Another Space Center Milestone....

Kade's Rank Paper. Our First 21st Century Camper!

Hello Troops,

It happened two weeks ago. A young man walked up to my desk during Overnight Camp Sign In's and presented his Rank Paper.

"Is your name spelled correctly?" I asked.

He looked at the spelling of his name and replied, "Yes."

"Staying overnight or going home?" I asked as I went through my checklist of questions. "Overnight," he said.

I gave him the Rules Paper and directed him to take a seat on the stage steps. That's when I noticed something about his paper I'd never seen before. This young man, Kade, was the very first student from this new century to attend one of our camps.

Last year I saw my first camper with a birthday of 2000. But the year 2000 was the last year of the 20th Century. Kade, was our very very first camper born in the 21st Century.

It's just one of those interesting milestones I thought I'd share with you.

Simply,

Mr. Williamson

Recent News from the Space Education Center.

Hello Troops,

It's Time for News!

What you are about to see are uncensored, candid snapshots of the wildlife roaming freely at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center and Wild Game Preserve located near beautiful downtown Pleasant Grove, Utah (Just up and down a few blocks from the world renown Purple Turtle Fast Food Emporium - home of the Over the Top Shakes!) Please read this post in a quiet room. Sudden and / or loud noises can disturb the animals. Some frighten easily and once frightened, become unpredictable.

Photo 1: Alex the Pious stands with Chelsey. Alex is humbled at Chelsey's accomplishment of obtaining her promotion pin for passing the Voyager's stations. Chelsey smiles embarrassingly after seeing a tear of joy streaming down Alex's left cheek.

"What a turd," she was hear mumbling as she returned to her seat.

Photo 2: Stacy of Lehi awards the Knighthood of Galileo Pin to Julie of the North and Alex the Pious.

"How can one contain the flood of emotion that comes from being so honored?" Alex was overhead saying near the drinking fountain afterwards.

After receiving her honor, Julie was seen erasing the names of younger volunteers from the staff working schedule posted in the hallway near the Briefing Room. She wrote her name in their place.

"You do what it takes to move ahead in any organization?" she confessed.

Photo 3: Mr. Williamson, wearing his chains of office, congratulating Chelsey on her Voyager Award. He seems in good spirits - which is unusual for him, especially after an Overnight Camp.

There are rumors Mr. Williamson was seen smiling at WalMart last week. The cause for his obscene behaviour is unknown.

"I don't know what you're talking about," was his response to a question put to him on the matter.

Photo 4: In this snapshot we see Emily of the Red bestowing the Honors of the Voyager to Julie of the North (Julie got her Voyager pass). Don't let Julie's cheer fool you. Her smile is directed to all the little volunteers crushed during her meteoric rise to Space Center Stardom.

Emily is a Space Center EMT and Flight Director. She thrives on the thrill of story and 'Blood and Guts'. This pictures captures the moment just before Emily pushed the pin deeply into Julie's unsuspecting chest. Blood was drawn.

"An Accident?" you ask.

"Doubtful" is this witness' response. Emily gets her first aid practice anyway she can.

Photo 5: This is Jace, recently returned from the Utah Summer Games where he won two gold medals in some for of martial arts. I can't remember exactly...... perhaps it was French Feet Fighting. No, I believe it was Ty Quon Do (the spelling is hopeless but at 9:16 P.M. I can't be expected to do anything right). Jace was promoted to Space Center Rule Enforcer after demonstrating his Black Belt skills on two thirsty eleven year olds who took too long at the drinking fountain during a summer camp crew rotation. Many volunteers where shocked at the brutality. Emily was delighted. She arrived twenty seconds later with full First Aid Kit in hand. I'm happy to report the two younglings are recuperating well and pledged not to take more than fifteen seconds at the fountain each.

Any ten year old that gets out of hand will feel Jace's swift and precise hand. A slice, a dice and a well placed kick and these younglings will be marching in step with a smile on their face.

Excellent Work Jace!

Photo 6: This is Josh receiving his Odyssey Pin from Emily of the Red. Does he seem worried? Does he seem concerned? Josh asked that Emily not put the pin on the Lanyard. He accepted the pin in hand.

Photo 7. Emily of the Red seconds before drawing blood from soon be be screaming Connor L. Connor earned an Odyssey Pass. The piercing caused Connor to lose his footing and strike his head on the "Lord of the Votes" trophy behind him. He went home that day with his head wrapped in twelve layers of bandages. Emily succeed in protecting his airway but forgot to leave his eyes unwrapped. He stumbled out to meet his parents and missed the curb. It was a nasty spill, too gruesome to describe.

Photo 8: In this photo you see (Left to Right) Brittney, Aleta, Mr. Williamson, Nate E. Marissa B, and a mysterious youngling that remains unidentified. It was the end of the Overnight Camp. The staff gathered to wish them a happy birthday. Mr. Williamson was forced to surrender the cake so everyone could have a piece. He wasn't amused. He ordered Mrs. Houston to cut the cake into one inch squares. He took what was left home.

"Isn't it all about me?" he said in his defense when denying second helpings to the hungry staff and volunteers.

Photo 8: This is Happy Kyle standing next to the Galileo. Don't confuse Happy Kyle with the Confused Kyle "The Fish" Herring . Happy Kyle is the Center's All Around Handy Man. He stands proudly next to the new Air Intakes he recently installed on both sides of the new simulator.

We call him Happy Kyle because of his attitude. No one has ever seen him really angry. The closest thing to "getting angry" was a moment of upset a few months ago when he messed up a telephone order for aluminum.

"Darn It!" he was heard saying as he hung up the phone. He quickly apologized to everyone present for his emotional outburst and enrolled in Anger Anonymous. He attends religiously.

And that's All the News for Tonight Troops.

All the Best!

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