Full Circle

View of shuttle launch from house

I spoke with Jen Friday and I could hear the excitement in her voice. They were on their way home from watching the final space shuttle launch. Just talking to her brought so many memories flooding back. The space shuttle program began shortly after we moved to Florida. That first launch was so exciting. I was stunned to realize we could see the vapor trail from our house 100 miles away. Jen was almost 5 years old, and from the beginning it was a family experience.

As exciting as the launch was, what I remember most of all was the landing. Astronauts had gone up in rockets before, but we had never tried to land a plane from outer space. I was so nervous I could barely watch. How in the world could they bring a plane back through the atmosphere? How in the world would they be able to bring it down on a landing strip? That was a far cry from dropping a capsule somewhere in the ocean. And most of all, how could they expect a pilot to land a glider, a plane that had no propulsion of its own, in such a precise spot? Well, it worked! After an interminable radio silence, the static broke and the commander spoke. Shortly afterward, the chase planes located the plane, the TV cameras zeroed in and we all watched as John Young brought the shuttle down.

(This video is 3 minutes long, but is great. Notice about 1:50 minutes you'll hear the twin sonic booms that always heralds its arrival, and the response from the crowd.)

I may have been nervous, but John Young was ecstatic. It was almost an hour before the shut down procedures were completed and he was allowed out of the plane. I've never forgotten the image of the pilot circling the plane, looking up at it almost in awe. Young walked all around it, looking up, pacing, and just staring at it. His actions mirrored my feelings. This article tells a little about how he felt. http://www.johnwyoung.org/sts1/sts1pg31.htm

Many years later I decided to go over to the east coast to watch the launch from the intercoastal waterway. Trying to watch a launch is always risky because you never know if it will get scrubbed due to weather or a technicality. We were lucky. Jen, Jan and I drove down to US 1 and parked the car. We walked up to the highway that ran along the intercoastal waterway. Across the water was the launch pad with the shuttle poised for takeoff. People had set up lawn chairs in the median of the highway and in parking lots. Lots more just stood around. We sat on the Jersey barriers between the water and the road. It went off without a hitch. Even though we had a clear view and it looks relatively close, we were probably at least 3 miles away; perhaps more. (As big as the shuttle looks, when it rises into the sky it is really just a glowing speck atop a fiery plume.)

But what happened next was the coolest part. We saw the flash of light, the flame, the plume of smoke. We saw the shuttle begin to rise. And THEN we heard it. What a lesson in the speed of light! The rumble was slow and distant, like thunder. The rumble became louder. You could actually feel the sound approach. The water was quiet at first and then small ripples formed. We watched as the shuttle lifted above us in the air. We saw the water begin to bounce. We heard the rumble get louder. We felt the rumble wash over us as the water bounced rapidly. The rumble rolled on behind us, the water quieted, the shuttle was disappearing into the clouds. It was an amazing example of sound waves.

I was fortunate enough to see 2 more live launches, one at night. As I spoke with Jen today the memory of that first launch and those live launches came flooding back. She had taken Nicholas, who is almost 4. Although he has seen the vapor trail, this was his first live launch. They lined up along the road, the launch pad bigger than life across the waterway. The final shuttle launch took place right on time. I wasn't there, but I know they saw it first, and then they heard it.

She was 5 when she saw the first one. He was almost 4 as he watched the last one. Full Circle. As they walked back to the car, Jen asked Nicholas what he liked best about seeing the shuttle launch. "Feeling it." he answered. How cool is that!

When Zen Meets Reality

Larry and I are looking for 'our next stop'. Trying to decide where to go or how to spend our retirement years is becoming an obsession. While we have a couple of ideas our focus so far has been in a small corner of the North Carolina mountains. Recently Larry and I visited Murphy and did some house shopping even though the main event is a few years off.

