It was July 25, 1971. That hot, sticky kind of Florida summer day. But no one really was paying much attention to the heat or humidity right now. This was a special day and I was in a special place. As the countdown drew closer to Zero, the crowd began speaking louder. Pointing, cheering, some clapping, they were all standing counting with the loudspeaker. Three, Two, ONE............RUMBLING, CRACKING, BOOMING..........."and we have lift-off of Apollo 15." I could hardly believe that this rocket was lifting up into the sky and going to space.
All I ever wanted to be was an astronaut. My Dad worked for NASA and he said I can be whatever I want. So there you have it. Being around all the NASA people was a lifestyle that only a few can understand. They are a close group of engineers, scientists, pilots, and technicians that is kind of like being part of a bigger family. Although sometimes it makes it even harder to separate that family job from your actual family. I never saw my Dad much, he was usually at work or at some party about work. So as many families in the early '70s experienced, our family broke up and became "Divorced".
Does this mean I can't become an astronaut now? Why in the world would we be moving to a different state? Dad sure doesn't look very happy and let me tell you this little Chevy Vega is really crowded with my bully for a sister and all her princess junk. Princess, yeah right! Well here we go headed for some place called South Carolina. I wonder if they have any astronauts in South Carolina. I guess the Vega has to get us there first. So like Peter Pan said, "Let's go, second star on the right and on until morning."
No comments:
Post a Comment