There is one fact of life that is as constant as the rising and setting sun. A little sugar a day keeps the blues away.
Did you know that sugar plays a vital role at the Space Education Center? It is the grease that keeps the Center's wheels turning. It keeps our volunteers and staff happy even when I'm in a disagreeable mood usually brought on by a worker's inability to follow procedures or a camper bent on pushing me over the edge by constantly operating the Transporter Controls on the Right Wing Station ( I get an annoying signal on my FD computer).
Our sugar is dispensed over a counter in the Discovery Room. The counter is filled with a variety of confectionery delights. The sugar is a reward given at the end of every mission to our volunteers and staff for a job well done ( If they work hard and eat their vegtables). There will always be sugar because we know that children love sugar. Teens love sugar. Adults love sugar. Heck, lets face it - I love sugar.
At the end of a mission you'll hear the cattle call, "Sugar!". Spain's running of the bulls doesn't compare to the scene of multitudes of staff and volunteers racing to the pharmacy to collect their favorite form of sugar, be it M and Ms, Snickers, Yorks, Hershey's etc. The youngest volunteers know to get out of the way and hug the school's walls to avoid getting knocked down by the older staff during the sugar stampede. Teachers still in the building cower in their rooms until the all clear is sounded and the dust in the hallways settle.
Its amusing to watch the staff crowd the counter taking time to select just the right taste for their mood. Watch me do my best to speed them along so we can finish the cleaning and go home. Later that night watch our custodian curse us when he finds the wrappers scattered from one end of the building to the other. Yes, its a daily ritual.
So, lets take a moment to celebrate one aspect of the Space Center that is never mentioned, yet is so important to our day to day operations - the dispensing of sugar from the Candy Rx in Discovery. Sugar we never sell, not even if tempted with real American money or that phony Canadian stuff. Our prescriptions are available because of hard work and positive attitudes, thus making our sweets more desirable than those found in any store or gas station.
A special thanks to our staff and volunteers for their hard work on behalf of the students of Utah........ and sugar, of course!
Mr. Williamson
