The Galilean Sandals

The Galilean Sandals

Mike P. Fay

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2018

Smashwords Edition, License Notes.

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Chapter 1 Arthur: Field Trip

On most field trips it doesn't matter if you're in the first group to leave the class or the last group -- it's pretty much the same trip. But on that third field trip of our fifth grade year, it sure did matter.

The day started out great because Ms. Miller let me and Rosa be in the same group. Rosa is Rosalinda Hernandez, my best friend and next door neighbor, and me, I'm Arthur Jefferson. We both thought we would never get to be in the same group after what happened on the first field trip, which was to the Natural History Museum. That was the trip where Rosa bounced a super ball to me while we were on the second floor walkway around the main entrance hall. Of course I wasn't looking at Rosa, I was looking down at the stuffed elephant on the first floor. Anyway, Rosa yelled for me to catch it. Her yelling brought on the attention of the whole class who watched as I missed it, and the ball went down into the main hall, missed a lady rolling her baby in a stroller by about a foot, and bounced up higher than the elephant; in fact, the second bounce landed on top of the elephant's back. The third bounce went on the other side of the elephant and into the hall with the dinosaur bones, and after the fifth or sixth bounce we couldn't see it anymore. You would think that since none of the guards noticed, we wouldn't get in trouble. But Ms. Miller was really mad. She said Rosa and I wouldn't be able to be in the same group for any more field trips. Of course the next field trip Rosa got into trouble without me. She started talking to the zookeeper about what the otters eat and was asking tons of questions, like why did they put a plastic kid's slide in the otter area? The chaperones and the rest of us were on the bottom side of the enclosure watching the otters slide around and swim underwater through the glass, and we didn't notice Rosa was gone until we got up to the rhinos. It took us a half hour to find her.

On this third field trip my mom was a chaperone. Ms. Miller was at the other end of the room when Mom picked me, Rosa, Anthony and Sophie to be in her group. Mom knew those three were my friends because they were the ones I invited to my birthday party the month before. The kids liked my Mom because she let us do stuff. Like at my birthday party, we took two mattresses, put them on the basement steps, and slid down them. Mom not only let us do that, she actually helped us get the mattresses in place.

In the classroom, we had all our group together and Ms. Miller looked over and gave us a worried smile. She walked over, bent down and whispered to me Arthur, I guess you can go with Rosa today. You'll be a calming influence, O.K.? Then she whispered something to Rosa. I looked over at Rosa and smiled. I had the feeling this would be the best field trip ever. It turns out, my feelings would change about 3 times that day.

All us fifth graders were going to the Discovery Theater, which is in one of the Smithsonian museums down between the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Sometimes for field trips we walk to the subway from the school in our groups and meet back up at the museum or wherever we are going. That usually works out fine, but that trip it didn't quite work out for us, the last group to leave. Not only were we the last to leave, we were the slowest group. Mom kept talking to each of the kids on the way to the Metro. When she talks she has this habit of standing still to listen when she thinks you are saying something important. This feels kind of nice if you are doing the talking, but it made us really late to the Metro platform. By the time we got there all the rest of fifth grade was gone on a train heading downtown.

No problem, said Mom, the trains come fast.

About five minutes later we heard an announcement, May I have your attention please. There is a delay on the red line trains heading in the direction of Glenmont. The delay is due to a mechanical problem with a train at the Friendship Heights station. Trains are using a single track at that station. We regret the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Kids, Mom said, I'm afraid we're going in the direction of Glenmont. Did anyone bring a book or something?

Rosa held up a super ball. Just seeing that ball made me start sweating with the memory of the other one that bounced off the elephant. Why do I still feel so bad about that when I didn't even throw the ball? Mom smiled but shook her head no, even she wouldn't let us play ball on the Metro platform. By the time we got to the Discovery Theater the show had started, and they wouldn't let us in. Mom tried to argue but we already missed most of the show anyway so she gave up. We sat down in the hall, the last, slowest, and now most miserable group in the fifth grade.

