So the space shuttle buzzed my house today.
Hmm, not quite the right introduction. How about:
There is no faster way to scare the living daylights out of an entire neighborhood than to let the space shuttle go ripping by overhead.
I vaguely recalled seeing the Endeavor‘s California sightseeing trip on the news, but it didn’t occur to me that it would happen a) today, or b) right over my house. But there she was, screaming by overhead on the back of the biggest airplane I’ve ever seen. They flew in insanely low…my little apartment shook, pets freaked out, people went running outdoors to stare, cameras flashed and there was much general applause.
I guess the plan was to buzz Disneyland and we just got caught in the crossfire.
I’m happy I got to see it, although the shuttle passing overhead served as a reminder that as a breed, these little spaceships are really done. If we want to send someone into space, we’ve got to go bug the Russians.
Speaking of sending someone into space…someone on Reddit asked (rightfully so), “What if we have to send Bruce Willis into space to destroy an asteroid?”
These are the things we need to consider, folks.
I remember watching the various shuttle launches when I was a kid…there was always something mesmerizing about them. Hard to believe they’re done.