OK, here is a long one - well, maybe not even as long as my past ones...and definitely more variety! HAHA!
FIRST - and kind of important - question! Hope I explain this right so I can get at least a couple of answers. Say I read something on a Tuesday Blog. But by the time I read it or get around to responding what was on that Tuesday Blog, the Wednesday Blog is posted!!! Should I post my comment on the Wednesday Blog even though it is about a Tuesday comment?
Second - FIGURE SKATING! I think it was a truly special time in figure skating during the times that Whabbear mentions. Like a couple of others have said, I couldn't tell you today who is skating, though of course hear the women's "powerhouses" - Sasha Cohen, Sarah Hughes, etc. Are they even still the "top"?? LOL!!
I think it really really was a magical time with truly magical people! The memories you have all spoken about are right there in my head too! Katerina's first Solo skate had me in hysterics! I always watched her after and wanted her to do better but I don't think she ever got used to not having the support out there.
To those Victoria Ladies...and did I just read a gentleman too? I LIVE IN WHARTON! And Delores, do you live in Houston??? I am right in the middle of Victoria and Houston! HA! 60 miles one way, 50 miles the other!!! Sounds like Ross has some extra special Texas Spirit!!!
And lastly, Whabbear! HOW COOL - you work for NASA!!! I am originally from Califorina - a newly transplanted Texan (2 1/2 years) but feel more "at home" here than I did the first 32 years of my life in California (though I have my special things from there of course) and definitely more than the almost 4 spent in Nebraska (which I have spoken about already and many of you probably already know why!)
So when my Aunt and Uncle came to visit me the first time a couple of months ago...my parents live in East Texas - about 250 miles away...I made plans for us to do the special Level 9 NASA Tour!!!
They take 12 people a day - only one tour most of the year but two during the summer - and take us around to extra special places that the regular tour doesn't go. Duke had to get special NASA CLEARANCE!!! HAHA! They had never had a Service Dog take the Level 9 Tour and the Administrator of Space Center had to get permission from each Building Manager! Kinda cool, huh?
I have always been fascinated with the Space Program...born just 6 weeks before the magical Man on the Moon in July, 1969!! Besides Gone with the Wind - which is more my favorite book than movie because so much was cut - Apollo 13 is my second favorite movie!
We got to go to the Neutral Bouyancy Lab - OMG! You can't even imagine nor explain it unless you have seen it...though I did take some pretty powerful pictures! Saw many other buildings that are not part of the regular tours...sitting in the old Mission Control that is now a Historical Site - I just couldn't believe it! The carpet is the same, the equipment...where they heard those magical "first words" from the moon and where the Apollo 13 Disaster was monitored. All of those famous pictures were taken in that room! But it's sooooooo much smaller than you would imagine!
The truly amazing part was when walking in, the smell of everything that happened in that room truly overpowered you! At least it did me! Not in a bad way...not at all!!! But of course they smoked in that room for how many years...can you imagine sometimes the amount of smoke that would hang in the air? HA! And the sweat and tears and food and spills and all of the thousands of people that have taken part in the Space Programs!! And Duke was a sniffing machine! In fact, one of the women who was conducting the tour came up to me and asked if she could walk him around. We were all sitting and listening to the other woman do her talk and we asked our questions...and Duke got to go explore the whole room!!! When she brought him back, he was so happy - and said he sniffed up a storm! She said it was truly special to her to watch him explore :-)
We also went into the actual working Mission Control rooms - in those glass enclossed areas you see in pictures but are again so different than what it really is - and saw an actual training mission of the Space Sation Docking!!! We heard them do the "Capture Complete" and everything!!! Truly truly phenomenal! One of them is Space Shuttle Mission Control and the other is the Space Station Mission Control. While they were doing the "Capture", I asked if they were always so calm...how would it be different if this were actually happening? She said "It wouldn't!" Well, she said we wouldn't be there...LOL!! But the men and women who were behind all of those monitors wouldn't be any different than what we were seeing them do! In the ISS Mission Control, while they were again all behind their monitors doing what they needed to do, one of the guys had a Baseball Game playing on his computer...HAHAHA!!!
AND THEN - not that this was really the best building but the second most powerful part, because the first was being in the old Mission Control - was that when we went into the actual Space Shuttle Training Building...where they actually have parts of the Space Shuttle in different areas - they are faced up or down or sideways - and they do their real training in there!
We not only saw Harmony - well, I can't remember if it was the real one that went up, I am thinking not, but you know, a duplicate - but sitting less than 10 feet from our little tour group, were the STS-120 ASTRONAUTS!!!
4 of the 7 were grouped around a computer screen, sitting in those plain putty-colored metal chairs, TRAINING!!!
The Commander was right in the middle, doing the work while the others were watching, communicating, learning, practicing...this is the crew that was just up in this last Mission!!
The ones that are landing today! The ones that made those miraculous Space Walks to fix the Solar Panels! The ones who took Harmony up. The first Woman Commander of the Shuttle!
Harmony is a bedroom...HA! It will be able to sleep 6 more people...living quarters basically! But it is a hub, too. It is made with big huge holes on all sides so that other modules can be attached at a later date. Most of these other modules are made by different country Space Programs - Russia of course, China and I forget one other!!
I was 10 feet away from these people who are heroes to me!!! And what was truly remarkable is that because they were training, they did not look up or around or away from what they were doing for the entire 20 minutes we were standing there! I know this because that was all I did - watch them!!! I stood there in awe...if someone had touched me with a feather I probably would have fallen over!
We went into the Space Shuttle Mockup...saw how they sleep - velcro'd to the wall!!! - how they eat and the really interesting part - how they go potty!!! HAHAHAHA!!! It is a VERY INTRICATE PROCESS!!! As you can well imagine...you have seen those shots of people in the zero-gravity plane who take a water bottle and chase the bubbles of water around...well, imagine what "potty" (both kinds) would do! HAHAHA!!! And there have been "accidents" too...the guy who was giving us this part of the tour was hilarious!
OK, I hope I didn't lose you all with that last part...but it was hilarious and truly interesting! I mean, they are up there for 16 days - can't "not go"...HAHA!!
Anyway, like I said, another long one...but a bit more variety this time! And I hope at least interesting to a few of you! Because my Tour of NASA was one of the true highlights of my life and probably always will be!
And if anyone wants to see my pictures, let me know! Unfortunately, even though my battery died after leaving the Bouyancy Pool (I literally freaked out and cried!!!), I still have some pretty powerful ones!
Corundogs
Subscribe to Ross's Blog
