Grandpa, Space Ships and Me

42 years ago today, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong Armstrong said "I'm going to step off the LEM now" He turned and set his left boot on the surface of the moon.  Then spoke the famous words…..

"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

 From that day on, space ships played a part of many of my childhood dreams. They were fascinating and the people who rode upon them were my heroes.

My love for space ships came honestly. I learned about them from my Grandpa who admired them so. Looking back, I’m sure that they were an amazing thing for the simple man from Kentucky. His life’s travels totaled four states and about a thousand miles. The idea of going to the moon was unimaginable.

On December 7, 1972, My childhood changed a bit. I remember my Grandpa calling me into the living room to watch TV. Walter Cronkite was talking about the Apollo launch that was happening that afternoon. We sat and watched every minute of the coverage from the staging to the launch.  I’m not sure who was more excited about the launch, him or me, but I know that I remember it in detail. I remember the countdown, the launch and the excitement in Grandpa’s voice as he screamed “Jimmy, would you look at that.” I’ll never forget the moment or the man.

As an adult, the Space program and its various launches have always brought back memories of those childhood dreams and my Grandpa. Unfortunately, tomorrow those regular reminders will go away when the last Space Shuttle lands on terra firma. But today, I choose to remember the man who showed me how to "keep my feet on the ground but keep reaching for the stars."

Grandpa was a hulking man. His tastes were simple and came from being a child of the Depression. Always soft spoken and kind, I do not remember him ever raising his voice to anyone. He spent his days as a Tool and Die Maker at the local appliance factory and his evenings in his recliner chair watching the news and Lawrence Welk. As near as I can tell, there were only a few things in life that ever got his true attention; The Cincinnati Red Legs, Walter Cronkite, space launches and me.

I remember him coming home from work and quickly finding his recliner and me quickly finding his lap. When you’re a small boy, the lap of a man this large was a place in which you could disappear. I remember to this day his musty smell from a day at the factory and I always thought that he smelled like soup. I would watch in fascination as he would roll his own cigarettes and lick them sealed. Sometimes I would pick up his Zippo lighter, the one with the Rebel Soldier and the phrase “Rebel Yell”, and light the cigarette for him…..always to my Grandma’s chagrin.

We would play banjo on the porch, Listen to the Reds, mow the yard and chop wood. Chopping wood was high on my Grandma’s watch list, because she was certain that my five year old fingers were in jeopardy. She would stomp and scream, lose control and yell that she would rather see a “Coal black rattlesnake in my hands” than the small hatchet that I used to massacre the tree stumps in the basement. I always thought that was funny. I mean everyone knows that you can’t chop wood with a rattlesnake.

As a child who’s Dad had died, I loved the man time with Grandpa. All the games, mowing and chopping were great, but my favorite times were when we would “run away”. Our version of running away was a walk to the local Village Pantry convenience store. We’d walk the five blocks talking nonstop about the Big Red Machine, buy some RC Cola’s and sit outside the store on a picnic table in the sun. He would talk to me about life and tell me that I "could do anything". Before we left, Grandpa would always insist that we “forgot” something and needed to go back in the store. It turns out that we always forgot baseball cards or green soldier men for me. We would walk home to a seemingly angry Grandma, who was mad because we’d been “gone all day.” Little did I know that this was all an act conjured up by my Grandpa to assure that we’d have to make it up to her by taking her into town for a piece of Kunkle’s pie.

That was the man that he was. He spoke of me going to college and chasing my dreams. He told me that there was a "big world out there, don't miss it"....implying that maybe he had. He wanted me to know that there was something more for me out there and when he said that I "could do anything", he meant it.

So, needless to say, a week ago, I was saddened to see the last NASA Space Shuttle take flight and I’m even sadder that tomorrow will be that last landing thereby ending the program. It will be one less reminder of the man and the role that he played in my life.

I fear that future generations won’t have these moments. Our sophisticated ways make it difficult to recognize the simple pleasures of life or the amazing ones. Xbox 360’s have replaced green army men, instant messaging has replaced long walks and now there is no more space program to fascinate young minds. Progress in many ways fuels the world, but are we “gaining the world, but losing our souls”?

This world needs more people that are willing to invest the time to be good teachers, coaches and role models. I pray that there are more guides and mentors that will take the time to teach kids about using their imagination, chasing dreams and the pleasure that comes from simple things. I hope that every kid finds people to teach them......like my Grandpa did for me.

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder ...

 he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it,

rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”
- Rachel Carson

The Princess with the funny shaped crown

“‘I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”- Jewish Proverb

In everyone’s life hopefully there are people that motivate and inspire them. I refer to these people as touch stones. A touch stone is actually an assayer’s tool for identifying precious metals. I use the term as a way of identifying precious people.

