hans. Hans lived in Germany.
In fact, Bobby and Hans talked quite a bit for at least two months. Then, one day, his friend stopped transmitting. Bobby thought maybe his radio had broken or his parents made him stop. After all, it was very late at night in his friend's village over there.
A couple of days after their last QSO, his father came home from work with some awful news. His father said to his mother,
"Martians are attacking the earth! I just heard it on the radio. Parts of Europe have been completely wiped out!
A couple of days after their last QSO, his father came home from work with some awful news. His father said to his mother,
"Martians are attacking the earth! I just heard it on the radio. Parts of Europe have been completely wiped out!
Bobby was very frightened and ran over to his father saying, "But everyone is okay, right? The Martians aren't going to attack us are they?"
Mr. McDonald looked at his young son and said with a sad smile,
"I don't know, son. We'll have to wait and see what the government says. In the meantime, let's get the guns out and move some supplies into the basement. Hey, we'd better put your ham radio downstairs too. It could come in handy later..."
Bobby stayed home from school the next day and helped his mom and dad get all their emergency provisions together. The three of them spent the better part of the afternoon organizing and moving vital survival stores into the bunker.
"Well Marge, It's a good thing I started to make that bomb shelter under the basement. That Senator McCarthy is a pretty smart Joe...I wonder if the Communists are behind this? It would be just like Stalin to accuse someone else. There probably aren't any space men anyhow!"
It was very smart of Bobby's father to get ready for the worst. That night, the first cylinder landed in their town...
Mr. McDonald looked at his young son and said with a sad smile,
"I don't know, son. We'll have to wait and see what the government says. In the meantime, let's get the guns out and move some supplies into the basement. Hey, we'd better put your ham radio downstairs too. It could come in handy later..."
Bobby stayed home from school the next day and helped his mom and dad get all their emergency provisions together. The three of them spent the better part of the afternoon organizing and moving vital survival stores into the bunker.
"Well Marge, It's a good thing I started to make that bomb shelter under the basement. That Senator McCarthy is a pretty smart Joe...I wonder if the Communists are behind this? It would be just like Stalin to accuse someone else. There probably aren't any space men anyhow!"
It was very smart of Bobby's father to get ready for the worst. That night, the first cylinder landed in their town...
The next few days were a blur. The Martians arrived and started shooting anything that moved. Bobby kept transmitting on his ham radio, communicating around the country in search of any station that would listen. He strung a single wire out the window and into the trees next door. He made sure to use CW. That way, the Martians would have a harder time finding them.
Some of the neighbours however, weren't as lucky!
Some of the neighbours however, weren't as lucky!
The McDonalds lived underground for three weeks. Bobby's father would go out briefly every day to check the neighbourhood. After the first week, the Martians had totally obliterated the entire town! In one way, they were lucky. After they laid waste to everything, the Martians had moved on, their General probably ordered them to go in search of more humans to kill.
At the beginning of the fourth week, an eerie calm settled over the neighbourhood. There were no more sounds of ray guns spitting death rays. The cries for help had stopped. The strange whirring of the Martian space ships as they moved over the landscape had ceased.
It was deathly still and nothing moved.
After two days of silence, Bobby and his dad left their shelter and wandered around town. That's when they saw exactly what happened to the Martians. Beside some half eaten bags of food - fast food from Jucee's Hamburgers - lay an alien, dying on the pavement.
At the beginning of the fourth week, an eerie calm settled over the neighbourhood. There were no more sounds of ray guns spitting death rays. The cries for help had stopped. The strange whirring of the Martian space ships as they moved over the landscape had ceased.
It was deathly still and nothing moved.
After two days of silence, Bobby and his dad left their shelter and wandered around town. That's when they saw exactly what happened to the Martians. Beside some half eaten bags of food - fast food from Jucee's Hamburgers - lay an alien, dying on the pavement.
"Son," said Bobby's father, "Your mother always told you to eat healthy. Oh, I know you like to have a burger with your friends after school, but look, do you want to end up like that? That fast food is poison!"
The two stared at the Martian, gasping out its last in the Jucee's parking lot.
"No Dad, I don't! When I grow up, I'm going to open a healthy place for kids to eat. I've been thinking about it you know. I'm going to open a restaurant called Bobbys!"
"That's nice son, but what's wrong with using your last name? Lots of places do that." Bobby's dad seemed disappointed.
"Well, I just don't think that a restaurant called McDonalds would work. I also think that I'm going to serve chicken. It's not all fatty like beef. Instead of being cooked on a grill, I'm gonna deep fry it! Do you remember that old man in the white suit that used to live down the street? He showed me a recipe for cooking chicken using eleven herbs and spices. He probably got killed by the Martians so I'm gonna use his idea, but add more salt." Bobby's face broke out in a big grin.
"That's my boy!" said Bobby's father.
---
"Bob! Bob! Are you alright?" Doug seemed very upset.
"Oh, sorry Doug. I guess I was daydreaming. Do you think Martian fathers love their kids as much as human fathers?"
"What?!?"
"Nevermind..."
The two stared at the Martian, gasping out its last in the Jucee's parking lot.
"No Dad, I don't! When I grow up, I'm going to open a healthy place for kids to eat. I've been thinking about it you know. I'm going to open a restaurant called Bobbys!"
"That's nice son, but what's wrong with using your last name? Lots of places do that." Bobby's dad seemed disappointed.
"Well, I just don't think that a restaurant called McDonalds would work. I also think that I'm going to serve chicken. It's not all fatty like beef. Instead of being cooked on a grill, I'm gonna deep fry it! Do you remember that old man in the white suit that used to live down the street? He showed me a recipe for cooking chicken using eleven herbs and spices. He probably got killed by the Martians so I'm gonna use his idea, but add more salt." Bobby's face broke out in a big grin.
"That's my boy!" said Bobby's father.
---
"Bob! Bob! Are you alright?" Doug seemed very upset.
"Oh, sorry Doug. I guess I was daydreaming. Do you think Martian fathers love their kids as much as human fathers?"
"What?!?"
"Nevermind..."
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