The SoapBoxers

The following is a remembrance of the United States Space Program as I have lived it. I will restrain from naming specific people except historic figures and the actual crews of missions I have witnessed or supported. My qualifications for writing this memoir are; a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas, three tours as a Co-operative engineer at the NASA Johnson Space Center, and nine years as an engineer supporting the Space Shuttle and Space Station programs for what eventually became the United Space Alliance (USA) on the Space Transportation System Operations Contract (STSOC). For those who are interested, technical summaries of each Space Shuttle flight can be found at the NASA web site. All NASA manned missions can be viewed in the archive.

My third and final coop tour was with a different group within the same division at NASA. I moved to a hardware group to get some experience actually designing things. I shared an office with several other engineers. One of these engineers had the duty to make sure each astronaut had a fully functioning calculator for each trip. They used Hewlett Packard 41C calculators, the best on the market at that time. He made sure each one had fresh batteries and extra batteries in the carrying case. It just so happened that I had an HP41C for my college work. Unethical thoughts raced through my mind as I looked at that box of perfectly good batteries that could never be used for another space flight. Either too bad for me, or luckily for me, the calculators used by the astronauts were specially made for extra long life batteries, batteries that would not fit in my “normal” calculator.

I was allowed to work on many small projects. On mission STS-51B (the third flight of 1985 after STS-51C and STS-51D) with the Space Lab as the payload, there was a concern about noise. This Space Lab did not have additional space for the astronauts to move around in and there was a recording system inside the shuttle that had loud fans for cooling. Sound absorbing foam was put around the cabinet hold the recorder, but it’s location at the passage between the upper and lower decks meant that there was nothing on one panel. I worked on a foam insert for that panel that would not interfere with the passage between the decks. I got to watch them freeze my foam in liquid nitrogen so that it could be milled like a piece of wood. I wrote the instructions for installing before flight and removal after flight. Even though only a few people knew what I had done, I had a real feeling of accomplishment.

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I also made molds to mass produce sensors for measuring the volume of blood in the astronaut’s legs. The theory was that during launch, a certain about of blood rushed to the lower extremities, the legs. If the change of volume of the leg were measured, the danger to that astronaut could be gauged. It was a simple system with a single transmitter taped to one side of the leg and two receivers on the other side. Sound waves could accurately measure the distance and using the assumption that the leg was a cylinder, the volume change could be measured. Up until I was asked to make the molds, these sensors were assembled at the University of Kentucky. As the Astronaut corps grew and the need for many more sensors came about, the professor at UK opted out of the building business. Again, my engineering curiosity was satisfied as I watched a ceramic die eat away at an aluminum block in an electrically charged oil bath.

Another project involved making a laundry basket to put all of the loose articles in until it was time to clean up. It was a simple net with a tension gap (two tight ropes that could be pushed apart to get your hand in that would snap back to closed when you pull your hand out). It only flew once. It seems that a lot of things were put into it during the flight rather than being put away. So much so, that there was a lot of work to do before re-entry to get all of it stored properly. Astronauts are just like the rest of us kids, we don’t want to clean up when there is fun stuff to do.

The neatest part of this last activity was that I got to work closely with Astronaut Judy Resnik. I really liked working with Dr. Resnik. She was always helpful in our efforts, recognizing that I was still a student, but that I did have some experience that I could leverage into completing tasks and working independently. I was saddened when she was lost on STS-51L, commonly known as the Challenger Disaster. I knew other members of that mission as well. Their loss was a loss for the entire space program.

I was in school when the Challenger was lost. I had an orbital mechanics professor who was rather abrupt, as his German upbringing would make him. He would come into class, set his brief case on top of the pile of homework we had stacked on the desk and start teaching. Just before the bell, he would open that brief case, put our graded homework on the other corner of the desk and put our newest effort in his brief case. If you were not early, you homework was not graded. On the morning of January 28, 1986, the professor walked in without his brief case and just stood in front of the desk. After a few moments, showing emotion we did not think he had, he stated “Seven people I consider friends have just died.” Then he walked out and we all went looking for a television to figure out what had happened. The University of Texas had a contract with NASA to validate all of the orbital mechanics calculation for each flight, and our professor was the leader of that project. He had met and worked with every astronaut who had ever flown in space. He was right, we had lost seven friends.

