‘There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.’ I came across this Latin quotation in one of Jonathan Cainer’s horoscopes some time ago. I’ve been giving it some thought these last few days. I had always thought of it as referring to some sort of ethereal journey. But recent events have made me think of it in a more physical form. 1) I heard two space tourists speak on Chris Evan’s Radio 2 Drive Time show. 2) The ashes of the late James Doohan (Scotty, Star Trek) went off into space. 3) Stephen Hawking undertook a zero-gravity trip. All of this turned my thoughts to my long-held dream to go into space as an astronaut!
My love of space and space travel came about as a result of growing up in the 60s and 70s and watching the various space and moon missions. So long as I live (or have my memory) I will never forget sitting with my Mum and Dad watching the July 1969 moon landing with Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on the moon. Nor will I forget the Apollo 13 mission in 1970 or the terrible fate of Challenger in 1986. And of course there were many more missions – some successful and, very sadly, some not. But the thought of going to space has always excited me.
In the past, I’ve mentioned this dream to go into space to a few people and have nearly always been surprised by the reaction. Most seem to think of it as quite a strange thing to want to do and they talk about why they couldn’t do it (fear factor mainly). I’m not sure I’ve ever managed to get them to see why I want to do it. Of course, unless someone’s job is as an astronaut and their job description says "fly into space", then it is quite difficult to actually do. The space tourists had the money to do it. It was James Doohan’s ‘last wish’. And, while Stephen Hawking hasn’t been there yet, he has tested his physical capability and is surely now on his way. So, all of this leads me to conclude that while it might not be easy to fulfil my dream, there is no reason to dismiss it.
So what does all of this have to do with PLAN A. Well, I think for a while I’ve been denying myself the right to dream and go for things that seem out of reach. But I’ve realised that if I don’t have dreams and don’t stretch myself then I am likely to limit myself to only those things that I know I can achieve and attain. But no more. So, on my PLAN A will be a list of ‘Things I want to do’ which will include – Astronaut.
My love of space and space travel came about as a result of growing up in the 60s and 70s and watching the various space and moon missions. So long as I live (or have my memory) I will never forget sitting with my Mum and Dad watching the July 1969 moon landing with Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on the moon. Nor will I forget the Apollo 13 mission in 1970 or the terrible fate of Challenger in 1986. And of course there were many more missions – some successful and, very sadly, some not. But the thought of going to space has always excited me.
In the past, I’ve mentioned this dream to go into space to a few people and have nearly always been surprised by the reaction. Most seem to think of it as quite a strange thing to want to do and they talk about why they couldn’t do it (fear factor mainly). I’m not sure I’ve ever managed to get them to see why I want to do it. Of course, unless someone’s job is as an astronaut and their job description says "fly into space", then it is quite difficult to actually do. The space tourists had the money to do it. It was James Doohan’s ‘last wish’. And, while Stephen Hawking hasn’t been there yet, he has tested his physical capability and is surely now on his way. So, all of this leads me to conclude that while it might not be easy to fulfil my dream, there is no reason to dismiss it.
So what does all of this have to do with PLAN A. Well, I think for a while I’ve been denying myself the right to dream and go for things that seem out of reach. But I’ve realised that if I don’t have dreams and don’t stretch myself then I am likely to limit myself to only those things that I know I can achieve and attain. But no more. So, on my PLAN A will be a list of ‘Things I want to do’ which will include – Astronaut.
