October Sky

I'm going to try to make this short and sweet, but you know me, that's not necessarily possible most times. I don't blog as often as I would like, but then again I don't want to become on of those people that blog about " Everything "

The last couple of days, I've been reminded on numerous occasions of a series of events that occurred in my childhood that are as fresh, and real to me today as they ever have been.

For those of you that don't already know, I've taken it upon myself to obtain a college education. I had originally planned to do this many years ago, however, I started a family at a very young age and quickly learned that family, comes before anything and I let the opportunity of ever attending school fall by the wayside.

Now some 20 years later, I am reminded daily as to the reason's I originally decided not to go, but age and maturity have told me to just " man up " and get it done.

In the course of my orientation for school, I was asked to provide a 150 to 200 word " Bio " about myself in which I described to my fellow classmates my family, my children and my proudest achievement. In which I stated.

The highlight of my life was that I participated in the build of a satellite for NASA that was to have flown on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Due to a parts emergency on the International Space Station, our project was grounded, shuttles and crews were swapped out and Columbia flew instead of Endeavor. That particular flight has a deep, and sorrowful memory for me as it will forever be remembered in history by us all as “The Columbia Disaster “

When I look at that statement in more detail, I think back to the time I first became interested in the U.S. Space Program. For me it was back in approximately 1979 or 1980 when the Apollo program had already been cancelled as the U.S. and NASA were building " The Space Shuttle. "

However, I was fascinated by how we got started in space in the first place. I was so fascinated in fact, It became an obsession that continues to this day. I used to sneak out of class just to go to the library to read books on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs ( and of course, play with the new PC the school had just received )

My 5th and 6th grade teachers would become quickly upset with me, that on numerous occasions they would leave the classroom alone, come to the library and drag me back to class by the collar or the ear. Needless to say, they weren't very happy with me and the disruption I had caused by leaving the classroom in the first place ( Mrs. Nitterhouse, Mrs. Kunkle and Mrs. Baginsky - I'm REALLY sorry ) After a few phone calls, and a few notes of " disappointment " from my teachers on my report cards, my parents quickly dissuaded me from doing do in the future and that practice ended as I entered Junior High School.

This morning, before Maranda got out of bed I was fortunate enough to have some time to myself. In addition to my morning coffee, I took the 90 minutes to watch one of my all time favorite movies " October Sky ." I think of Homer Hickham in the movie and everything he went through to follow his dream. The successes, the failures and the peer pressure he received because of his passion for rocketry.

Homer taught himself everything that he needed to know about mathematics and became one of the most respected, and prolific engineers at NASA and even went on to teach astronauts everything they needed to know in order to fly in space.

First of all, let me tell you all that I SUCK at Mathematics. Once I hit High School, it was the class I could depend on to get more sleep. This was never a strong point for me, and as a result I am extremely hindered by my lack of mathematics knowledge. However, now that I am a student again I fully intend to rectify this problem by taking as many math courses that I can. You can't become a great scientist or engineer without mathematics as it's a basis for everything in those fields.

In the movie, Homer said to his dad after he had returned to Coalwood after winning the science fair " Sure, Werner Von Braun was a brilliant scientist but, he's not my hero "

You want to know who my hero's are ? First, My Father. He spent a LOT of his time teaching me (and my brother) everything he knew about space when I was young.

To the many nights we would sit in the freezing cold at night with dad out in the front yard, with a cheap telescope looking at the rings of Saturn or the mountain ranges on the moon. Or the time in 4th grade he totally took it upon himself to teach me how to build a satellite using an old coffee can and a diode from Radio Shack, that I entered into the school science fair. And for all the times he told me that I could be anyone I wanted to be, and go wherever I wanted to go as long as I kept reaching for the stars.

Also, my grade school teachers. Because of your insistence on me attending class, and denying me the opportunity to be in the library whenever I wanted to go. Your denial of library access made me want to learn, and study this stuff so much more only because you told me " I couldn't "

And last, but not least - my wife. She understands that I am a student of life, and that I simply want to learn the most that I can about a topic. She gives me something on a daily basis that I could NEVER thank her enough for. And that's support !! Going back to school is no easy task no matter what your age, and thanks to her, She has instilled in me the confidence that I have needed for a great many years. Someday soon, I'll be able to look up with confidence to finally be able to reach that " October Sky "