The Tangles

Copyright © 2019 by Michelle Janson
All rights reserved.

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Janson, Michelle.
ISBN 978



Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the many people that helped bring this book to life. Thank
you to my incredible family and friends for your feedback and endless reviews

of the manuscript. Isaac Janson, Christine and Dan Sulka, Amy and Scott
Grimes, Mary McCullough, and Meg Frazer, thank you for your valuable time and
continuous, unwavering encouragement. Thank you, Roxy Morgan, Janet Kresser,

Lesley Miller, Laura Martin, Stephanie Swartzendruber, Rita Janson, and
Kaleesha Thompson, for your expert editing and genuine, caring hearts. Finally,
thank you to our fantastic publishing team at Lift Bridge Publishing who made

the completion of this dream possible.

Every big and little contribution you each made was noticed and beyond
appreciated. As they say and as we know, team work really does make the dream

work!

By Michelle Janson, PhD

“Good  morning my little students!”  sang  Miss Norma.  “The day has finally arrived for our field
trip to Earth!” In front of the class, a group of students by the names of Carina, Leo, Pyxis, Pavo, and
Orion were anxiously discussing the assignment the students were to complete while on the field trip.
“Could someone please review what we need to do once we land on Earth?” asked Pyxis inquisitively.
Without hesitation, Leo pulled out the instructions and read:



Miss Norma’s Class Trip to Earth Instructions

1) Observe as many humans as you can!
2) Think about the following questions:

• How do the humans interact with each other?
• Do they talk to each other?
• Do they seem to be enjoying life?
• What words would you use to describe how they might be feeling?
3) Write a report. Once we return home to our planet of Chattaway, each stu-
dent will write about their observations.

4) While on the trip, make sure to keep your eyes and ears open and most im-
portantly, have fun!

“Thank you for reviewing the assignment, Leo,” said Pyxis. “I can’t wait to

see



A moment later, Miss Norma’s voice piped up as the students prepared to board
the space bus. “Don’t forget children, once on Earth, we want to show respect to the
humans. We will turn our invisibility shields on so they aren’t disrupted in their natural
habitat. Now let’s get moving!” With that final note, the class boarded the bus and
exclaimed, “Next stop, Earth!” The engines roared as the space bus rocketed off toward
the green and blue ball that was just a hop, skip, and a jump across the sparkling, starry
galaxy.



The space bus jetted into Earth’s orbit within a few short minutes. The students’
eyes were wide as saucers as they looked out the windows trying to catch a glimpse
of the majestic and intriguing planet. Carina, Leo, Pyxis, Pavo, and Orion were simply
mesmerized. As all the little people and cars came into view, Carina said, “It looks so
busy! What do they do all day?” “I think we’re about to find out!” said Pavo.



After everyone turned on their invisibility shields and Miss Norma gave one last
briefing on safety and expected behavior, the class stepped off the bus to begin their
earthly adventure. “Here we go!” said Carina as all five students excitedly pulled out
their pencils and paper to begin observing the nearby humans.

It didn’t take long to realize there were a lot of humans on Earth! People were rushing
this way and that on the sidewalks. The stores and cafes had lines of people anxious to
make their purchases. The streets were full of people driving their cars left and right.
“Woah! It is super cool to be surrounded by so many humans!” said Pyxis excitedly.



As the students continued observing the humans, they slowly began noticing
something strange. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” asked Orion. “Yes, I think so,”
Pyxis responded with a touch of concern in her voice. “Hmmm…we’ve been observing
the humans walking, driving, shopping, and eating for a few minutes now. However, we
have not seen much interaction between them.” Pyxis was right. Though the humans
were right beside each other, there didn’t seem to be much interaction occurring. It was
then that Orion asked, “What are those thin rectangles everyone is holding?” “Yeah, all
the humans are staring at them like they’re kind of in a trance,” added Carina.

