When I think about Houston I think of Oil, Lyle Lovett, and 'Middle Age Crazy'. And strangely I think of Larry Hagman, even though his J.R. Ewing stalked the streets of Dallas. But I guess there's some logic embedded there, since Hagman played an astronaut in 'I Dream of Jeanie'.
Despite my lack of recognition, Houston is all about Space. It is the home of NASA's Johnson Space Center, from which our missions into Space are controlled. Growing up as I did a stone's throw from the Cape in Florida I always wondered why the big control center would be in Houston and not in Florida. The reason, of course, had everything to do with President Lyndon Johnson, a Texan, and not geography. I was proud of Florida and ticked at the perceived slight. But it could have been worse. Johnson could have hailed from Alaska (Nome Space Center?)
All this thinking of Space was conjured up by a headline in the news today of the Space Shuttle Atlantis rocketing off to resupply the International Space Station. And another headline about the Leonid Meteor Shower - supposedly the 'strongest' of the year. North America should see about 30 to 60 meteors and hour and in Asia, 200 to 300. Reading those two together made me think: Is this really a good time to be sending up the Shuttle? I mean, is there a possibility it could get shot-peened, and not in a good way?
Well, maybe those meteors are small, about the size and consistency of dust bunnies, and won't cause any harm. Just in case, though, here's hoping NASA has it's heat resistant tile repair down pat. Or insurance. Do Geckos live in Houston?
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