This is my new financial planner, Nicole, and her penguin-shaped humidifier.Nicole is very nice and met with me when I was on my way to JFK airport - to blow lots of money, irony! - and accepted chocolate-covered almonds as payment. She is also friends with Cathy and related to an astronaut who is currently in space.
When Cathy mentioned that Nicole's family member, Garrett, is an astronaut and had just blasted off on an expedition to the International Space Station, I was floored.
Because that means that PEOPLE REALLY ARE ASTRONAUTS.Somehow, I'd never made that connection before and was honestly hard for me to believe.
To me, space seems like something in the news and in the movies, something way larger than life, definitely not real. Not the kind of job that when someone asks what you do, you can say, "I'm an astronaut," and not be lying.
Cathy told me that Garrett can send and receive emails from space, uploaded by NASA, and we wondered if NASA would approve of our imaginary email with questions for Garrett:
a) Do you see aliens?
b) How do you keep the space station from floating away?
c) What does space smell like?
We talked about space more, about gravity, and what they do with trash in space, and what it would feel like to drift around the outside of a spaceship and look over your shoulder and see EARTH?And I kept cutting her off and grabbing my head and going, "Oh my god, hold on, I'm sorry, but I can't get over this. OUTER SPACE..."
Is it just me or what?
3 comments:
Space may be freaky, but it's a small world: Garrett the astronaut is a family friend of my boss's. He even went to Florida to watch the shuttle launch.
And I imagine space smelling of cinnamon toast. Or new car smell.
shut up, i love that!
ps i vote for new car smell
fyi-nicole will be asking garrett what space smells like and what he took up with him as special treats. i would ask but i am too embarrassed!!! check it, when he comes home, we are doing to choregraphed dance to "he had it coming" from chicago on the front porch. apparently it's his favorite song. i am going to be the russian on roller skates!!!!! then we are swinging into a FABULOUS 1950s party. who wouldn't want to be an astronaut????
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