Going to the beach

Sorry about the lack of posts today. It was a rough day at work and after I left there I drove over to Cocoa Beach to spend the night over here with my other half and the kids.

I'm assuming that you've already read all about everything that happened today and that's good because I don't know anything about what happened in the war today, except that we finally started moving on the ground and Saddam has been popping off the non-existent Scud missiles (surprise, surprise, surprise).

The shock and awe we've heard so much about - I'm still waiting for the awe. Maybe I know too much about what we're capable of, but so far I'm not overly impressed. Better than yesterday, but still not what we're capable of.

But I'm going to take a little different track tonight. This is probably going to be my only post of the night, so I'll try to make it worthwhile.

I've come to Cocoa and Port Canaveral probably 100 times in my life, if not more. Each time, as you cross the Intercoastal waterway, off to the left, in the distance, you can see the silent sentry of the Vehicle Assembly Building over at NASA. As you continue further down the causeway, you can some of the launch pads. I have seen those sights my entire life.

Normally the VAB, even from a distance, is a massive, imposing and upbeat appearing building. With the giant American flag down the side, it is a proud beacon of American ingenuity and strength of will. The VAB is really a symbol of all that is great in regards to the US Space Program. The towers of the launch pads normally appear to be reaching for the heavens as if they want to follow the rockets into the sky.

But tonight, they were different. Coming across the bridge, the VAB looked subdued and somber. The launch pads were lit up as usual, but they looked to be sagging under some great unseen weight. Maybe it was the rain that had just gone through, but it was almost as though they knew that NASA and the space program are under attack.

I'm a native Floridian, having lived within 50 miles of the Space Coast my entire life. I have woken up many a morning to the twin sonic booms of a shuttle returning. I have seen so many rockets and shuttles going up that they aren't even noticed. It is all a unquestioned part of my life. For the past twenty years the Space Shuttle has been one of the key components.

Coming across the bridge and seeing the VAB, I was reminded of the devastation that the Columbia tragedy caused. I remember the pride and excitement back when the first shuttle mission went up. I still have the picture disc LP record commemorating the event. It was one of the greatest positive events that I can remember.

For twenty years, I saw probably 85-90 of the 100+ shuttle missions as they took off. It was part of my life that I have always taken for granted, because it was always there. I have gone to exactly one launch - because there would always be another opportunity. Twenty years and it may all be gone.

I have been seeing reports lately that the Chinese now want to send a man to the moon and then on to Mars. Normally I wouldn't care, but tonight it was offensive to me. America puts men on the moon, not Russia, not France, not China - America does. America pushes the envelope of space exploration, not Russia, not France, and not China. Space is our domain. We own space, like we own the night militarily.

We cannot let our space program fall to the wayside because of one setback. Columbia was a tradegy, but to let it kill the entire space program would be criminal. Space is important for our maintaining our technological advantage. Space is important as an unconquered challenge. Space is important as a point of national pride.

It hurts to see the VAB looking depressed. It pains me to see the launch pads empty and forlorn. We have to make a national commitment to rebuilding and enhancing the space program. Otherwise my life will seem empty and I'll never be able to come back over here.

Tomorrow, I'll try to do better with war stuff.