Wiston Papers

Shooting for the stars

“I can hardly wait for it to come,” John gestured enthusiastically.

“Keep your shirt on,” waitress Beverly protested, “your coffee’s coming as soon as I can pour it.”

“No, not that,” John tried to explain excitedly, “I’m talking about August 06...I can’t wait.”

“August 6...hm...the end of the Olympic Games in London?” I wondered.

“No, they go ‘til the 12th,” John sipped his coffee quickly...letting a drop slide slowly from the corner of his mouth to his chin.  “And the U.S. finally is doing great.”

“Oh, the NFL Exhibition Season kicks off,” it dawned on me.

“No, that’s the 5th,” John almost dropped his cup in frustration. “The Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints play and they don’t really count.”

Now I remember,” I proclaimed knowingly, “the Iowa State Fair!  I love the fair, too, the Grandstand, the exhibitions, the food...”

“Argh...!”  John rolled his eyes in disbelief.

“OK, OK, you’ve raised my curiosity,” I said soothingly.

“Yes, Curiosity,” John agreed joyously.

“Uh...yeah...I just said I’m curious.”

Curiosity...Curiosity!”  John spilled another drop of coffee as he quickly swallowed and put his cup down missing his saucer.  

“The latest Mars mission,” Beverly clarified as she cleaned the spill and refilled our cups.

“Yes, Curiosity...the next mission to Mars.  It lands on the Red Planet on August 6.  It’s as big as a car.”

“Mars looks small in a telescope, but I always thought it was bigger...”.

“Curiosity is as big as a car, smart guy.  It weighs a ton and will roam all over looking for signs of life,” John smiled.

“But...”

“They’re calling it ‘Seven Minutes of Terror,’” John continued.

“Yes, I think there was a movie starring Tom Cruise with Nicole Kidman or was that Katie Holmes...” I suggested.  “I can’t keep them straight.”

“Look,” John turned serious and leaned toward me, “this is a big deal.  Seven Minutes of Terror refers to the length of time between the descent of Curiosity and when scientists know whether it landed safely.  Curiosity may be our last chance to find evidence that life may have existed on Mars. .”

“Last chance because...”

“Before the President and Congress cut funding for NASA,” John turned sad suddenly.  “That would be tragic because these missions are so inspiring.  Even one of the Curiosity scientists said he became an astrophysicist because he was excited as a boy by the early NASA successes.”

“I was one of them,” Beverly said as she poured our final round of coffee.  “I almost became a space scientist.”

“Seriously?” John and I responded in unison.

“Yes, I had good grades in school and college and even was admitted to a physics graduate program.  “But I realized that would be a mistake.”

“Why?”  John and I could barely get out the word.

“Simple.  I’d spend another five years in school, get my Ph.D in physics, have a huge college debt to pay off, then not be able to find a job like so many other recent college graduates even in the sciences.  Yeah, I’d be right back here with an advanced degree still waiting on big spenders like you.”

“Wow, that sounds like a political commentary,” I noted.

“It’s the New Normal in America,” observed Beverly, “perhaps you guys can discuss that next week.”

Steve Coon
August 04, 2012