I've already mentioned that our wives (Donna for me and Laura for Darren) are pretty damn cool. Well, here is one of the times they amazed us with their brilliance.
As was semi-custom back in the day with Harmony Productions (our theater company where I hired Donna... and then she fell in love with the boss...), we'd usually have some sort of birthday celebration for me near the end of October after one of our shows. In 2003, with Darren's Bday just seven weeks earlier (he's an old man, don't ya know!), we had a joint birthday dinner with a few friends post show. Donna and Laura sprung their surprise; a trip to Hutchinson Kansas to the Cosmosphere. Donna had seen an article in the Daily Herald and discovered they had an Adult Astronaut Camp! Oh... we were SO in on this. See, aren't they the best?
The following March, Darren and I pile in the car for the twelve hour drive. We left at 10pm so we could be there when they opened on Friday morning, intending to be first in the museum so we could explore ALL DAY LONG. Taking turns sleeping and with only one slight navigation error, we arrive to what can only be described as a space fan's wet dream. This place is the 2nd largest space museum in the world, behind only the Smithsonian. When little Ronnie Howard directed Apollo 13, he didn't call NASA, he called the Cosmosphere to help him make the movie right. They have actual flight-worn capsules from every program as well as Soyuz from Russia, suits, planes... you name it related to space, they have it represented.
Saturday we get to our Astronaut class. About a dozen folk just as space rabid as we are, and a bunch of experts teaching us all about the inner workings of the space program.
Some highlights - failing the "drop the egg/astronaut" challenge
Oh that poor astronaut... Humpty couldn't...well, you know.
Me almost puking on the "multi-trainer", which spins the victim around... I TOLD them it would happen!... Looking like real astronauts...
Actual moon picture... we held our breath...
Squeezing into a real Soyuz capsule and wondering how the hell they live in it for a couple days... All the incredible artifacts from all the launches, including Jim Lovell's Fecal Containment Unit (a bag hanging from a 3" wide donut of sticky paper that they would peel and stick on their bum) (By the way... remember this moment...)
The absolute top highlight of the trip was training for a "shuttle mission". Darren, me and two other astro-wanabees teamed up in a crew. Probably because I'm just ready to try anything like that and you know my ego is non-paralleled, I "volunteer" to be commander so I can land it. Every test.... crash and burn. Steve Austin had nothin' on me. I spent about another hour trying after hours in another sim. Boom. Boom. Uh oh...
I'm going to kill them all, aren't I...
The hour long shuttle sim arrives Sunday. I'm actually a bit freaked out but off we go. The whole thing is REALLY cool with a fake launch that rattled around, teachers in "mission control", capturing a satellite.... really... this place is AWESOME.
Cool as a cucumber... on the outside...
The big moment finally arrives... somehow I absolutely nail the landing, right down the middle of the runway. The only thing I can figure is that they must have put the difficulty on ROOKIE level. Anyway, we climb out of the sim to cheers from our classmates... I have to admit it was an absolute blast.
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| One of the best weekends we've ever had... |
If you are a space nut like D and me, or even just a passing interest, you HAVE to go to the Cosmosphere! That night we hit the road for the return over-night trip, and arrive back in Schaumburg about 7am, tired but thrilled. And most importantly, with a whole boat load of memories that help make our 50 years so incredible.
Oh... about that Fecal Containment Unit...
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