10 November 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2917: the wrong mechanism

Photo by the author, Deeann D. Mathews

“So, first of all … .”

This is where Mrs. Thalia Ludlow started the family video that ended with 15 entire minutes later on of Capt. R.E. Ludlow laughing in his huge bass voice.

“First of all, George and Milton, understand that even Edwin Ludlow could not build everything he wanted. You need to present a blueprint for approval, but the presentation of a blueprint does not mean permission will be granted.”

“Wait,” nine-year-old George Ludlow said to Capt. Ludlow. “Great-Grandpa couldn't build everything he wanted?”

“Great-Grandpa wasn't God,” Capt. Ludlow said. “He got reminders often!”

“Yeah, but as great as your father was, Captain, he didn't have us explaining why we need this spaceport!” George's best friend nine-year-old Milton Trent said.

“This is definitely true, Milton,” Capt. Ludlow said, with a gentle smile.

“We're just going to wait for Grayson to finish up, and then it's all going to make sense to you when we explain it!” Milton said.

“We are focused and locked in!” George said.

Six-year-old Grayson Ludlow came into his grandfather's work room holding a set of meticulously drawn blueprints in white crayon on blue construction paper.

“Here y'all go – numbered one through five,” he said. “I found some Google Maps footage of the field, so I was able to draw everything to scale. Read the fine print, though, at the end.”

“Thanks, Grayson – you are the best!” George said.

“Right on, Grayson – these are amazing!” Milton said.

Grayson turned to his grandfather.

“I really got other stuff to be doing, but I told them I would and also I now have them off my neck onto yours. Gottagobye.”

Capt. Ludlow watched his six-year-old grandson go before turning back to his nine-year-old grandson and best friend doing everything but reading the fine print at the end.

“Here, Papa – these are amazing!” George said.

Capt. Ludlow looked at all the drawings, took his time with Grayson's notes at the end, and then handed the drawings back to George.

“They are indeed – Grayson does great and detailed work, and even researched. You might want to read the fine print, George and Milton, before you start explaining.”

“Nah – we got this!” George said.

“We are focused and locked in!” Milton said.

So, on they went through the drawings about how they needed Capt. Ludlow to go in with his Hamilton and Lee cousins about buying the field between their houses, and then letting George and Milton have one corner to have their spaceport with a total of four parking spaces for rockets.

“In case we make contact with some aliens and they want to visit,” Milton said.

“Of course,” Capt. Ludlow said. “The duty of hospitality would also extend to interplanetary and interstellar affairs.”

“Of course!” George and Milton said together, and then turned to the next stage of the drawing.

Capt. Ludlow patiently waited for the boys to get through the pure drawings into Grayson's notes – the fine print. Grayson was also budding as an engineer, and he had not missed an important engineering fact.

“The problem with this spaceport is that rocket fuel burns really hot, and so every rocket has a set of flames coming out of its butt like that time Cousin Radford said Serrano peppers aren't that hot and stuffed five of them into his mouth and got them down his throat before he got his mind back, but multiplied by like a billion.”

“Oh no,” George said.

“What does he mean?” Milton said.

“So, Cousin Radford Ludlow gave us a place to stay while we were picking up Grayson from his last foster care situation,” Capt. Ludlow said. “Apparently, this made an impression on our then-four-year-old engineer.”

“What happened?” Milton said.

“Radford's wife Sirena is from Mexico,” Capt. Ludlow said, “and she was just making up salsa from scratch and happened to tell Radford that she was making a hotter batch with the Serrano peppers. Serrano peppers tend to be smaller than jalapenos, and he made the comment that: 'They don't look that hot; they're actually kinda cute' before popping five into his mouth. The problems for him began in about a minute, but he had a full stomach of breakfast, so the problems for us didn't begin until they began for him again on the other end of his body from his mouth.”

Capt. Ludlow paused, and sighed.

“What goes in must come out, and gas is sometimes the herald everyone gets of the wrath to come.”

“Oh no,” Milton said.

“It was like tear gas and regular No. 2 had a baby,” George said, “and we were stuck in the house during the whole delivery.”

