Wheel Stop

Photo: NASA
IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS: Last night before going to bed, I set two alarms on my cell phone - one for 2:40, the other for 2:43. I wanted to make sure we were up for the historic 2:50-something landing of Atlantis.

Because I didn't trust those alarms, between 11 and 2:30, I woke up about every 20 minutes, and when I managed to sleep, naturally my dreams were about being in Florida, at the landing site.

When I awoke at 2:30, I decided just to get up and be done with it. I went downstairs and turned on the TV in the kids room.Together, with only the TV as light (don't let the flash photography above fool you), we watched Mission Control track Atlantis over the Gulf of Mexico and then into Florida.I didn't turn the computer on, which almost led to a DISASTER. For you see, the four of us were in the kids' room, in the dark, glued to the NASA TV broadcast of the landing. Atlantis was about 45 seconds to touchdown when the view from the cockpit is replaced by a black screen and the words MONTHLY TEST OF THE EMERGENCY BROADCAST SYSTEM.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I did NOT get up in the middle of the night to watch a test pattern and miss history being made. Can you believe it?! Christian and I literally dove for our computers hoping to boot up NASA TV online, all the while knowing that it would be too late once they booted up. Thank GOD someone, somewhere must have realized the error of their ways because the EMERGENCY TEST message went away about 15 seconds before touch down. Phew, disaster averted.

George Diller, the voice of NASA liftoffs and landings for years, did a fine job calling the game (so to speak). Only once did I hear his voice catch. It was at the instant Atlantis touched down and Diller noted it was "the final mission of the space shuttle program."

And so, our Shuttle Program is no more. In all, the five remarkable flying machines launched on 135 missions, traveled 542,398,878 miles that spanned 21,152 orbits of the planet, and carried 355 humans and 3.5 million pounds of payloads as the Space Transportation System.

BLUE MOVES: Yesterday, we rented (at the kids' insistence) some Wii game featuring dancing Smurfs. The kids have really enjoyed it, much to my surprise/chagrin.This morning while they were playing along I heard Annabelle say, "I don't care what score I get, I just want to DANCE!!!!" So, I have to give the game points for prompting that. :)
Remembering her comment, this afternoon I cued up a bunch of BeeGees on the PC speakers. That got her moving again, and this time she had a furry friend to disco with.DUST IN THE WIND: This afternoon CJ, from across the room, asked me, "How would a year without rain be?" Would you believe at that VERY moment, I was reading an email from the Library of Congress about using original images, documents and recordings to teach about the Dust Bowl? So, we spent some time looking at Library of Congress resources.

For me, this woman - a migrant mother taken by Dorthea Lange in 1936 - is the face of the Dust Bowl. PHOTO: Library of Congress
MATH MANNERS: The (minor) struggles with math continue 'round MPA. We're doing problems where Soandso has $10 and they buy thingamajig, so how much do they have left? As you can see, Annabelle spends more time on the artistic interpretatation of the problems than she does doing the math itself.At one point Bee got stuck, so I offered up CJ as her tutor. Before too long I heard him retort, "I'm not going to help a person with a crappy attitude. You're on your own now, Annabelle."

Harsh, but I have to admit, after hearing her whining and snapping at him, she had it coming.

GET RICH QUICK: CJ's latest idea for striking it rich? "24 hour energy drinks. Why just buy a 5 hour energy drink, when you could have a 24-hour one?" he reasoned.
I suggested that perhaps most people would like to be able to sleep at some point during a 24-hour cycle.
Back to the drawing board for CJ.

ON PATROL: This morning CJ and Annabelle were playing a two-player game of Bubble Bobble and I hear CJ say to his sister, "I'd like it if you use good grammar."

That's right, apparently the grammar police are on patrol even when you're playing a video game. A couple minutes later, he chastized, "Don't talk like a cheap person." Oh, snap! Honestly, I'm not sure what she said to elicit that comment. Maybe talking slang?

HMMM: Last night, from CJ's lips ... "I have a question. Is there a B.B. Queen?"