Billions and Billions of Stars

Greg and I were watching ”The Universe” on the History Channel last night, and this particular episode was about space travel, both current and theoretical. It reminded me of when I was a kid, and fascinated by outer space. Heck, I still am. But back then, I wanted to be an astronaut more than anything. I had no idea what it took to be one, I just knew that I wanted to be up there among the beautiful stars. I think that dream ended in about 6^th grade, when the Challenger exploded. Not that I’d ever be a good astronaut. What I didn’t get as a child (besides the amazing amount of math involved) was the vast, infinite nothingness of space. I watched those spacewalking astronauts last night, clinging to the Space Station, nothing more than a teeny speck of humanity in all that nothing. Can you imagine? If your tether broke, there would be no stopping you from floating out into space, forever and ever. My throat gets a little tight just thinking about it.

I don’t know that I’d ever want to visit another planet, even if space travel was declared as safe as air travel (and let’s not even get started on that), and as fast as a drive to the grocery store. Short of Star Trekkian comfort, I like breathing actual atmosphere and touching real dirt; hearing birds and knowing that I won’t die a long, lonely death among the stars.