The rectangles had bright screens and flashing colors on the front and the humans
seemed to be poking, clicking, and swiping away at them. Some humans were holding
smaller rectangles in their hands while others had larger, foldable rectangles on their laps
or tables. “What are those things?” asked Carina. “Well…I am not quite sure, but based
on their rectangular shape and the way they seem to be interfering with or tangling up
the human’s interactions, I think we should call them ‘tangles,” suggested Orion.



“How are we supposed to observe the humans’ interactions if they aren’t really
talking or looking at each other?” asked Leo. Just as he was saying this, a loud
SPLAAASSSSHSHHHHHHHH! was heard. The aliens turned just in time to see a nearby
human send a wall of chilly water flying high in the sky. “Holy cow! She walked right into
the fountain!” It was then that they saw she, too, was holding one of the rectangles!
“I think she was so focused on her ‘tangle, that she didn’t even see the water in front
of her!” said Pavo. “My goodness, these ‘tangles seem to have a lot of power over the
humans.” With a little worry in her voice, Carina added, “This is a little unexpected.
Let’s keep walking and see what else we find. Not everyone can be so focused on their
‘tangles.”



As the group walked on, their hearts began sinking further into their bellies as more
and more ‘tangles were spotted. They were everywhere!!!

On their walk, the aliens stopped in a small grocery store in hopes of finding humans
connecting. Much to their dismay, however, they quickly learned that not only were
there bigger, more obvious ‘tangles on Earth, but it appeared that even sneakier devices
were causing tangles in the humans’ communication. As the students walked through
the aisles, they saw humans pushing their carts. Rather than talking with others around
them though, these humans had strange wires coming out of their ears. “Oh my! The
humans don’t even acknowledge each other while shopping. Instead, they’re in their
own world as they listen to music!” Orion said.



As the students headed back outside to the busy sidewalk, they could smell the strong
aroma of a coffee shop just down the road and saw a long line of humans waiting for
their steaming cups of joe. At that very moment, the students felt a jolt of excitement
as they saw people in line talking! “Maybe this is where the humans come to interact,”
said Leo in a hopeful tone. As the aliens headed into the shop, their hearts dipped once
more. Some of the humans had a glowing blue device in their ear. Others that didn’t
have the “blue ear” were again talking or typing on their ‘tangles.

“Where else can we go to see real human interaction?”, asked Leo sadly. Pyxis piped
up saying, “I saw a school around the corner. Let’s head that way to see how kids like us
interact. I have a feeling it will be different there.”



As the aliens approached the school, they saw a group of students enjoying their
recess break. “Yes! We will see what they talk about in their peer groups!” said Pavo
positively. However, as they approached, the aliens spotted ‘tangles attached to these
students, too. It was obvious that very few students were actually looking at or listening
to each other. Most of them were focused on their ‘tangles while making faces that
looked something like…like...“a duck?” said Pyxis. “And what is that scary metal arm that
the students are using to hold their ‘tangles? Yikes! Let’s keep moving!” shrieked Orion.



The group quickly moved toward the school building where they saw a classroom of
students. “I hear many cool things happen inside the schools on Earth. Let’s take a look,”
suggested Pyxis. As the aliens peered through the windows expecting to see students
looking ahead and listening attentively to their teacher, they were surprised to see many
students with big ‘tangles in front of them. Some were typing away while others were
on something called social media. When the teacher instructed the students to put
their ‘tangles away, it appeared they had a hard time keeping their eyes and hands off
the glowing screens. What’s more surprising, some students were even trying to hide
their small ‘tangles under the desks!



All of the sudden, a loud bell rang indicating the school day had ended. “Woah, we
better get out of the way. Let’s watch what happens as the school dismisses”, said Leo.
The group watched closely as the students walked out of class and down the hall with
their ‘tangles in hand. “Looking at a ‘tangle while walking down stairs or moving through
a crowd can’t be easy,” said Leo after seeing a few humans bump into each other. The
aliens noted that some students immediately put music wires, similar to those they saw
in the grocery store, in their ears as they boarded big, yellow buses. Other students
went straight to the car pick up line, where…wouldn’t you know it, the parents and
drivers behind the wheel were also spotted with ‘tangles in hand!