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Space Shuttle Memories – Back at NASA

Jul 19

I returned to NASA for a second Coop tour to the same group I had originally worked with. This time I focused on a satellite retrieval mission, STS-51A. While I was at school, NASA had changed the numbering system for Space Shuttle Missions. They changed right after STS-9, which could have suggested that they did not want double digits, but the new system used double digits plus letters. The coops joked that it was to avoid the unlucky number 13. In fact we hung up a sign on building 13 reading 41C, the new designation for the original mission 13. NASA announced that the numbering change was to remove the question of order and accommodate a second launch site. The numbering system used the last digit of the year, the launch site number, and a letter giving the sequence for that year. Site #1 was Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center on the east coast of Florida. Site #2 was Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

This system does not really hold up well. Using the last digit of the year suggests that you only plan on flying (or using this numbering system) for ten years. There was never a Space Shuttle mission launched from California. The order was merely shifted from a numeric to an alphabetic sequence.

So we had a new numbering system, and we were trying to get as many missions flown per year as possible. I was working on the planned first flight of 1985. The idea of this mission was retrieve two satellites that had failed to reach orbit. This was a great thrill. I was working side by side with old time Space Engineers and Astronauts. We designed adapters to grab the satellites and secure them in the shuttle bay to bring them back to Earth. Here is a summary of the planned events. An Astronaut (Joe Allen or Dale Gardener) would fly out to the satellite on the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), a jet pack, with a probe, called the stinger. The stinger was basically a toggle bolt that would be put up into the failed rocket nozzle and clamped on so that the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (RMS), the arm, could grab it. After it was grabbed by the arm, the astronaut would break loose of the stinger and return to help put a bridge over the top of the satellite to give another hand hold for the arm. Once the bridge was on, the arm would change locations to hold the satellite from the top while astronauts would put an adapter on the bottom then the whole thing would be put into the payload bay. The activity would be repeated for the second satellite.

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Let’s go back to the start of the activity. An astronaut would fly up to the satellite and put a probe into the rocket nozzle. This is the business end of a rocket that failed to ignite when commanded to do so, but could still be “live”. An astronaut’s space suit is designed to keep air in and enough of the hostile environment of space out long enough for him or her to perform some activity outside the relative safety of their ship, it is not designed to take a direct blast of a rocket.

The team designed all of the hardware needed. I provided clearance drawings to make sure all of the equipment would fit and the tasks could be performed. I also helped develop some of the training material. My name is now part of the NASA permanent record as Dale commented during training (I paraphrase) “there isn’t as much room as Martin’s drawings showed.”

Not all went as planned. I was back in school by the time the launch occurred. Another Coop finished the task and gathered some mementoes for me that I have framed and hanging in my man room. I watched as Joe caught the first satellite as planned, but then things went poorly. There was an appendage on the satellite that we had failed to account for that prevented the use of the bridge. This meant that Joe had to hold the satellite while Dale put on the adapter. Joe is possibly the smallest male astronaut (small in stature, not in character). In space you can move immense objects, it is just a matter of overcoming momentum very slowly. Joe had to hold on as Dale tightened bolt after bolt so that the satellite could be secured in the payload bay. It was amazing to watch and more amazing that they succeeded. It went so well that NASA chose to capture the second satellite even knowing that the adapter would have to be put on manually again.

It was an honor to be part of that mission. The crew and other members of the team were wonderful to work with. We all looked at the task and new we could do it, from the Ph.D. to the Navy Captain to the coop. We even designed t-shirts for the team, a catcher’s mitt extended from the space shuttle payload bay catching a satellite. This was also my first experience with quasi-secrecy. Although the mission was not classified, we did not want the whole world to know every detail of our efforts. Some of my drawings ended up in Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine. Outer space blue covered the header line with my name, the date and my NASA division, but it was definitely my drawings. In the article, details of our discussion were also revealed. This really annoyed the team leader, but nothing could be done about it.

Articles in this series:

Space Shuttle Memories – A Dream Realized

Jul 18

July 18, 2011

My dream of working on the Space program finally came true when I was given the opportunity to participate in the Cooperative Engineering program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This opportunity came as I sat in the Cooperative Engineering Office at the University of Texas. I went to work in the Man Machine Interface Division. I was there just after the launch of the first American woman, Dr. Sally Ride, into space on STS-7.

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The Man-Machine Interface Division worked on the human factors considerations of space flight. We used a computer program called Panel Layout and Integrated Design (PLAID). This software package allowed cutting edge depiction of hardware by drawing hidden line removed perspective models. This was black lines on white paper. The worst graphics on computer games today would put that package to shame. We typed in all of the vertices and arc data and previewed the drawings on a Techtronics display, green lines that required a button push to clear the screen when you wanted to draw the next picture. We provided drawings for the astronauts to see what would be in the payload bay and what they could observe. These drawings were used for training and to help managers and customers visualize what was going to happen during the mission. We also supported the Space Station proposals that were presented during the Reagan years.