Much of what we like is a Chalet style house. They are perched in the mountains with huge windows and great views. Last year we found one house that was in a pretty remote area, but had everything we wanted. It was still on the market this year, so we went back to take another look. Too often when we go back to look at something after a year, we find we have built up all it's finer points and forgotten the flaws. As I climbed out of the car I breathed in and looked around. Total peace. The more I walked around the property the more at peace I felt. The house overlooked a vineyard in a clearing below. The rest of the view was of forest and mountain ridge.

It even had a fair amount of relatively level, usable land. There was one major flaw. When I mentioned it was in a pretty remote area, that was not an overstatement. The house is 35 minutes from ANYTHING! Gas, Food, town... There is no cell phone reception. And there is no hope for it coming. The house is on the edge of the national forest. What to do? Could I be at peace here if I was so far from anything? My first feeling was Yes. I loved it. I would be fine, and since Larry would be retired, I really wouldn't be alone.

We looked at another house that Larry really liked. He had found it on the internet and it looked perfect to him. The interior was beautiful and would have worked well for us. Unfortunately it was clinging to a mountainside, and there was no usable land around it to add a pull off or a carport. We wanted a place where the kids could come visit, but there was no place for children to play or guests to park cars. Larry is a fisherman and likes his toys. Where would he keep a boat or a trailer? I could hear the disappointment in his voice as he realized this house wasn't going to work.

Heavy discussion and soul searching followed. One thing I discovered through this process is that I make choices emotionally. I've never been overly practical. I can talk myself into anything I want. Larry is much more practical. He gave up the fight long before I did. He knew his house was not going to work. I wanted another chance. Back to the house we drove. 35 long twisting, turning minutes on a narrow winding road. We roamed the property, talked to a neighbor, who pointed out some other problems we had overlooked. And then we began the trip back to town. Finally, I knew. I loved the house. I loved the valley, the vineyard, the forest, the ridge. It was my zen place! BUT...I hated the drive. And I would have this drive everytime I wanted to meet friends for lunch, work out, shop, go to church, get groceries, play Bunco, attend a book club... Peace is a good thing, but you can get too much of a good thing.

I hate reality checks.

I love Summer!

I love summer. I like the heat. I like being outside. Summer months mean vacation and a change of pace. It means longer days and sunshine. I love seeing the hillside covered in green against that bright blue sky.

I like yardwork! Go figure. Yard work  may be a chore to some, but I like it (in small doses). It gives me an excuse to be outside and since I have no athletic ability it works better for me than tennis or golf. Compared to picking up around the house, a flower bed that's been freshly weeded looks good for days!

Of course there is a big difference between Florida summers and Pennsylvania summers. Temperatures in Pennsylvania can fluctuate quite a bit during June, July, and August. One day it can be 75 and the next 95. In Florida there is NO fluctuation. The weather man's job is easy.  "Tomorrow we will have highs in the mid-90's with a chance of showers in the afternoon". He can say that from May to October. Even so, because we had quite a bit of shade in Florida I was able to work outside in the yard a lot longer than I can at our present home where there is no shade. Here, the sun gets to me after an hour or two and I head inside to cool off before heading back out again.


There is a downside to summer, though. For one thing, unfortunately there is nothing pretty or cute about me when I am 'flushed with heat'. When I get hot my face gets beat red, my hair is dripping and consequently drooping. I'm envious of people who can look good no matter how hot it is!

Another downside is a hot summer night. It's not fun sleeping when it is hot so I am very grateful for air conditioning.  The nice thing about Pennnsylvania is that a lot of nights are cool enough that we can sleep with windows open and a fan going. And I can usually walk 2-3 miles in the morning if I get out early enough, before that sun starts beating down. In Florida, it was hard to get out early enough. I remember opening the door to let the dog out in the middle of the night and being hit with a wall of heavy hot air that I felt could swallow me up.

I made a promise not to moan about the winter last year. Our fall was so long and so beautiful, but winter took a long time leaving and I'm soaking up as much summer as I can. I won't begin to complain about the heat even if it gets to be very hot. After all, I know it will be short lived and in another week I'll be slipping on a hoodie on a cool morning. The truth is, for me, when the sky is blue, the trees are green and the air is warm (or just cool enough for a hoodie) all is right in my world!