Christa McAuliffe

Everything I write in this posting is written with very sincere admiration and respect for Christa McAuliffe, her family, friends and admirers. As always, no offense is intended to anybody.

On January 28, 1986, I had just come home from high school after taking a final exam. As I walked in the door, my mother told me that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded. I was surprised on a few levels - I wasn’t aware that the shuttle was taking off that day. I knew there was going to be a launch soon with some teacher on board, but that’s about it. I remember tuning in to watch a replay of the launch. As Challenger took off, I remember thinking, “I’m not sure if I want to see this!” But I did, and the images of the disaster are stuck in my memory forever, as they are in everyone who lived through that day. Those who died in the disaster were F. “Dick” Scobee, Mike Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Ron McNair, Greg Jarvis and S. Christa McAuliffe.

Other notable memories from that day include Dan Rather with a model of the space shuttle on his desk, trying to explain what might have gone wrong. Later on, I got to endure a few sick Challenger jokes from my high school “friends.” It’s better to be alone, man. It really is. Okay, I need to save that rant for later. Ahem. Later that year, my family took a trip to Florida and we got to see Cape Canaveral and the launching pad for Challenger. I bought a Challenger patch and some buttons with the crew on them. I made sure to buy the one with Christa alone on the button as well.

Now why do you suppose they did a button with just Christa on it and none of the other crew members? Well, obviously Christa was the “celebrity” on the flight, being the first civilian set to go up in space. But there’s another reason. A secret reason. A reason nobody has ever dared to mention - until now. Christa makes a pretty picture. Because Christa McAuliffe was pretty. In fact, she was gorgeous! You hear me, world? CHRISTA MCAULIFFE WAS CUTE!

Dang, it feels so good to get that off my chest.

I don’t think that “attractiveness” was the criteria that NASA was using to choose who would be the first civilian in space. However, I don’t think it hurt that Christa was attractive. NASA obviously wanted someone who wasn’t particularly camera-shy, who would be able to present herself to the world with some degree of poise. They couldn’t pick just ANY teacher.

Sadly, there’s some degree of truth to the idea that the “teacher in space” plan was a big PR stunt by NASA. Remember that at first, they were considering taking up a celebrity. John Denver was considered, as was “Big Bird” puppeteer Carroll Spinney! (See the links below for more about that) And while they thankfully chose to focus on sending a “non-celebrity” up there, you can’t help but consider that they would want that “non-celebrity” to be someone who had the potential to be a celebrity. Think of it- the same skills that are used to hold the attention of a class can be used to hold the public’s attention on a grand scale. A teacher who can present her views clearly to a class can also present those views to the American public.

There’s not one particular thing that made Christa attractive. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Look, if I were going out on a blind date, and Christa McAuliffe showed up, I would not be disappointed! She was pretty, smart, seemed to have a good personality - dang, what more could you want?! Of course, Christa was a wonderful person no matter how she looked. Note the word “personality”. When I think about girls that I like, I realize that attractiveness alone isn’t enough. All the beauty in the world won’t work if the person isn’t right for me. I never met Christa, so I can only pretend what she might have been like to know. It seems like at the very least, she would have been a wonderful friend.

I refuse to believe that I’m the only guy (besides her husband) who thinks Christa was attractive. Come on, guys, I KNOW you’re out there! I guess out of respect for Christa and for what she did, we guys don’t want to “take away” from her legacy by adding her to our list of “hot chicks.” It’s commendable to remember Christa for her bravery instead of her beauty. But in the teeny tiny footnotes of history (where this blog probably will eventually go), someone needs to note, “and she was pretty, too!”

Christa was obviously a strong woman in many ways. She was a teacher, first and foremost, and wanted to use those skills on the Challenger. Her intent was to write a diary of the trip. How I wish we could have read that diary. But someday, I believe I’m going to get to actually meet Christa (along with several other people I never got to meet in this lifetime). When I do, I hope to tell her that I cared for her and that she was an inspiration to me. I’d like to think that Christa would forgive me for this blog. :)

Here are some more sites with information about Christa:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcauliffe.html

http://www.starhop.com/cm_bio.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe

http://www.life.com/Life/space/mcauliffe/mcauliffe01.html

The documentary “Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars” is probably the best one about Christa herself. You can learn more about it at the site below:

http://www.traipsingthrufilms.com/

For more about the celebrities who almost got to ride on the Challenger, enjoy my previous post.
http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/05/big-bird-and-space-shuttle-challenger.html

=======================================================

THEY SAID IT: While researching this post, I came upon an interesting page of quotes about space and space travel that I hope you will enjoy. It features quotes from Christa and many others, and asks a notable question about Neil Armstrong’s famous “one small step” quote. Could it be he got it wrong? Check it out.

http://www.skygod.com/quotes/spaceflight.html

Space is for everybody. It's not just for a few people in science or math, or for a select group of astronauts. That's our new frontier out there, and it's everybody's business to know about space.

