01/22/2020

I had the opportunity to meet someone who I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever see in person, much less shake his hand: astronaut Captain Scott Kelly, the man who spent a year in space. A YEAR.

I had definitely heard about Captain Kelly and his stint at the ISS station. He was a legend in NASA, not only because of his accomplishments, but also for the study of the physiology of his body after being in space so long that was being compared to the body of his twin brother, Mark, who was also an astronaut.

I happened to come across his book in the “popular” section near the check out counter at UTSA. I occasionally browsed through this section when I needed a good book to read. I usually don’t read autobiographical books, but space has always fascinated me and held a special place in my heart. I watched Star Trek and Star Wars when I was younger, even read and bought books of the Trek series, and always dreamed of space travel. Here was someone who actually did this.

Kelly’s book was titled Endurance, and in it he wrote about his childhood and his path to NASA and finally into our final frontier, space. I appreciated and drank in his words, and finished the book in about a week with every spare moment I had in between doing things throughout my day. His words in this book spoke to me after having a particularly harsh year, and it inspired me.

At the end of the book, Kelly said he traveled and did talks of inspiration and motivation. I got curious and did a search of his stops and he just happened to be coming to San Antonio. How could I not go??

Captain Kelly was speaking at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, a beautiful building that was renovated from when it was formerly known as the Municipal Auditorium. I’ve attended several performances and banquets there, and was excited that he would be speaking at such a beautiful facility.

Parking tip: There’s plenty of parking in the streets nearby with meters, but there’s a parking garage about one block away, and a pay by the hour type lot directly next to it. Because of the rain, I chose to pay the extra money to park in this lot. There’s also valet if you’d like to use it.

I also found a secret waiting for the doors to open: if you go to the box office entrance, those doors are open. There’s the box office, brochures, and most importantly, some benches to sit on. I kinda felt bad for the people waiting outside, especially since it was raining, but there was no way I was giving up my secret and risk getting thrown out! So I sat quiet as a mouse until 6:30 when they opened the doors for everyone.

Passing through the lobby, there were copies of Endurance and calendars and other souvenir-type things to purchase. I got my special wristband because guess what: my ticket was a Meet and Greet!!!

I beat all the crowds and found my pre-show dinner: the burger and beer special, which is directly to your right when you enter. It’s simple service food, but the room is quaint and nice, and the servers were extremely polite. Frank Sinatra’s “Nice ‘N’ Easy” played softly in the background.

I had the bacon jam burger, and it was so big I couldn’t finish it! I particularly enjoyed the sweet pickle slice that topped it off. I also couldn’t finish the bag of chips it came with, so I just stuck them in my jacket pocket.

It’s 7 pm now and the doors are still closed. Overhearing the ushers, I learn that when they say “the house isn’t open,” it means the seating area isn’t ready for ticket holders to sit. I’m sorta on fumes because I only had like 4 hours of sleep but I’m getting excited!

Finally I’m led to my seat. It’s a full house, and I was seated in the second row from the stage.

Pictured on the screen is various shots of Earth. A hurricane’s swirling eye; Italy’s boot shaped outline dotted with lights; archipelagos and swirls of colored clouds. Aurora Borealis and my favorite, a shot of the moon.

Sitting in front of me is a man I estimate to be about in his early sixties, talking to the people next to him about the airports he’d been to, speaking of them as it they are right next door to him. I’m aware that it’s a privilege in life to be able to travel. My teenage years in Europe let me have that privilege, and I’m always going to be grateful for that, even if it meant not having the all-American childhood.

Sitting next to me is a mother and her son who looks about eight; he’s wearing a blue NASA flight suit, definitely from space camp. It’s covered in patches and he looks super cool.

Captain Kelly was introduced to thunderous applause, and I found out that he was funny! He talked about his childhood and his poor study habits in school. His father was a police officer, and his mother also joined the force and was the first female police officer in his childhood hometown, Orange, New Jersey. As he talked, the screen would show pictures pertaining to the subject.

He spoke of compartmentalization when he was flying the space shuttle. He spoke of what happens when a toilet doesn’t function well in space (spoiler: it’s not pretty). He talked about Mars. He used the word wormhole. My inner Trek geek was internally crying at him actually using this word in casual conversation!

And then it’s all over, and Elton John’s “Rocket Man” plays as he walks off stage; so appropriate. The people with wristbands get to stay and wait while it clears out and we are escorted out to a room past the lobby to speak with him.

The mother and son that was next to me happen to be in front to meet Captain Kelly and he asks the boy if he wanted him to sign his flight suit. I cannot tell you the sound of the collective *gasp* of everyone waiting in line as he signed the boy’s suit, right under one of the patches as the boy beamed like it was the greatest day of his life.

And then it’s my turn! My first thought it, I hope he doesn’t notice the bag of chips in my pocket. My second thought it, he’s kinda short! I shake his hand, and thank him for sharing the story of his parents. He asked what I do, and I tell him. We talk to a bit; he asked me what college I go to, and I tell him where and what I study. He signs my paper ticket, and I get this super awesome photo:

I exit out the doors to the sounds of sirens and rain in the city, and I stare at the ticket with joy:

It’s a cloudy night, but the moon and stars are out there. Captain Kelly said that there are more galaxies out in space than there are blades of grass on the ground, than grains of sands on the earth. So many possibilities.

Maybe NASA needs artists.

The sky is the limit…or maybe it’s not. 🙂