Carolyn Apel
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I have lived in interesting and diverse places such as Iran and San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, and have taught E.S.L. around the world. In the early 1980s, I ran a boarding house for the Chinese exchange professors in Seattle. I edited papers for them, and got involved with some of their research. In 1989, I published two volumes of E.S.L. books in Taiwan. (Pyramid Press)
The adventures of Dr. Jones and Carolyn are special to me because Carolyn is a real person and many of the episodes are based on real events. For example, as a hobby, I build robots. They are about two feet high and run around my apartment doing mischievous deeds. In one of my chapters, Dr. Jones decides to buy a robot for his lab. A robot would make an excellent janitor, so Dr. Jones thinks. Instead, our lab is nearly destroyed, and instead of painting a table, the robot paints Dr. Jones. And yes, I really do have a niece Heidi who came out here from Michigan and became covered with ducks as she tried to feed them. The chapter about her and Dr. Jones is very real.
I think you will find this book humorous as well as a tool for language comprehension.
People who travel into space are called astronauts. While they are in space, they must face very difficult conditions. They have no weight in space, so they must wear special shoes to stand on the floor. They must eat special dried food and sleep in special beds. Dr. Jones has been studying about people traveling in space and he has been wondering what it would be like to take a shower in space. Dr. Jones has set up a space shower in his lab. He has been eager to try it.
Dr. Jones: Carolyn, help me. I have been inside this shower for two hours and I am getting very tired. Taking a shower is hard work.
Carolyn: How can it be hard work? Is this the first time you ever took a shower?
Dr. Jones: I cannot hold the two hoses and the soap at the same time. It takes more than two hands to take a shower in space. Please come in here and help me.
Carolyn: Help you?
Dr. Jones: Please hold the soap for me. It keeps falling on my toes. Each time I try to pick up the soap I slip and fall!
Carolyn: Why don’t you just stay on the floor?
Dr. Jones: I fell eight times already and I have eight bumps on my knees!
Carolyn: It’s a good thing that you only have two knees.
Dr. Jones: I need help!
Carolyn: Yes. I’ve always said that.
Dr. Jones: Carolyn! Come here and help me before I fall again. I could get killed!
Carolyn: Okay. But I haven’t helped anyone take a shower before except for small babies.
Dr. Jones: Help! Help! Help!
Carolyn: I’m coming!
Dr. Jones: Quick! Help! My hair is caught in the vacuum hose! The hose is pulling on my hair! Help!
Carolyn: Don't worry. Just stand still while I try to get your hair out of the hose.
Dr. Jones: Help! Help! My hair is being pulled out of my head by the vacuum hose. It is supposed to vacuum up the water, not my hair!
Carolyn: There. I finally got your hair out.
Dr. Jones: But some of my hair is missing! It got pulled into the vacuum hose.
Carolyn: Don't worry. It will grow back. Here, let's put some soap on you.
