Apollo 13 and Creativity to be Found in Crisis

When I was in my 20's, I, like a million others, read "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe. What I didn't know until then was that our family lived in the epicenter of the space race. The heroes of the "The Right Stuff" were our neighbors and the fathers of our friends at school.

When we moved to Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, we lived in base housing. One day, during the first summer we were there, a big black car pulled up to the house next door. As the doors opened and serious men in uniform got out and started up the walk, my mother came flying out the front door of our house and literally dragged us inside, drew the curtains and told us to "sit down and shut up."

What I did not know until 20 years later was that Capt. Iven Kincheloe had been killed in a plane crash.

My father worked on the X-15 project. I remember when President Kennedy said, "We're going to the moon." For us, it was not rhetoric, it was intention in action. So, in a lot of ways, much of living at Edwards has defined my life.

As an adult and in my work, when people I was working with would say "it can't be done." I'd say, "this is America. We've been to the moon."

I'm just so not interested in all the ways things are not possible.

One of my favourite scenes in the "Apollo 13" movie is when those on Earth are given a box full of all the things on Apollo 13 available for use and told to solve the crisis ~ which, of course, they did!

This attitude has served me in good stead. While nothing I've gone through compares to the nail-biter that was Apollo 13, it's been a constant reminder never to give up, use what I have around me in a new way, look for creative solutions to get me out of the pinch I might find myself in and, if all else fails, go for a walk and keep keep repeating, "Of course, there is a solution, this is America. We've been to the moon."

Or, to quote the great philosopher, Douglas Adams, in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,"

"DON'T PANIC."

Which brings me to this week as I find myself in need of dough. As I've mentioned before, designers are often supply-rich. We've got samples of this and seven of that and some of those and a little here and there.

On Sunday, I got some of the big things out and brought them into the dining room. My goal this week is to make something out of this that I can sell; something people will buy; something fairly easy to fabricate; something not terribly expensive, something artful and beautifully made of what I have on hand and that I don't have to buy more stuff of to be successful. 

I'll keep you posted.

Day 44 Everyday Grateful ~

More Drizzle. More Drizzly. More Drizzling.

Prototype moving along well.

A bit more atmospheric than I'd like in June,

but, lovely and green nonethelesss.