Capt. Ludlow looked back at Grayson's notes.

“I see here that he said rocket fuel burns so hot that it would be 'multiplied by a billion.'”

George and Milton looked at each other, then at Capt. Ludlow, then again at each other.

“No,” both said.

“I see why most spaceports are out there far from towns and stuff!” George said. “It all makes sense now!”

“A rocket indeed might be the wrong mechanism for a residential area,” the captain purred.

“We gotta invent a real warp drive first,” Milton said. “We absolutely cannot be doing that kind of pollution where people live!”

“Back to the drawing board – but hey, we did ask this time,” George said.

“That's progress,” Capt. Ludlow said gently. “The man working on the warp drive at present is a scientist named Miguel Alcubierre – you'll find he wrote quite a bit about how to do it in 1994.”

“He left blueprints – oh, we are good, then!” George said.

“We're still focused and locked in, just onto a better plan!” Milton said

“But remember, gentlemen,” Capt. Ludlow said, “like your six-year-old architect born 20 years after Alcubierre completed his work told you: read the fine print.”

“Right, right – let's borrow our sisters' phones real quick and – how do you spell Alcubierre, Papa?” George said.

“A-L-C-U-B-I-E-R-R-E. Alcubierre. It is a Spanish name.”

“OK – got it. When we get it together we'll be back!” George said.

“Y'all enjoy,” Capt. Ludlow said gently, and then gathered up the blueprints and the notes to return them to Grayson, who was hard at work on his main project going on at the home of his cousins, the Lees.

“So, how'd it go?” Grayson said to Capt. Ludlow.

“We read the fine print,” the captain said gently.

“Good, because we have enough stuff messed up around here without rocket problems,” Grayson said. “It wasn't my job to tell them no: they're older than me, but I knew you would come through for me. I appreciate you, Papa.”

“Actually, your mentioning Cousin Radford helped them figure it out for themselves,” Capt. Ludlow said. “George remembered and Milton got the point.”

“Good,” Grayson said. “I try, Papa, to explain stuff how people can understand.”

“You're doing a great job,” Capt. Ludlow said. “I appreciate you, Grayson, out here protecting Lofton County from rocket problems.”

“Somebody has gotta do it, and even if it is just you and me, we got this,” Grayson said.

“Yep. I share my Robert Edward Ludlowness with Rob, but the Grayson Green Ludlowness that you have is unique, so with our different kinds of Ludlowness, we definitely have things under control.”

“Yeah,” Grayson said, and jumped up into his grandfather's arms, reassured about life in general.

“So, let me see what you are up to for the county today,” the captain said, and sat down for a whole half hour to see how his grandson had modeled new buildings for Lofton County based on the drawings his great-grandfather had left for the buildings he had built. Capt. Ludlow read all the fine print aloud to make sure he understood.

“You're going to need a lot more permission than mine to do all this, Grayson, but you are well on your way.”

“By the time I'm old enough, I'm going to be so ready,” Grayson said. “Lofton County just needs to be getting ready, but ready or not, I'm coming to make it better.”

“Focused and locked in,” the captain said.

“And ain't gotta tell anybody; I just do it,” Grayson said as he pulled a fresh piece of blue construction paper into place.

“That's how the ready ones always are,” Capt. Ludlow purred, and kissed his grinning grandson's cheek before taking notes of where the others were – George was back at Milton's house, and Milton's siblings Velma and Gracie were reading along with George's siblings Andrew and Lil' Robert about the Alcubierre Drive with Milton's grandmother Mrs. Velma Stepforth also reading along. George's sisters Glendella, Edwina, and Amanda were in the kitchen with Mrs. Maggie Lee learning how to cook Italian food, and Col. H.F. Lee was on furlough from his police job and so was supervising Grayson.

This left the Ludlow house empty of children for a moment, so Capt. Ludlow could get on his bed, find three pillows because of his huge bass voice, and let all that laughter he had been holding back go, to happily end the family history Mrs. Ludlow was recording of the Ludlow-Trent Spaceport that never was.