One of my touch stones is a little girl named Mariella. She was born with a very scary medical condition. I have the good fortune of calling Mariella’s Mom my friend. About six years ago, Kathy introduced me to this special little girl. The world knows her as Mariella. I know her as my Princess.

At only seven years old, the Princess has seen more of the world than most. Unfortunately many of those travels have been to some of the finest medical facilities in America. Mariella was born with a condition known as Ectodermal Dysplasias (ED). E.D. is a condition that causes the bones in her tiny skull to fuse instead of expanding as she grows. As her brain grows it pushes against her skull which cannot expand to meet that growth. The condition is very rare as are some of the other “less” threatening symptoms that are also part of the mix.

As I said earlier, Mariella has been tested in some of the finest medical facilities known to man. World renowned specialists at medical centers like Stanford University have tested her looking for answers to what causes her to suffer from this condition. Each time they have come back with only bits and pieces of a diagnosis. As rare as a disease like as Ectodermal Dysplasias is, Mariella’s version of it is even rarer and the continued fusing of her skull has required multiple surgeries to her head and face.

Through it all, my friend Kathy has been strong. She has kept it together as a single mom and has employed every option despite the costs or time commitment. People are sometimes described as being a “rock”. In this case, the woman has been chiseled from granite.

There is a saying about apples falling and trees and in this case the child is obviously her Mothers daughter; a mother of pride and dignity pushing through adversity and refusing to fail. This Mothers spirit permeates the child and that has shaped Mariella into one my touch stones. I hope to try and emulate her spirit and to live as she does; Fearless, engaged and enthusiastic.

Fearless to the point of being scary at times, she is unafraid of new places. She is unencumbered with the fear of striking out on her own. This child is an adventurous soul who has seen some of the worst that life has to offer and has come out unafraid to approach life on her terms.

Engaged and completely open to new people, she is always welcoming of strangers who quickly become her friends. Even those people who are at first distracted by her appearance soon only see the beauty of her soul.

Enthusiastic….The child is a fire ball. When others might hide in a corner, she is the typical seven year old. Dancing, singing and jumping as you would expect a child her age to do. Feeling bad? No problem. In pain from surgery? No problem. She does not let those “little” things deprive her of living life as she wants to live it.

So as I look at this child what do I see?  Challenges? Yes. Obvious differences? You Bet.

But I also see a person that is overcoming obstacles and is not letting excuses get in her way. She reminds me to be fearless. She reminds me to stay engaged. She reminds me that the enthusiasm that you put into life and into relationships comes back ten fold. She reminds me to smile. She reminds me to live.

Thank you Princess.

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.”- M. Kathleen Casey

Cautionary Tales

While alive, Townes Van Zandt was labeled as a cult musician; though he had a small and devoted fan base, he never had a successful album or single. He spent his life playing dive bars and drinking himself into oblivion, traveling from town to town playing for pennies to anyone who would listen, a manic depressive with an addiction to heroin.....he considered himself a failure.

Years after his death, he is now viewed as a song writer’s song writer and his songs have been recorded by everyone from Willie Nelson to the Cowboy Junkies.

He did not live long enough to see his success and his impact on the World. He will serve as an inspiration and a cautionary tale.

Live in the moment. Fill each day because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

To Live is to Fly By Townes Van Zant

Won't say I love you, babe. Won't say I need you, babe,

But I'm gonna get you babe

and I will not do you wrong.

Living's mostly wasting time and I waste my share of mine

but it never feels too good, so let's don't take too long.

You're soft as glass and I'm a gentle man, we got the sky to talk about
 and the
earth to lie upon.


Days, up and down they come, like rain on a conga drum.

Forget most, remember some
but don't turn none away.

Everything is not enough

and

nothin' is too much to bear.

Where you been is good and gone

all you keep is the getting there.


To live is to fly, all low and high,

 so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes.


Goodbye to all my friends,
 it's time to go again.

Think of all the poetry and the pickin' down the line.

I'll miss the system here, the bottom's low and the trebles clear.

But it don't pay to think too much on things you leave behind.

I will be gone….but it won't be long and

I will be a'bringin' back the melodies
and rhythm that I find.


We all got holes to fill, them holes are all that's real.
Some fall upon you like a stone;

sometimes you dig your own.

The choice is yours to make, time is yours to take;
some sail upon/dive into the sea, some toil upon the stone.


To live is to fly,
all low and high,
so shake the dust off of your wings
and the sleep out of your eyes;


shake the dust off of your wings
and the tears out of your eyes.