Space Cars and Ice

As a child of the sixties I grew up surrounded by the space race with the Soviets where the American astronauts were lionized as true heroes. I’ve always loved science fiction and hoped the remarkable technological advances we’ve achieved over the past few decades would result in more emphasis on space exploration. That’s been hampered over those same decades by a lack of visionary leadership throughout the different administrations that have graced 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I was therefore excited a few years ago when I started hearing rumblings about private companies taking up the dream of space exploration.

Those hopes blossomed yesterday when I saw a red sports car with a mannequin driver orbiting the earth before heading out on a flight to Mars. Elon Musk deserves all the credit in the world for deciding to send his car into orbit instead of the usual blocks of concrete for a test flight because it offered the stunning visuals but it also tamped into the very human desire to learn what’s out there. The human race is defined by the need to explore and those thwarted tendencies seem to be breaking free of governmental inertia. It may seem cheesy to some but I loved it.

I did not love the weather yesterday with a few inches of snow followed by eight hours of freezing rain. There may be less pleasant tasks than shoveling snow in the midst of a freezing rainfall but I shudder to think what they might be. It was a rush to get the snow moved before the rain made it too heavy to use the snow blower. It was a near thing. Temperatures plummeted overnight and this morning everything was flash frozen. Thank God I no longer have the driveway from hell to contend with. It’s kind of eerie because looking back at Frail Deeds from exactly one year ago – we had the same type of storm on February 8 last year. There must be something special about this day.

Bouncing Back

The FBR checked in last night still fighting the good fight against the cold. She proudly proclaimed her accomplishments in the next step of toilet training. I hope when she reads this in a couple decades she’ll still share the same pride. Both of her grandparents gave her a rousing ovation last night. She was so pleased that she demanded her mother get us back on FaceTime the next time she mounted the throne. Again, in twenty years this will be something to laugh about. Wingman reports she’s feeling a little better today.