— Christa McAuliffe, December 6, 1985.

=====================================================

PHANTOM DISAPPEARS, THEN REAPPEARS: Once upon a time, there was a Web page dedicated to the “Phantom of the Opera.” Although it was obviously inspired by the Andrew Lloyd Webber production, it welcomed comments about all of the various phantom-related items over the years. From the original novel to the Lon Chaney film to the recent high school productions, this site was a valuable resource for Phantom fans. And it even had an easy address to remember: phantomoftheopera dot com.

But as 2008 began, the Phantom site disappeared. There was nothing there but a message saying “this account has been suspended.” And the fact that it was there for a few weeks seemed to verify that the site wasn’t coming back. It was quite a popular site, with several new comments from readers coming in every day, and updates on “Phantom”-related news. (Think “Muppet Central”, only about the Phantom) It makes you realize that not every site is going to be around forever. We all have those sites that we really enjoy visiting - our little “neighborhood” on the Web where we can keep up with certain people or things. So let’s take a moment to be thankful for those who keep our favorite sites going. And uh, by the way. . .thanks for stopping by here every once in a while as well.

But by mid-January, the Phantom site had returned in all its glory, much to the relief of Phantom fans, teenage girls and theatre critics worldwide. There seems at this point to be no official explanation of what exactly happened. Obviously, there was some kind of billing issue at stake, but how that issue appeared in the first place is another mystery only the Phantom can answer.

Have you noticed how many Web sites are only managed by a handful of people? Whereas a movie or TV show can have thousands of people working together to make it happen, a Web site doesn’t really need all that many. Even a regularly updated site only needs a handful of people to make it work. In some ways, that’s a big plus for Web sites. “One man” can make a difference. You don’t need a crowd to shout out loud. But then there’s the down side: If that one person goes away. . .

Check out the 2004 movie to find out why “Phantom” is so popular. You can read about it in my post here, which also has a link to the Phantom site mentioned above:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2006/08/phantom-of-opera.html

==============================================

MEREDITH IN TRAINING: You didn’t think I could just let THIS one go by, do you? Meredith Vieira mentioned Sesame Street in her blog!

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/2008/01/friday_qa_manny_blogging_sesam.html
Sharp-eyed fans will note that Meredith appeared in an episode of Sesame Street this season. You can read about that here:

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Meredith_Vieira

=============================================

BROCKETT’S BATHING SUIT: Who could have known that mild-mannered Don Brockett, who played Chef Brockett on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”, had a wild side? Well, at least I think he did. You’ve got to be a teeny tiny bit wild to run around in a tiger-skin swimsuit, right? Just think about Ginger from “Gilligan‘s Island.” I do it all the time. Uh, think about Ginger, that is. And Courteney and Meredith and . . .Well, anyway, you can see a photo of Don in his swimsuit in this entry from the “Making Mister Rogers and Me” blog. And be sure to read that great quote from Linda Elerbee on why TV is “often so shallow.”

http://mrrogersandme.blogspot.com/2008/01/mister-rogers-chef-brockett-me.html

Quick tour of blog world

TOO BIG TO BE A SPACE STATION: If I ever go thrift store shopping again, I want to go with Todd Franklin. Todd writes the great “Neato Coolville” blog, and he seems to have this incredible knack for finding neato things. But recently he has been writing about what must be one of the greatest finds of all. This is the type of discovery you only dream about as a child! It honestly is hard to believe, but he has photos and a testimony from Star Wars collector Gus Lopez. Todd and some friends actually found the Death Star model used in the first Star Wars movie! He writes:

It’s hard to believe that a major part of film and pop culture history wound up in the Missouri Ozarks!

My connection with the Death Star started in 1988, the summer after my high school graduation. I was working for a local TV station as a cameraman on an ongoing TV series about the Lake of the Ozarks, a popular Missouri tourist area and the place that I’ve called home most of my life.