I primarily worked on STS-8, which at the time was cutting edge because it was the launch of the first African American into space. Today, that seems odd, since we as a culture have moved so far away from physical looks rather than ability defining the opportunities presented. Guion Bluford is one of the nicest, most optimistic and most encouraging people I have ever met. During this time, I met several astronauts as well as people who had been involved in many of the earlier manned flights.

The next mission was STS-9. The primary payload was the Spacelab, a laboratory in the payload bay. Since not the activities would be in the lab, there was little need for training pictures of the payload bay. This is when we really got involved in the Space Station concept effort. We worked on the interior designs of the various modules as well as overall structure. The module layouts were to validate that all of the equipment and personnel would fit and function. The overall structure pictures were for training, what would the astronauts see as they approach the station during assembly. Of course those initial concepts are just a memory of or hint of what is in the final designs that have been assembled. I went back to school and dreamed of making a huge impact on the space program and bragging to my class mates about how cool my Co-op experience had been.

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Space Shuttle Memories – A Boy’s Dream

Jul 18

Editor’s note: a few weeks ago, Martin Kelly and I were discussing the end of the space shuttle program. Both of us have a fascination with space exploration, although his knowledge of the topic makes mine seem miniscule in comparison. During the discussion, it was suggested (I forget by whom) that he write a series of articles about his memories of the space shuttle and his own experiences working alongside NASA personnel – to run during the days of the final mission. I now turn the floor over to Martin. – Kosmo.

Although I was old enough to watch, I do not remember the early missions of NASA. I was born in 1964, which put me after the Mercury and Gemini missions. My first solid memory of the United States Space Program was being woken up by my parents to watch the first moon landing. It was a grainy black and white picture and I was mesmerized. I stayed up watching long after my brothers and sister went back to bed and even after my mother and father fell back to sleep. It was June of 1969, I was almost five years old, and I was sure that I was going to be an astronaut.

I watched every broadcast from NASA, every special on PBS and read every magazine and newspaper article I could find. I credit the space program with both my ability to read and my continuing passion for reading. I was fascinated that the moon was mostly nickel and wanted to know what that metal could be used for. I wanted to know how the astronauts trained. I wanted to see the next mission, but mostly I wanted to know what we would do next.

When I say “we” I mean the United States of America along with a few trusted allies; the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This was the 1970’s, the cold war and Vietnam. The Soviet Union was the enemy at every level, including space, the only exception being Pavel Chekov on Star Trek, and I was not too sure about him either. The Apollo-Soyuz project was a necessary evil, but was a win for us as the Astronauts piloted their vehicle with the adaptor module attached to dock with the Soyuz, the Soviet Cosmonauts could not get it done. This effort along with Skylab seemed to be a pull back from the great reach to the moon, and in a way it was.

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Werner von Braun had a space travel dream that he brought with him from Germany. He wanted a space station to launch other missions to the moon, mars and even further. That plan would save significant costs in energy by starting from Earth orbit rather than from sea level. The plan was temporarily bypassed to get to the moon before the Soviets. Now that the race was won, the old school space men tried to drive back to that plan. The problem is that with the race won, the funding was reduced. At the same time the von Braun crowd were gathering the leftovers of the Apollo program to get the first American Space Station in place, the politicians were throwing every penny they could find into a giant leap in technology that would become the Space Shuttle.

Many people believed at the time and still believe today that the Shuttle was supposed to save the Skylab. Even if the Shuttle had launched in time to rendezvous with the Skylab, there was never any adapter designed or funded that would have allowed attachment to or boost of the Skylab. The Shuttle program was separate from and competing for funding with the Skylab program. I watched all of this haggling through high school. It helped to shape my political values and drove my continued interest in space. If it were not for the un-manned NASA activities during the same time period (Pioneer, Voyager and Viking) I could have become disheartened with the political intrigue and apparent lack of vision in the U.S. space program. The problem that I saw was that there was no continuation plan as the Apollo program shut down.

I was almost out of high school and planning a career as an astronomer when the first space shuttle launch occurred. I had watched the drop tests using the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which had no engines and was lifted and dropped by a modified Boeing 474 jumbo jet. I still do not understand why Star Trek groupies pushed so hard to name that vehicle Enterprise since it would never fly in space, but they did and they succeeded. The drop tests were interesting from an engineering point of view, but seeing the flame and watching the Columbia launch into space was just breathtaking. Many of my readers may not understand just how much better television quality is now compared to the early 1980’s but that was still dramatically better than what was available twelve years earlier when man first stepped on the moon.

The first Shuttle launch was a first in many ways. The biggest first was that a vehicle was launched with men on board with out completing an unmanned test. When John Young and Robert Crippen climbed on board, they were indeed sitting on top of a bomb on national, or rather world wide, television. This could have been the single bravest act ever captured on film. The mission was only two days, but it was considered a complete success. The Space Shuttle was the most complex machine ever built and it worked the first time.

