What I learned on this trip was that a man 39-years old could have as much, (or I believe even more) fun and excitement than a 12-year old, when it comes to the space program.

I was surprised to see how the young people of today didn't realize that flying to the moon, orbiting the earth, and walking in space wasn't like driving a car or walking down the street. I've always known that NASA has had to battle the stigma that it was commonplace to travel in space. It was also a surprise that some of the kids weren't as excited as I was about seeing everything, until they got there. Then the intrigue and wonderment of it all came to life. When they walked out of the auditorium and saw the sheer mass of the SATURN V., seeing how thin mylar was, standing next to Jim Lovell's space suit, and seeing the gold visor, is when the excitement built. Then when we went to IMAX Theater to see what could possibly happen in the future, like living on another planet, the "dream" came back to life in this young generation ("X" group). "X" now stood for eXcited and eXuberated, and they all want to be the next Lovell, Shepard, etc.

I was asked by a few kids why this part of the trip stirred such deep emotions in me, and I didn't even have to stop and think about it. I told them that when I was a kid their age, that these men (Glenn, Lovell, Girssom, etc.) were heroes to me, and heroes in real life. They were, and still are the modern day Columbus, Lewis & Clark, Magellan. Their image made me, as a kid, want to grow up and be clean cut, intelligent, and adventurous. They appeared not be afraid of the unknown, but respect it and want to shake it's hand and say "may we, the human race, walk with you."

My father died when I was about these kids' age (11-12 years old). I had (and still have) a very loving and strong-willed mother who led by example. I had some hard times, but with her leadership, the thought of what would my father think, and how would the astronauts react under certain pressures (and the image of John Wayne) kept me in focus.

This nation should rally around the space program of today - from the space shuttle, to Mars, and I would hope to the moon again (to finish playing that Par 5 and drive to the future). This might give the kids of the world something to look forward to - a reason to go on (which some seem to lack). NASA has always shown you will have failures in life, but it's what you make of them that determines how successful you will be. I take great pride in being able to share this trip with the young people of today, and share with them the EXCITMENT of the future, and to tell them they should expect (or demand) our nation to continue this expedition. Great things have already come from it: computers, medicine advancements, growing plants without soil, and simple things like Velcro and Tang! What we do as Americans, we can take pride in knowing it has and will help every person on this planet. As Neil Armstrong said, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

"We came in search of knowledge from our forefathers' dreams."