A Space Center News Update

Hello Troops,
What a miracle! I’m posting at 6:23 P.M. instead of the middle of the night as in previous posts. We’re running our Day Camp this week. The campers arrive at 9:00 A.M. and leave at 2:30 P.M. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Do you realize what that means? The Space Center Staff are blessed with a resemblance of reality. We get to go home at night!

“So this is how real people live,” I thought as I walked home from the Space Center at 5:00 P.M. I worked 9.5 hours today instead of 24. I’ve got a splash of time and you get an update post.

Tomorrow I’ll post several pictures of staff receiving awards given at the end of the last couple Overnight Camps. I’d do it now but the pictures are at the school and I’m home on my laptop with a cold drink on my left and Sirius Radio encircling me with sounds from their Coffee House Channel. This is my lucky night. Nora Jones is singing.

Nora is a favorite of mine. My sister introduce me to her music two years ago. She and her husband spend their summer evenings sitting outside their old west museum and art gallery in Hewlett, Wyoming listening to their favorite musicians over speakers set up outside on the wooden sidewalk and entrance. The music, combined with good conversation spiced with local gossip, draw out the neighbors in this tiny village of six hundred located a few miles from Devil’s Tower in the mystic Black Hills.

I was there there a few years back, spending a few lazy summer nights talking and laughing with anyone who happened by. We were in town for my brother’s wedding held in the town’s one no longer used church.

Hewlett, Wyoming use to be a stop on a travelling Baptist preacher’s circuit. Several years ago he dropped Hewlett from his schedule. This left the town preacherless. The church closed, and opened for special occasions only - like my brother’s wedding. We hired a preacher from South Dakota to come out and perform the service. If you think of Mayberry with Andy Griffith and Barney Fife then you’ll get the feel for life in Hewlett. We chucked at the thought that our families nearly doubled the town’s population.

Good Times....

This summer has had its ups and downs. Saturday could have been a real downer day if it wasn't for an awesome staff. There was a scheduling problem and we found ourselves short a flight director for our 11:00 A.M. missions. Thanks to our fantastic staff (Emily, Rachel, Dave, Stacy, Bracken and Ben) we were able to pull through and get the job done. They went the extra mile and pitched in to take care of the customers.

Having a staff of devoted, dedicated people is one reason the Center has survived twenty years coming up this November. I want these folks to know that I really appreciated their willingness to answer the phone and come in to help. I don’t forget favors owed and all of you earned a “Get Out of Jail Free Card” for the next time you royally mess up and deserve a hugh chew out from me. Just remind me you’ve got the Card and I’ll leave it at that.

We have three weeks left in the Summer Season of 2010. It’s going quickly. Have you been to one of our camps? If so, thank you for your contribution. I’m hoping you enjoyed yourself. If you haven’t come to a camp yet and are within the ages of 10 and 14 may I remind you we still have openings in September. We’d love to see you at the Space Center. We’d love to have you fly in one of our simulators. Come on and join us. Take a minute from reality and recharge your imagination.

Now to Change the Subject......

I’m working with someone in Arizona on a new, mobile simulator for our K- 4th Grade students. The trailer's design is nearly finished. We are pricing it out now. If the price is right, we will seek to either purchase the simulator or rent it. The trailer will be divided into seven 4 man capsules. The seven capsules will take our younger students on missions throughout the solar system. They will use computers with touch screen computers to control their small craft through the atmosphere of Venus and the rings of Saturn. The missions will run 20 - 30 minutes.

A pick up truck will move the trailer from school to school. An onboard generator will provide the power. This means we can take our missions to schools, malls, fairs etc. Imagine the possibilities! I’m excited- as you should be. The Space Center may soon be mobile, taking this kind of learning to rural schools and communities. It is another way we hope to make a difference in the lives of Utah’s school children.

Well troops, The Coffee House Channel is playing something that sounds almost western. I‘m OK with that but think I’ll scan the band and find something else.

All the Best!

Mr. Williamson

Another Midnight Post from the Trenches.

Hello Troops,

It's 11:56 P.M. Bracken is leaving after spending some time talking to the boys in the loft. I'm at my desk once again writing this post to our faithful readers. We are in the thick of the summer's fifth, one night Overnight Camp. Tonight we have 42 campers with us (12 girls and 30 boys). The girls are sleeping in a classroom on the other side of the school.

