NASA Tweetup Nerves
I feel like I’m in that dream. You know, the one where you are on the school bus, or giving a speech, or thumping the melons at the grocery store, when you realize you’re absolutely naked?
I am feeling that kind of nervousness and embarrassment about tomorrow’s NASA Tweetup.
Do you think there will be a test?!
Maybe, when we get there to register, they’ll give us a test to make we know our space stuff. Everyone will breeze through, muttering memorized equations and talking about the mass of various chemicals when in a semi-gaseous state. Jeepers, I don’t even feel confident imagining the test questions – I’m already failing!
Maybe they’ll let me down easily, then snicker behind my back. Maybe they’ve never met someone who couldn’t describe the current atmospheric conditions in ten words or less, or who didn’t know the velocity needed to exit the Earth’s atmosphere without some major cramming and a cheat sheet.
Maybe they’ll kindly show me the way to the snack bar, shake their heads sadly and murmur “Tsk, tsk. Such a shame. Bet she just came for the Astronaut Ice Cream!”
I was a Liberal Arts major, people! My Sex Roles in Modern Society class did not prepare me for playful scientific banter with people like Dr. Pamela Gay! (Aka Star Stryder, an astronomer filled with such awesomesauce, I cannot even speak her name aloud.)
But, maybe everything will be fine. Maybe they have a special section of the Tweetup for the less deserving, charity cases. Maybe they’ll provide us with coloring sheets (Decorate your own Space Shuttle!) and study materials (Counting Backward from 10 to 1, a Beginner’s Guide).
For the record, though, and for posterity before I potentially humiliate myself, I just love NASA. I love the space program. I love the Space Shuttle. I love the Kennedy Space Center. I love astronauts and astronomers. I get goosebumps every single time a Shuttle or rocket lifts off, and just hearing the chatter on the NASA TV station raises my heart rate.
And, it’s in my blood! That’s right! In 1974, my father and mother brought a group of students from the New York Institute for the Blind to the Kennedy Space Center. The students, and my parents, got a very special tour of the Space Center, during which the blind students were able to actually touch some of the artifacts and exhibits. They even got to drive the Lunar Roving Vehicle (yes! the actual moon buggy!) And guess what? I was THERE! In the womb! Already predisposed to love NASA and to reach for the stars!
As my Papa always said:
“What’s our motto, Jenny?”“If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It!”
Let’s just hope I don’t have one of those naked dreams tonight. I would hate to do that.