Goodbye Old Friends

Goodbye Old Friends was Originally Posted on October 23, 2003 by lavarock

Tomorrow marks the last flight of the Concorde, the plane able to cross the Atlantic in the blink of an eye. Flying at speeds up to 1350 mph over the last 27 years, it truely was a marvel.

When the reality of faster than sound flights was realized many years before, people were worried of the unknown. No one knew if the shattering of the sound barrier would burst people eardrums or cause weather problems, or what. Soon we would find the answer. Soon, traveling faster than sound would be commonplace.

When I lived in Maryland, I had an opportunity to visit the University of Maryland and see a man who had a vision. That vision was that men and women would soon be living and working in space. He dreamed of space flight, but alas it was not to be until some of his ashes were sent up in a rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base. As you probably know, among other shows, Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek. The space ship was named Enterprise.

While cleaning out some boxes in the garage today, I came upon a Washington DC newpaper I saved. On page one is a photo of the Shuttle Enterprise circling the Beltway on the back of a 747. The date, Nov. 18, 1985.

The Enterprise was being ferried from the Kennedy Space Center to Dulles Airport, Washington, D.C., and became the property of the Smithsonian Institution. The Enterprise was built as a test vehicle and was not equipped for space flight, thus it “hitched” a ride.

Thousands of people had stopped their cars along the Beltway to watch that sight. I however, was driving my old ’85 Camaro along a runway at Dulles airport just a few miles away. I was one of the lucky people to view the combined landing on an alternate runway.

As I ran to catch a photo I noticed a perfect shot and took it. Here was the 1st shuttle named “Enterprise” landing on a runway on top of a 747 and there in the background, I was just able to catch a third plane, a Concorde taking off in the distance. Three great planes in one shot!

On April 12, 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia became the first shuttle to orbit the Earth. I was present at that launch and at the third. It truely was an amazing sight.

Soon thereafter, Challenger was launched an on a fateful day in January 1986, Challenger came abruptly to earth with all hands lost. One member of that crew was Ellison S. Onizuka was born June 24, 1946, in Kealakekua, Kona, Hawaii. Kealakekua is next to Captain Cook, my new home.

Ellison and the rest of the shuttle crews dared to challenge space in a fragile ship; just as ancient Hawaiians challenged the unknown seas in small and fragile outriggers.

We are all looking, searching for something, daring the unknown. We challenge nature. We temp fate. We explore.

In the process we say goodbye to our fears.

Sometimes we say goodbye to our friends.