We were working on a feature about antique stores in the area and we ended up visiting the Mexican Hillbilly. Outside of the store were scads of statuary, old pottery, some giant oranges (used in commercials) and a big gray ball that oddly enough looked like the Death Star. I had a hard time concentrating on my work that day and as a Star Wars fan, I was giddy with excitement.

The story they told me was that they owned a warehouse in California and the film makers stored the Death Star there. When they decided to close the warehouse and move to Missouri, they repeatedly contacted the film makers asking them to pick it up or it would be discarded. When the time came for the move, they told the movers to trash the Death Star. Luckily, the movers didn’t listen and the Death Star was moved along with everything else to the Missouri Ozarks. Also, they told me they’d never seen Star Wars.

It’s an incredible tale that takes three posts to read, and you can find them here:

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-i-raiders-of.html

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-ii-death-star.html

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com/2007/05/death-star-prop-episode-iii-death-stars.html

Neato! Enjoy current blog postings from Todd at:

http://neatocoolville.blogspot.com

==============================================================

If you ever doubted how personal the medium of TV is, you may want to look at what happened to Meredith Vieira not long after the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech. Here’s what she wrote in her blog:

Matt and I had arrived in Blacksburg, Virginia Monday evening. I was so consumed with trying to get the facts straight and prepare for Tuesday morning’s show that I don’t think I realized I was in a state of shock like everyone else.

But as Tuesday wore on, the magnitude of this tragedy began to take over. That evening, I walked over to the vigil. The students had erected ‘writing boards’ on the field, and people were asked to leave a message—whatever was in their heart. I noticed one student standing there, with the marker frozen in her hand. She told me she was at a loss for words, and didn’t want to write the ‘wrong’ thing. I told her I didn’t believe there was a wrong thing to say, that any words would probably be appreciated. Finally, she knelt down and wrote “We will miss you.” Before long the board was covered with messages: “Hokies Forever,” “We will survive,” “I’ll never forget you.”

I was staring at the boards for so long I didn’t realize how many people had gathered for the vigil, but when I looked up, there were literally thousands of faces and candles. And as I was standing among them, one of the co-eds handed me a candle, and then she asked if I would give her a hug. As I put my arms around her, she broke down. That scene was repeated several times with other students—each time they would come up to me, needing to be held.

I finally figured out why they may have sought me out: these were kids who were away from home, most of their parents weren’t there, they knew me from television and they needed an adult, someone safe to tell them it would be okay. That’s when I broke down, because I realized they are my kids, they’re everybody’s kids. And they are deeply saddened. And they are scared.

Check out Meredith’s latest blog postings at

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/

================================================

ON YOUTUBE: YOU ARE LOVED. Just the song I need right now. Probably just the song you need right now. Josh Groban sings a beautiful song. Even if you’ve heard it on the radio a thousand times, you may enjoy actually seeing the video. You can find it in the favorites section on my YouTube page in the links.

Underdogs, then and now

In my early years, I wanted to be a movie star. And not just any movie star, but a star who was loved for who they were. In other words, if I made a movie about my life, it would be a box office hit! In fact, that’s what my movie debut was going to be. A movie about my life. And it would, of course, be a blockbuster. My second film was going to be a sequel to “Oliver!” the classic musical. I had recently seen it at school, and enjoyed it a lot. Plus, everyone said I looked like Mark Lester, the kid who played Oliver. Hey, why not? I practiced for hours saying, “please sir, I want some more. . .” (No, not really. But it just sounds funny) :)

My third film was going to be about Underdog. You know him. He’s the dog in the red underwear who flies around saying, “There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here!” Voiced by Wally Cox of “Mr. Peepers” fame, the character stood for truth, justice and the American way. Sound familiar?

Why did I choose Underdog? That’s a good question! His show had been off the air in my area for at least a few years (and has been off the air there for decades now, except for a brief “revival” in the early 1990s). But another popular movie at the time was “Superman”, the Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder version. I suppose that in an effort to maintain my superstardom, it made sense that I would want to do a film about a superhero. But who could I be? I’m only in fourth grade. Which superhero could I play? How about Underdog? He’s kind of short. That’s it! I’ll put on red underwear and a dog suit! I could play Underdog!