Finally Mom got up, Come on kids let's make our own field trip.

She wrote a note to Ms. Miller and bustled us over to the Natural History Museum across the mall (that's the grassy part between the museums). This is the museum of the super ball incident, but I never did tell Mom about that. Besides the big stuffed elephant and dinosaur bones, it also had movies about mummies, an insect zoo, and a bunch of other stuff. So I was feeling a little better, but I was the only one.

O.K. kids we got to stick together. Now what'll it be? Dinosaur bones?

Seen um. said Anthony.

Mummies? said Mom.

Only saw them a hundred million times. said Rosa.

O.K., just follow me. Mom said. She lead us to the ground floor, by the museum shop to an old hall where there are stuffed birds of Washington D.C. Has anyone ever seen one of these around here?

Mom pointed to the stuffed pileated woodpecker. She was really trying hard, but we were all grumpy because we missed the show. I thought only Rosa's super ball could save us from the boredom. But then something better happened.

Someone called to Mom, Sara, is that you? It was Len Strauss, one of our neighbors. We saw him a lot after dinner when he was taking his dog, Rhino, out for a walk. He was tall with light brown skin and long hair that was bunched up into big pieces each one about as big as a finger. He called his hairdo, his dreads. Out walking his dog he always wore old pants with holes in the knees or paint on them. So it looked weird to see him here with his nice pants without any wrinkles.

Oh, Len, I forgot you worked here. You have to help me, this field trip is not working out.

After hearing the whole story, Dr. Strauss agreed to take us to his office. Mom introduced the rest of the kids, Kids, this is Dr. Strauss. He is an archaeologist.

Right this way kids, he said as he lead us to a pair of double gray doors that said 'Staff Only'.

Technically, you are all supposed to sign a guest log and get a temporary visitor's badge to go back here, but if you stay close to me there shouldn't be any trouble.

Dr. Strauss put his arm around my shoulder as we walked back to his office and pointed out stuff to me.

Back in the staff area there are lots of boxes and file cabinets. They are not normal-sized file cabinets, but ones with all different size drawers, and the drawers stacked all the way up to the ceiling.

Kids, you hit me at the right time Dr. Strauss said as we got to his office, I have a job that I need kids for. Sit right down and I will tell you the story of the magic sandals of Galilee. He looked up at Mom and winked at her.

The sandals were found inside a carved-out stone near Capernaum. Does anyone know where Capernaum is?

Rosa raised her hand. It's by the Sea of Galilee.

How did she know that?, I wondered.

That's right, Rosa. said Dr. Strauss. Now Capernaum is a small town on the Sea of Galilee which is not really a sea but a lake in the Middle East. It's far away from here and takes more than a day to get there even by plane. The sandals have been sent to a lab for radiocarbon dating and…

For what? blurted Anthony. That was one good thing about Anthony, if he didn't know what you were talking about he would stop you right there and ask questions.

Well, let's see continued Dr. Strauss, Radiocarbon dating is a method archaeologists use to figure out how old something is. For it to work, it has to be something that was once alive. So since the leather of the sandals used to be the skin of a cow or bull, we can use the method. The lab counts the number of beta particles released by decaying carbon-14 atoms and...

What are... Anthony started to say.

Dr. Strauss held up his hand and smiled. Please don't ask me what beta particles are or I will never get to the really interesting part. Another wink.

"Here is the bottom line. The lab says that the sandals come from the first century, about the time that Jesus lived. The sandals are special not just because they survived all this time for you to be able to see them -- I'll show you them in a minute-- they are special because inside the stone where they were found is an inscription, in Hebrew, that says something like this:

If you wear us,

and you let us,

you can be,

the one who wore us.

Now who here believes in magic?" All of us kids looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well, I'm not a believer in magic. I'm a scientist. That's why I'm glad you are here. You see sometimes when I put my