Bracken just asked if I was doing another late night post. "Why don't you get just three hours of sleep," he said while gathering up his things and walking out the Briefing Room door. It was nice of him to comment on the continuation of the "Enemy From the Dark" story. He has an issue with being written as the Master of the Obvious.

"I'm tossing you a bone," I said in so many words without actually saying it that way.

The school's front door just latched shut. He's gone and I'm left with the light from my desk lamp and the computer screen. The loft is creaking again. I don't like to sleep boys in the loft because of the creaking of the platform they sleep on. Every time they move I hear the sound. Tonight we had no choice with 30 boys. We are wall to wall bodies. It would be nice to have a few more girls on the camp to even out the numbers. Mind you, Lorrine is perfectly happy to have fewer girls to tend on her end of the school.

Tonight we have Emily telling "Canada" in the Voyager; Rachel telling "No More Secrets" in the Galileo; Adam telling "Can't Remember" in the Odyssey; Bracken telling "Murphy's Law" in the Phoenix; and Brittney telling "The Guardian" in the Magellan.

One of the boys has climbed down the ladder from the Loft. "I've got to go to the bathroom," he said.

"We had our last bathroom break thirty minutes ago," I reminded him. I don't know why I took the time to say that. It was a waste of his time listening, and my time stating what he already knew. Reminding him that we had a bathroom break thirty minutes ago won't change the fact that he has to go to the bathroom right now. So.... saying "We had our last bathroom break thirty minutes ago," was just my way of saying "I'm annoyed that you're asking to go to the bathroom now after I gave everyone a bathroom break thirty minutes ago!"

"Go," I said.

He's back. He and his friends are making strange animal noises from the loft. I'm getting annoyed.

"Who ever I sleep in the loft has to be tired and ready to go straight to sleep," I said to the boys as I parceled them out to the sleeping areas earlier.

"We want the loft," one of the boys said.

"You're tired and ready to go straight to sleep?" I asked. He nodded his head. I took them at their word. I may live to regret that decision before this night is through.

I'm going to talk to them. They're getting louder. Time to get out my 'I'm not a happy camper' mannerisms and talk sternly using just enough threat to get them to cooperate without forcing me to move one of them to the staff sleeping area. I'll bid all of you a very goodnight. I'll go deal with hyper boys and an upset stomach.

Mr. Williamson

And So Ends Another Day.....

Hello Troops,

It's 11:24 P.M. on the second night of our fifth EdVenture Camp. Its all quiet on the Voyager. Once again, just the sound of the air conditioner. I think the crew must be downstairs with Jon and Zac listening to camp stories.

I've got five of the younger campers in the Odyssey to my left and staff in the Phoenix behind me. They tolerate the light from my lamp. The younglings in the Odyssey are talking, or I should say - one of them seems to be doing all the talking and the others insert a word here and there when he stops to breath. I'm hoping I'll be spare the constant interruption suffered last night. I've structured the camp in such a way the campers should be completely exhausted by now and should sleep soundly so we can all do the same. The kids were kept busy from 7:15 A.M. until 11:10 P.M. with missions, classes, eating, playing, swimming and a video.

I'm trusting the Sandman will not pass Central School as he does his rounds through Pleasant Grove tonight.

Nothing eventful to report, except to say my stock of Trafalgar Ludicrous Passes crew today after negotiating a trade of passes for missions with the management of Trafalgar and 7 Peaks. I picked up the passes this afternoon at 7 Peaks Resort. Volunteers and staff can redeem points from their volunteer cards for these passes. If interested, let me know.

It was cold at the pool this evening. The temperatures dipped into the low 70's accompanied by a moderate wind. We had the pool until 9:15 P.M. but most of the campers were out of the water by 9:00 P.M. I told the manager on duty to blow the whistle. We exited almost ten minutes early. It was all good, that gave us more time for bed.

One of the boys is telling a joke.

"Do you guys what to hear a joke?" he said. "Woman's Rights!"

There was polite laughter. I wonder where that boy got that joke? OK they're off on a joke telling bonanza.

I'm going to bed. The Sandman is here.

Its Pleasant Dreams in Pleasant Grove,

Mr. W.