When I think about how I imagined the Underdog movie, the similarities to “Superman” are very evident. There’s even a scene where they get mugged! Yes, the Underdog movie would have been essentially a “Superman” rip-off. But Underdog himself was borrowing from other famous heroes, wasn’t he? His episodes ended in cliffhangers, just like Batman. He flew around like Superman. He had an energy pill just like Popeye had spinach. Underdog took a little from many other heroes to become a hero in his own right.

But there is one scene from my imaginary “Underdog” movie that I would like to share with you. It involves an incident between Shoeshine Boy (Underdog’s alter ego) and Sweet Polly, Underdog’s love interest. This is before Shoeshine becomes Underdog. During an argument, the angry Polly calls Shoeshine an “underdog.” Having never heard the word before, Shoeshine goes home and looks up the word in the dictionary. He reads the definition: “An unimportant, or weak person or thing. The one less likely to win in a battle.” And Shoeshine begins to cry.

That is what the word means, after all. And yet I didn’t think of Underdog this way, but as a hero. Well, at least he’s a bit more successful than Super-Grover! At least he does indeed rescue the girl and triumph over the bad guys. If that doesn’t make him a hero, then what else could? “Underdog” is no underdog! And yet that seems to be the way we treat him. We don’t name Underdog when we name our favorite superheroes. It’s like his appearance in the Super Bowl ad. It’s like, “oh yeah, and there’s Underdog, too.”

I think it’s because Underdog is in many ways, an “average” superhero. If we were grading him, we’d probably give him a “C.” He does his job reasonably well, and that’s it. What’s missing with Underdog is any kind of depth of character, or any kind of deep relationship with others. Although he loves Polly, we never see them “dating” the way Superman and Lois do in “Superman.” He doesn’t suffer the kind of angst that makes Spider-Man famous. He doesn’t have ego problems, like so many characters do. When I remember that imaginary scene where Underdog learns the true meaning of his name, I realize how significant it would be for the character. He calls himself “Underdog” because he wants to show that even an underdog can be something spectacular. Even an underdog can win. And that’s something very important. I didn’t become a movie star. I became a relatively normal, boring guy. And that’s okay. Because even an underdog can do great things.

This summer, there’s going to be a movie about a famous super-hero. No, not Spider-Man, UNDERDOG! My dream is coming true. There really is an Underdog movie on the way. It’s live-action, and will feature a real dog in the role that could have been mine. It should be fun, but I wonder if it’s going to have a scene where Underdog realizes the irony of his name. I wonder if there’s going to be a moment of drama like that. I fear there may not be. The Underdog movie may not make Underdog any less of an underdog. But that’s okay. Remember, there wasn’t much like that on the show, either. All we may get from this is a good time, and that’s fine too, because that’s just as much as the Underdog show can offer us.

============================================================

Here’s the slow-loading web page about the movie. At this point, there's not much there but promotional art of our hero. Later on, I would assume we will get to see more. Please do not load this page if you’re in a library, as the theme music will annoy everybody. Including yourself.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/underdog/

You prefer the animated version? Well, there are some more Underdog DVD releases in the works:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7172

===========================================================

If you’re a fan of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, then you remember Underdog as one of the classic balloons from the late 70s early 80s that graced the skies above New York City. You can see a drawing of the balloon on the cover of a new book about underdog. You can read about it (& more about the Underdog show) at this site:

http://www.toontracker.com/totaltv/underdog.htm

And if you want to see the balloon itself again, check out the Woody Allen movie “Broadway Danny Rose.” The balloon makes a cameo, as does Big Bird!

By the way, my fourth film was going to be “Superman vs. Underdog.” Now don’t ask me why they were fighting, but obviously there must have been a good reason. And really, there was. It was to glean even more love from my imaginary audience.

Thanks for reading, imaginary audience. :)

=============================================================

MEREDITH IN DISTRESS: Imagine this. You are awoken by a telephone call at 4:30 a.m. You answer the phone. On the other end is Meredith Vieira, who says in a muffled voice, “Thelp me, pthleaze, thelp me.”

March definitely went out like a lion for Meredith. In the last week of March she bumped her head while ice skating, her daughter became ill, she cracked her front teeth and part of her wallpaper caught on fire.

(All this reminds me of a cool quote. Meredith is obviously someone with a real “damn-the-torpedoes” spirit. But as someone once said, with a “damn-the-torpedoes” attitude, you occasionally get hit by one of the torpedoes! But that comes with the territory. We all get hit by the torpedoes sometimes. Thankfully, Meredith is strong enough to keep sailing.)

