Magnolia Preparatory Academy: Of Dogs and Astronauts

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Of Dogs and Astronauts

DOGGY DUTY: On Wednesdays, we have a date with a dog. His name is Pretzel and he's a Doberman puppy. Pretzel was very happy to see us. He loves playing with the kids, especially. He does not love guitars, however.

His owners told us he's terrified of them, and that he runs outside the house to escape the menacing musical instrument when he sees it. CJ and Annabelle were determined to change Pretzel's mind, so they pulled a guitar out. Pretzel promptly went to a space in the house as far away as he could to hide and pout (see above). When the kids started playing it, he ran outside.

We put the guitar on the loveseat and I sat by it, and Annabelle coaxed him into the house. The dog would up sitting on the couch with CJ and Bee, and every once in awhile I would reach over and drag my fingers across the guitar strings. Pretzel didn't like it, but he didn't bolt.

After a few minutes Annabelle picked the guitar up. Pretzel stayed on the couch, which was big progress. Then she started quietly picking out a song. And Pretzel stayed put! In fact, he relaxed to the point he was falling asleep!

We were pretty pleased with ourselves. We'll make sure to play guitar for him on future visits, as well.

TUESDAY LECTURE: As previously posted, on Tuesday evening, we had the pleasure of listening

to the always-interesting Col. Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut. Here's what the kids had to say about the event, Annabelle first.

Chris Hadfield gave a speech at Town Hall Seattle on September 13. He was premiering his new children’s book, The Darkest Dark, and talking about how he made himself an astronaut. He told everyone about how,even though when he was a kid watching the first moon landing, there was noCanadian Space Agency, but he was determined ever since he saw that firstfootstep on the moon to become an astronaut. He became a glider pilot, and thena fighter pilot. When the Canadian Space Agency finally was founded, he volunteeredto be an astronaut and was the first Canadian astronaut in many things.

But what most interested me was the book signing Colonel Hadfield did at the end. He took time to talk to everyone. When it was our turn, I asked him if it was possible to paint in space, since I want to be an artist. He told me thatit is possible, and a man named Alan Bean had done it. Ever since his visit to space, Alan Bean has put a little bit of moon dust in all of his paintings.

When he signed our copy of The Darkest Dark, I gave him a book that my brother and I wrote (and I illustrated), named Pip and the Heart of Pluto. He thanked us and we left. It’s kind of an amazing feeling, knowing an astronaut who was the first Canadian to spacewalk, command a Space Shuttle, and other firsts has a copy of your very own book. It was very fun and I can’t wait to see him again.
And following are CJ's impressions.

On September 13, I got a chance to see a speech by ChrisHadfield, who, according to Wikipedia, is a retired Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space. An engineer and former Royal Canadian AirForce fighter pilot, Hadfield has flown two space shuttle missions and served as commander of the International Space Station. According to Wikipedia, Chris was born and raised on a farm in southern Ontario.Since he was a small child,Chris had dreamed (often literally) of going to space and/or the Moon, justlike the American Astronauts he saw on the television. When he was 9, he watched the iconic Apollo 11 Moon landing on the only TV set on his island, and was determined to become an Astronaut.

9 years after seeing the Moon landing, Chris Hadfield entered the Canadian Armed Forces, where he learned to become a fighter pilot(though he never actually flew on the battlefield), flying the Canadair CF-5and the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet. In 1982, Hadfield earned a Ph.D in mechanics from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a decade later, a master's in aviation systems from University of Tennessee Space Institute.Three years later, Chris Hadfield would serve as Mission Specialist #1 on NASA's STS-74 mission, being the only Canadian in a group otherwise composed of 4 Americans.

The event I went to was the premiere of Hadfield's new children's book, titled "The Darkest Dark". The Darkest Dark is best described as a fantastical embellishment of Chris' experience watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing, with Chris starting out as a boy who aspires to be an astronaut, but is terrified of the dark (as implied by the book's title), and of the monsters he believes are in the dark. After telling his parents several times about the monsters, they warn him that if he makes a single more peep,they will be too tired to watch the Moon landing tomorrow. So Chris goes to sleep, and he has a dream where he and his dog, Albert (who, in real life,would not be born for decades after this) fly their spaceship all the way to the Moon. The next day, Chris and Albert watch the Moon landing on the TV in one of their neighbors' houses, and when Chris comes home with Albert that night, Chris realizes the "velvety, black beauty" of the dark, and decides he wants to visit every corner of the space he can see.

After Chris Hadfield's speech, we got in line to get 2 books signed, One of them was a copy of The Darkest Dark that we purchased earlier,while the other was a space-themed book Annabelle had made, known as "Pip and the Heart of Pluto", which we gave as a gift to Hadfield. When we were getting the books signed, I got to ask Chris a question. Specifically, I asked Chris if, provided the opportunity, he would rather go to the Moon, or Mars.Chris replied by saying that for him, it is less about the destination, and more about the challenge of getting there, so he would do either.

WAYBACK MACHINE: Facebook prompts people to share their memories. Once in awhile, I listen to Facebook's suggestion. Look at this 7 year old photo from the Washington State Fair. We'll be going again next week. Annabelle is considerably bigger now.