11.02.07
Three Years Ago Today
Almost as far back as I can remember, I was friends with Bryan Glover. We met when my family moved to a new church when I was 7-years-old. We were the same age (he was actually two months older than me) but I was ahead of him in school because I started kindergarten early. We were in the same class when I was in fourth grade because it was a mixed class, half fourth grade and half third grade (weird, I know, but it was a rural school). We didn’t attend the same school after that year so I remember him more from church than anywhere else.
My fondest memories? He always wanted to “go out” even in fourth grade when we couldn’t really go anywhere. I can’t remember if I ever said yes but he asked many, many times all the way into our teenage years. He always tried to kiss me, always tried to hold my hand. He may have been successful at least once. I remember he had big hands. He wore cowboy boots and talked country. He listened to country music and, when he was old enough to drive, he drove a pickup truck. He sometimes wore a cowboy hat — very into Garth Brooks.
I left that church when we were 15 and lost touch. I often thought about him when driving those country roads where we grew up and would even look for his truck to pass me when I drove on the two-lane road where he lived. The last time I saw him was at an outdoor concert, at the country stage, of course. I don’t remember who was playing but it was a slow country song and he, without asking, started to dance with me. I was with a date and the impromptu slow dance with my childhood friend didn’t sit well with my date. Bryan managed a soft kiss on my cheek before my date whisked me away.
That was the last time I saw him alive. He died three years ago today, just after his 25th birthday. He had cancer that progressed too quickly for doctors to cure. He was a staff sergeant in the Air Force and was living in Kansas with his wife of less than one year.
I went to the visitation where I saw his mom, brothers and cousins who I hadn’t seen in years. A collage of pictures brought back memories, as there were some from our childhood, and filled in the gaps of what he’d been doing in the 10 years since we parted ways. I remember thinking how sad for someone so young and so good to die of cancer. It really shook me up about my own mortality.
I think about him every now and then, and I think about him every year on November 2.
07.31.07
What are you known for?
Every town’s got to be known for something, I guess. I was born and raised in The Rocket City — Huntsville, Alabama — and worked for a newspaper in The Limestone Capital of the World — Bedford, Indiana. But how would you like to be from a town known for having the world’s largest catsup bottle? That claim-to-fame belongs to the folks of Collinsville, Illinois.
Collinsville was home to a catsup (more commonly spelled ketchup) factory back in the early 1900s, and in 1949, the makers of Brooks Catsup built a 100,000 gallon water tower in the shape of a catsup bottle. The company no longer makes catsup in Collinsville, but the bottle is still there. It was at risk of being torn down in the mid-90s but the Brooks Catsup Bottle Preservation Group formed and raised more than $75,000 to restore the bottle-shaped water tower, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
So just how do you top having the world’s largest catsup bottle? Make the world’s largest catsup packet! And the town of Collinsville did just that last weekend.
Collinsville is also the self-proclaimed Horseradish Capital of the World. Like I said, every town’s got to be known for something.
06.26.07
Born in the U.S.A.
At work today, we celebrated with a co-worker who recently became an American citizen. The man talked about coming to America in 1969 from another country and it made me think, what an experience that must be and one that those of us who were born in America will never feel.
I wrote an article a few years ago when I was still a newspaper reporter about a couple who came to the United States and became U.S. citizens. The wife described the process and talked about the citizenship test that those seeking to be U.S. citizens must pass. On the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web site are 96 practice questions. Questions like “How many branches are there in the U.S. government?” (3), “What is the name of the President’s official home?” (the White House) and “What are the colors of our flag?” (red, white and blue).
I chose a few easy ones to post here but there were some that I know I learned in school but had to take a peek at the answers. Check out the complete sample Q and A here and see how you do. If you had to take a test to be an American, would you pass with flying colors – red, white and blue?
06.19.07
Cola Wars
I don’t plan to write much about NASA or space exploration on this blog because A) I work for a NASA contractor and I’m not sure what kind of comments can get me in trouble and B) I don’t want to.
But a note on my “Year in Space” desk calendar for tomorrow caught my attention and prompted a google and wikipedia search. It says that on June 20, 1985, “NASA announces cola wars will take place on shuttle mission STS-51F.”
Cola wars? Sure enough, Coke vs. Pepsi in space. According to wikipedia, “The Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation was an experiment where both Coca-Cola and Pepsi tried to make their drinks available to astronauts. Both fizzed excessively in microgravity.”
More info on carbonated beverages in space from this space.com article: “Though NASA labeled it the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation (CBDE), consider it the taste test to end all taste tests. The ‘experiment’ included specially designed soda ‘cans,’ produced by both Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Though the crew classified the experiment as a failure citing the zero-G environment and the lack of refrigeration, Coca-Cola would fly twice again using an improved dispenser and pressurized glasses — ultimately spending more than $750,000 in the process. Pepsi, on the other hand, would later film a commercial aboard the Mir space station in 1996 for a reported $5 million.”
If this has piqued your interest at all as to why coke and microgravity don’t mix, try this Suds in Space feature. It’s food ( ice cold Coca-Cola) for thought.
