15 years ago I was in elementary school. As part of the gifted and talented program, each week I was bussed into a local community college along with the other students in the district program to take classes of interest. I always chose the space science classes when possible. Growing up, I lived near NASA mission control and in that area it was not uncommon for your neighbor, classmate's parent or teacher's husband to be an astronaut.
One particular class I took required an extra bus ride to another building. Looking back, I can't recall if it was a branch of an aerospace company or some sort of research facility, but there were three or four adults that taught new and exciting topics each week. One week was shooting model rockets we assembled, one week was theories for dinosaur extinction, another week was learning about wavelengths and how our eyes registers light and color, but the thing I remembered most about that course was each week during lunch my grandmother would pack me a tuna fish sandwich and the teachers would wheel in a tv and vcr so we could watch Carl Sagan's Cosmos series as we ate.
Carl Sagan and tuna fish sandwiches for a whole semester.
We sighed a frustrated "not again" sigh when the tv and vcr were rolled out as we turned our attention to which kid's parents packed them gushers. One time on outspoken classmate wished him dead so the videos would stop. Our teachers informed us Carl was actually very sick at the moment.
I along with the rest of the class did not appreciate Carl. His monotone voice. His gentile, slow pace. His ability to make interesting topics that would have held my interest in a Schoolhouse Rock video, sound like a bore. I did not have much appreciation for shows that lacked colorful animated characters, songs and gags. I wasn't ready for Carl.
15 years have passed and I am ready to appreciate one of the most visible scientists of our time. Here's to you Carl.
RIP Carl Sagan
December 20, 1996
December 20, 1996
Wow. Love this story.
ReplyDeleteSteph