Excerpts from Meredith’s blog after cracking her teeth:

So at 4:30am, I called my assistant Amanda and said, through my lisp-like-lips. “Thelp me, pthleaze, thelp me.” Amanda called my dentist, Marc Lowenberg who wasn’t there, but his partner Dr. Brian Kantor, was on call. I’d never met Dr. Kantor but I sure was happy to hear that he would meet me at the crack of dawn, with my cracked teeth.

My makeup artist Eve met me at Dr. Kantor’s office so she could start putting on my fake eyelashes while he was putting my mouth back together. My teeth may have been flawed, but my eyesight was 20/20—that doctor Kantor is a real cutie (sorry, ladies, he’s married. And I guess so am I…) He’s also a terrific dentist and had me out of there with perfect pearly whites within 40 minutes.

Eve and I raced over to the studio where she and my hair stylist Deirdre played tag team getting me ready for air. And I made it.

One more day to go before vacation. If I can just keep my mouth shut and my feet firmly planted on the ground, I might live to enjoy it.

What terrible fate awaits her next? Is she to be kidnapped by a crazed fan who writes a blog and thinks he can play Underdog? Tune in next time, or better yet, read her blog at the site below:

http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/

==============================================================

ON YOUTUBE: ALL THE GREAT OPERAS IN TEN MINUTES. By request from my Mom. Here’s a very funny film by Kim Thompson that many of us got to see in school or on the Bravo network. If you like opera (and you have a sense of humor), you’ll like this clip. If you DON’T like opera (and you have a sense of humor), you’ll like this clip. WARNING: By YouTube standards, it’s a long one. If you have a slow web connection, like yours truly, I suggest that you download three minutes one day, then three minutes the next day, et cetra. You’ll find it in my favorites folder on the front page of my YouTube page:

http://www.youtube.com/sesameguy2000

============================================================

One year anniversary; Meredith Vieira

Has it really been a year? Wow. One year ago, these Santas crossed this “Abbey Road”-style street to herald the beginning of my blog site. That means it’s been about 365 days. I’m sure there haven’t been 365 postings. I don’t think there have even been 65 postings. Blogging is fun, but it sure isn’t easy. Real life always takes precedence for me over my Internet musings, so I focus on that first and blog when I have the time. But one reward is certainly the fun I get from sharing my thoughts and information with others. Thank you for reading, and for your patience.

Speaking of Abbey Road, blogging friend and Beatles fan Fred Hembeck has written a review of the new Beatles “Love” album. Short version: He loved it. :) You can read his review at this site:

http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?p=2722

==========================================================================

Now I know that some of you out there may not believe in Santa Claus. One common argument is, “How is it possible for one man to fly all around the world in one night and deliver all those presents? One person can’t do that much!” Well, allow me to introduce you to Meredith Vieira. You may already know her from her work on “The View,” “The Today Show”, “60 Minutes” and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Meredith is also a mother of three and - get ready - she’s got a blog! A BLOG! Folks, if a woman as busy as Meredith can find the time to BLOG, then as far as I’m concerned, Santa can deliver all those presents! Dang, is there anything Meredith CAN’T do? We’ve seen her sing, tap dance and- hey, that’s right, she sings! Hmmm. She’d make a fine Christine from “Phantom.” Matt Louer could be the Phantom, and Willard Scott & Gene Shalit could be Andre and Fermin! Hello, NBC?

Meredith even answers some questions from readers at her site. Here’s one:

How do you like your new job compared to The View?

Posted by jkruger95@msn.com on November 18 at 07:41pm

It’s kind of like apples and oranges. I loved doing The View but it was time for a change and this a perfect fit for me right now because it combines much of the free spirited nature of The View with serious journalism—something I did for 20 years. The biggest change is working with a man, after being surrounded by four vaginas for nine years.

Now comes my request - if anybody out there has episodes of “The View” from late 2000, please e-mail me for a possible video trade. I’m looking for a few episodes from just after Meredith lost the World Series bet with Barbara Walters. I have a few clips of Meredith to trade with as well. You can reach me at my new e-mail address (please take out the “nosp” from the e-mail or it won‘t get through): sesarognosp@yahoo.com.

Here’s the link to Meredith’s blog: http://meredithtoday.ivillage.com/entertainment/

==========================================================================