Headline news brought me out of my thesis-induced retirement today....
I was down in class when it happened and I'm sure the video doesn't do it justice. But the idea of it can make emotion rise deep in your gut. Imagine for a minute, growing up with a model spaceship. Your parents and grandparents talk about the great moments when astronauts landed in space. The last and greatest frontier, where all mankind raced to be - Americans landed on the moon. It was a symbol of American accomplishment, an inspiration as a child that anything could be done.
The toy spaceship was the integral part of my imagination. Together we soared over the confines of the house, landing for exploration on faraway places. I later got a LEGO space shuttle with an arm for launching satellites and run training flights from a 747. My brother had the fall away launch pad with detachable rockets. Our obsession with the space shuttle was entwined with our ability to dream about the future. Nobody could tell me it didn't exist in space because nobody I knew had been there before. We lined up on the couch upside down and pretended to launch off into the great unknown. My parents drove us by the big launch site as kids and while I don't remember much, I remember excitement. The space shuttles were exciting, inspiring, powerful and unique.
The pictures and video are awesome. There is no more epic way to go out than to be flown around the mall before retirement at Dulles. While I'm excited to see what's next, the passing of this era leaves me nostalgic. When I help teach my kids history and we reach the space shuttles, I don't know what words will do it justice. My kids will never understand.
