I watched, last week, along with many other Americans, as the media treated us to a pre-shuttle launch John Glenn retrospective that probably would have made me nauseous had I not limited how much of it I watched.  As it was, I learned just enough to actually want to care.  Because even putting my general admiration for the space program aside, what happened this week was truly a marvelous experience.  And no, it wasn't about seeing a well-oiled PR machine at work for something I do actually believe in (Like, don't even talk to me if you are arrogant enough to believe we are the only sentient beings Out There, so duh, of course we need a space program, not to mention a break from the Prop 5 and Prop 10 commercials fueled by the incessant whining of big casino and tobacco interests.)

Nor was it about watching a 77 year old go into space.  Those who resist modern fact and continue to insist that  senior citizens who keep themselves as in the kind of shape John Glenn did still fall into the "useless" category are idiots if they think those seniors are limited in what they can accomplish.

I learned that when I watched a documentary about Leni Riefenstahl, film director for the Nazis, a female Arnold Schwartzenegger in German silents of the 20's prior to her directing movies for Hitler in the 30's.  Even though I have little respect for her otherwise, damned if she didn't get her scuba license so she could film underwater when she was in her late 80's.  (They won't let you take the test if you're over 65 years old, so she not only had to pass the test but pass for 20 years younger.)  The human body is the ultimate example of the "use it or lose it" philosophy.  Glenn claimed his right to reenter the space program by being prepared so that when luck brought opportunity his way, he was ready to embrace it and go with his flow.  It's the same principle which guides athletes to lead their teams to championship victories that they have earned and allows actors to walk home with Academy Awards that they truly deserve.

For those who say Glenn's presence on the shuttle was a political payoff, I say, I think it was a payoff on a much higher level than even the farthest reaches of our government.  Universal retribution.  Hope. Faith.  Not Charity.   Government, however powerful, can not control Flow.  I know the other members of the crew were probably pissed off that he was getting all of the attention.  To them I say, imagine having your first orgasm when you're 16 and then not having sex again until you're in your forties, even though you are forced to listen to all of your friends tell their stories about all of the fun they're having.   Finding the wait a little difficult?  Yes?  Good, then shut up and get in the shuttle.

Imagine, for a moment, that you are he.  It is 1962.  You, along with most other Americans live in a naieve time where you think the Russians have their act together enough to kill you and everyone you care about--and you are a key figure in the plan to keep that from happening.  Added to that is the fact that your role in this plan entails you getting into what really amounts to  a barely tested vehicle designed with limited technology, though you of course receive it with the spin of the time which insists that it is the best we have, a true technological masterpiece.  Your vehicle is based on a fireball that is going to hurtle you outside of this planet into a realm which no other being has ever entered.  The rush of excitement  and the nobility of the willingness to sacrifice helps you face the possibility of death.  But you don't die--you succeed.  You are the first American, truly "on top of the world".  You are hailed as a Hero, but that doesn't even come close to touching the reality of the journey you have just experienced.  The rush of a lifetime.

Problem is, when America decides to take the next step and visit the moon, actually touch soil that is not of this Earth, you're not allowed to go.  Seems you're too much of an icon, too important to lose.  Somewhere in there, you understand why that's true.  But it doesn't make you want to go any less.  You are earth-bound with the hero status you didn't ask for, and denied the journey that actually tugged at your heart.  Being practical, you go on with your life and serve the public in the ways you can, and realize how lucky you were for that one experience of a lifetime.  You're a successful man, a Senator, a husband, a father.  What more could you want?  The answer is always there in the back of your head, no matter how hard you try not to focus on it.  What if you could go again........

I salute John Glenn for serving as a living example to Americans that holding onto dreams is a worthwhile pursuit--even for an American hero who has supposedly had it all.   He is proof that a healthy life combined with a huge dose of patience and planning can meet to have wonderful things occur at any stage of our human existence.  I thank you, John Glenn, for allowing us the chance to share in a glorious moment of a larger-than-life dream transforming into a reality, felt strongest by you I'm sure, but impacting millions nonetheless.  Whether it is karmic payback for a life well lived in this time or the last, I am happy for you that you got your one more moment, if not  actually in the sun, at least a few hundred thousand miles closer to it.  Today it was your turn...tomorrow....who knows...but for now, just savoring the possibility of destiny fulfilled is enough.

We'll deal with tomorrows tomorrow, and for now, just smile at today.