“What on Earth is happening!?” exclaimed Orion. Before anyone could answer, the
group heard loud honks coming from the street! They looked just in time to see a car
wildly driving by. The driver had their eyes down looking at their glowing ‘tangle! The
group continued to watch the busy street and saw many of the drivers either had their
‘tangles held to their ears or planted firmly in their hands as they drove. The aliens
noted this resulted in cars running over curbs, drivers running through red lights, and
vehicles continuing to sit idle even after a traffic light turned green!



Carina brought everyone’s attention back as she said, “Okay guys, we have a lot to
think about and it’s time to meet back up with Miss Norma.” The aliens hustled back
to the space bus and caught it just in time. They were tired, surprised, and concerned
for the humans. However, as they were waiting in line to board, the group took one last
look over at a nearby playground and there…right then and there they saw exactly what
they had traveled to Earth to see…



Right before their eyes, they saw a mom playing with her little boy on the merry-go-
round. All five students immediately froze. They could not help but notice the difference
in this human interaction…

The students closely noticed how both individuals were grinning ear to ear.
The mom and little boy were looking at each other.
They were talking and listening to each other.
They were holding hands.
They were laughing.
They were fully present.
They were joyful.

It was in this moment that Carina, Leo, Pyxis, Pavo, and Orion saw that true human
connection does exist on Earth and it seems this type of connection is what brings true
happiness. It was this human interaction that instilled hope back in the hearts of the
alien students.



Once they were safely out of Earth’s orbit, the group of alien students continued
discussing the day’s observations. “You know, seeing that mom and her little boy playing
was beautiful! However, in thinking about many of our other observations, it seemed
that when the ‘tangles were out, the humans were drawn to them instead of being
drawn to each other. It’s like the invisible force that pulls our spaceship into orbit on
planet Chattaway. Maybe the humans have a similar invisible force constantly pulling
them to their devices, too,” suggested Pavo.



The students decided that before taking on their assignment of writing the day’s
report, they would first write a note to their teacher expressing their concerns.
They wrote:

Dear Miss Norma,
Today our group traveled to Earth to study the humans. They seem like very
nice people, however, we were quite surprised at how uninterested they seem to be
in each other. Sadly, these rectangle things (or ‘tangles as we called them) seem to be
inhibiting the human’s interactions. The ‘tangles seem to be what everyone wants to
look at or have attached to their hand, lap, head, or simply keep somewhere close by.
This makes us sad and we wonder if it makes the humans sad, too.
Just before leaving the planet though, we did see a most glorious sight! A mom and
her little boy were fully engaged and playing together. In that interaction, no ‘tangles
were to be found and wouldn’t you know it, nothing but joy was seen on both of their
faces! Could it be that the ‘tangles are partially to blame for the disconnect between
humans?

Sincerely,
Carina, Leo, Pyxis, Pavo, and Orion



After reading the note and utilizing the wisdom that an experienced teacher like
Miss Norma could provide, she promptly responded to the students’ concerned
remarks.  She wrote:



In reading this response from Miss Norma, the students smiled as they knew the
humans would be just fine. “Humans sure are a fascinating species,” said Orion. “I know
they won’t let a few little ‘tangles get in the way of what’s most important, which is
taking care of each other and enjoying this magnificent adventure called life!”





About the Author

Michelle fully enjoys her job as a school counselor and has had the
opportunity to work with students and families at every grade level from
kindergarten through college. Her education includes a Bachelors in Health Education,
Psychology, and Child Development, a Masters in Educational Counseling, and a PhD
in Psychology, with an emphasis on Emotional Intelligence/Social Development. She
is beyond thankful for her loving family and friends that have supported her many
wild endeavors and have always been open to engaging in conversations
involving the phrase, “How are you feeling?” Michelle resides in Indianapolis,
Indiana with her wonderful husband, Isaac, labrador retriever, Ginger Mango, and
cat, Wheezy. She has an unwavering life goal of aiding people in finding their
passion, bringing that passion to fruition, and collectively leaving a positive impact on
our shared world.