space is the place
Photo courtesy of NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)
Hooray for the fortieth anniversary of the man on the moon. USA, USA, etc!
(PS are you old enough to have been awoken by your parents so you could witness whatever latest space shot on TV? I am! I also remember distinctly focusing on the moon with the living room telescope in Phoenix, trying to see the astronauts hopping around during one of the later Apollo mission moonwalks. I remember my dad’s indulgent chuckle. My grasp of space and distance is about as good now as it was then. PS over!)
I’ve been suffering from mysterious and tenacious insomnia for the past couple nights. I have been coping fine (I usually do, since I’ve had several million decades of experience with it,) but I definitely feel that I have a, well, softer hold on reality. Dreams are right behind my eyelids at all times. I’m trying to enjoy it.
At some point in the hours that qualify as “wee” earlier today, I was watching the DVD extras for Mad Men, Season 4. As the series is set in the early 1960s, the extras include mini-documentaries about some of the historical milestones of the era.
There’s a brief description of the beginnings of the space race, and footage of Kennedy’s speech to Congress.
I closed my eyes for a moment, imagining how cool it all was, and how much I want to meet an astronaut. Then the footage changed — there was black and white newsreel of me, sitting on the back of convertible, waving to the crowds, in the middle of a ticker tape parade!
So silly, I thought to myself. I don’t need to meet an astronaut. I am an astronaut!
My eyes popped open. I had woken myself up from my dream reverie because I said “I am an astronaut!” out loud.
And so I am. Thank you, NASA!
Yes, you are an Astronaut. Fly, Becky. FLY TO OUTER SPACE! Are you trying any meds for your sleep problem?
I’m flyyyyingg… I do indeed have some medical intervention in capsule form when the going gets really tough. Usually the homeopathic/having patience route works, but these past couple nights have been hardcore! Seriously, little movies in my head every time I blink.
I second your “try to enjoy it” philosophy. College kids everywhere pay good student loan money for experiences like that. Maybe refrain from operating heavy machinery, though…
I use the medical intervention in a huge way but it is for sure hampering any chances I have of being an astronaut. I may need to re-think this.