Hi. My name is Carrie and I'm new at this so bare with me. First of all, why is this blog being christened as Two and a Half Cents? Well sometimes, OK most times, I have very strong opinions. Now having a strong opinion certainly isn't bad. I think life would be too simple if God had given us all the same temperament. We've all heard the saying about giving our own two cents worth and did you know that the my two cents thingy started from the phrase "A penny for your thoughts?" Two cents came along because two cents were better than a penny. At least that's what I heard. Anyway my problem is that I tend to put in an extra umph, just a few words more than was needed, thus my two and a half cents.
Now why do we have a problem in Houston? I got up earlier than I needed to yesterday morning hoping to catch the shuttle Endeavor give it's last fly over the city that it and many of those who flew on it's missions called home. Wow, as I just wrote those words I started to cry. You see the space program is a huge part of my life. No, myself nor any family member never worked there, but Houston is known as the space city. Even our police officers shoulder patches have space city written along side Houston Police. When I was a kid a favorite Houston restaurant, Kapans, had little space helmets for the kids menu. Our baseball team the Astros, were named after the Astronauts as was our local theme park Astroworld. It stinks that I can tell you the names of every Astronaut lost in the line of duty and exactly where I was when the accident happened. Roger, go for throttle up makes my heart stand still. I have argued the benefits of the space program with others who know nothing of the many discoveries that have been made through the program. Just google space program benefits and you will be amazed at all NASA has brought to us earthlings besides Tang. Our family has even planned numerous vacations to coincide with launch dates, but have I ever got to see one take off? NOO!!! We have however seen many of them sitting on a launch pad. It was a dream of mine to see a shuttle in flight. My husband David can't tell you how many he has seen take off. His grandparents lived in Titusville, Florida, the last stop on the way out to the cape. They would go out on Bumpa's boat and get up as close to the cape as they were allowed. It was just something that the folks around there did, so to the husband it became a "no big deal." One time when my mother- in- law was ill and husband went to help out, youngest daughter Carley went along. Wouldn't you know it, a shuttle was taking off. Well at least she put it on you tube for me to watch.
Maybe you can tell, but I'm having a really hard time still trying to understand why one of the orbiters is not staying in Houston. I have absolutely no problem with a shuttle being assigned to California. When the shuttle came in for re-entry, if Florida had a run of bad weather, the shuttle would land in California. The Endeavor belongs there. The shuttle Atlantis will go home to Cape Canaveral, Florida where it belongs. Discovery will head to Washington D.C. to find it's home at the Smithsonian where I too believe it belongs. It's part of our nations history and our nations home is D.C. The Enterprise will find it's new home in New York City. What?? Really!?! What did New York have to do with the space program???? When it was announced last April I think I came unglued just a little bit. A statement I made about it made our local news. My thoughts were, when there was a problem with Apollo 13 what was the statement the whole world heard? "Houston, we have a problem." Not New York! When the Challenger blew apart 73 seconds into the air, where did President Reagan feel the memorial should be held? Houston. Not New York! I truly believe that sending an orbiter to New York would be like building the memorial for the Twin Towers here in Houston. As a matter of fact we have more in common with the word "twin towers" than New York does with the shuttle program. Our basketball team, also named for the program, the Rockets at one time had two players that were nick-named the "twin towers". But Houston gets a mock up. A flipping mock up that the astronauts trained in. Don't know if it's true but somewhere I heard that it's partially built with plywood and a Home Depot sticker can still be seen on the wood. I digress.
So yesterday morning the news states that the shuttle Endeavor, being piggybacked on a NASA 747, is getting ready to take off for a stop in our state capitol of Austin before heading on to California where it will make it's new home. Living northwest of Houston along 290, the road that takes you to Austin, I think I'm going to have a really good shot at seeing it. So I go outside, camera in hand a wait while oldest daughter Stacey is filling me in on the details she is getting from the local news. "They've just taken off mom!" "I can tell it's headed over the Galleria." "It's turning mom, it should only be a few minutes…Mom, they just said the flight path will take it down I-10." WHAT! Wait, that can't be. Doesn't somebody know that I need to see this in flight. Depression sets in. So I get in the car and drive. Not knowing where I'm going, I end up in a park sitting on a bench enjoying a beautiful unseasonably cool Houston morning. Blood pressure goes back to normal and I start on my day only to hear at the bank an employee on their way in driving on I-10 sees the shuttle go over. Argh. Then later, sister- in- law in Austin states that she went outside and saw the shuttle go over. I can't believe this. I head home because I think if I stay out any longer I'm just going to hear someone else say, "Hey, did you see the shuttle fly over this morning?" I need to do some yard work anyway and being in the yard is one of the things in my life that seems to take all my cares away. Kinda like a Calgon bath does to others. So I spend the entire day in the yard trimming bushes, pulling weeds, replanting in bigger pots what needs to be planted in bigger pots and look up and see it's six o'clock. Oops dinner time. Nothing is thawed out and not enough left overs to make a meal so I call the husband and tell him it's been a rough day, but I fail to explain why. Could you please stop by Demaris, I need my favorite bar-b-que fix. Forty minutes later husband is home and we sit down to a relaxed meal, because I didn't have to cook it, only to have him blow it. He simply said, "Hey babe, I walked out into the warehouse today and looked up and saw the shuttle going over."
Carrie;)