The engineering part of my brain really enjoyed the experience of first flight. The adventurer in me protested that we were limiting ourselves to near Earth orbit activities. Where was the return to the Moon, manned flight to Mars, the colonization of the Moon? It seemed that all our frontier spirit had been dropped for technological gadgetry. Entering college, I was still looking at Astronomy as my field of choice, but the scholarship money was in engineering. The opportunities to become an Astronaut were actually expanding as NASA grew the corps. For me, the opportunities were limited. My eyesight was such that the rules for becoming an Astronaut would have to be really relaxed for me to be selected.

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Take a Vacation or Not?

Jul 11

July 11, 2011

Ramblings from Martin
Economy, Vacation

This year, many people are choosing to not take a vacation. This decision is based on economic or perceived economic concerns. The price of gasoline is high, but no higher than last year. The job market is tight, but no tighter than last year. The cost of traveling, food, lodging and points of interest have not gone up appreciatively, so why the reluctance to go on vacation?

There are several reasons. Since the economy is stagnant, many people are more stressed. They feel that they cannot be away from a job they have without jeopardizing that job. This cycle is of course self inflicted pain. A vacation is exactly what you need when you are under a lot of stress. People are concerned that the economy will not start growing for a long time, so they want to save as much as possible. This may be true, but drastically changing your spending/saving habits just means when the economy does start growing again, you are going to spend yourself into a hole. As with anything in life, moderation is the best path. Then there are the people who feel guilty about taking a vacation. Either they know someone who is unemployed or think that you might know someone who is and should share the distress.

The biggest influences seem to be external. The continuous bombardment of news stories about how bad things are combined with the political advertisements blaming all of the woes of the world on various office holders provides a background of economic despair.

The dry truth is that the United States and most of the World are currently in a trough of economic stagnation. Economics is a cyclical beast with admittedly some influence from political decisions. We can only be sure that things will change, but we cannot be sure of what direction the change will take. When a large portion of a society drops into a “save at all costs” mode, we have seen that a prolonged period of slow growth results. When a society goes on a spending binge, we see dramatic fluctuations in the economy. That is about the extent of the “sure” things in economics.

So when considering vacation plans, be moderate in your decisions. If you situation requires that you do something different this year, then by all means make an adjustment. If you have an opportunity for momentary extravagance, then why not do it? Even if you just do something locally, to get away from you routine, the benefits will out weigh the costs. I recommend something, anything really, to break the stress and live life.

Celebrate Independence Day

Jul 04

July 4, 2011

Ramblings from Martin
Independence Day

This is the day that many kids of all ages wait for each summer. The excitement of cook outs, parades, and fireworks are anticipated and enjoyed by entire families and communities. I am lucky enough to live in a smaller town, where the parades are more intimate, the festivals are filled with friends and children I know, and the cooking is great!

I am a boy scout and cub scout leader, so I try to include some teaching with events and celebrations, especially when attached to historical the basic identity of our country. First, this is the celebration of the independence of the United States from the United Kingdom. The significance of this is not to bash the British, they have been friends and allies with the United States through out our history and during some of the most difficult and dangerous days we have faced. The significance is in the action of strongly independent and self sufficient people declaring their separation from a culture of class and obligation based on birth rather than skill.

The documents that were left to us by those strong willed people still resonate today. Americans resist the idea of an elite who have some right to lead, ordain or command. Americans have always been ready to fight, even among themselves when they feel the cause is just. They are willing to sacrifice treasure and life for others, and except for the period of “Manifest Destiny” without the thought of territorial gain. You can see this resolve in many of the wars the Unites States has participated in, from the World Wars, to intervention in Haiti, to placing our service men and women between hostile factions. This is not to say that the United States has always been blameless and pure. The actions taken against the Native Americans in general, and specific un-punished activities by government and civilians occur, but are not on balance the rule.

There are so many checks and balances to keep our nation on the ideal path or at least close to it. You can see the corrections from the peace and equality rallies of the 1960s, the anti-terror and anti-war rallies of the early 2000s, and the current round of protests by the TEA parties. I point out to my scouts that we have no less than four amendments to the Constitution to try to protect people of African decent (I am not kidding: XIII, XIV, XV, XXIV). First to free them from slavery, then to protect their right to vote, over and over again. It may take the United States a while to get things right, but eventually we seem to at least get close.

So as you burn bratwurst on the grill and eat too much cherry pie, consider what we are celebrating. As you watch the fireworks displays, consider the risks and challenges that our founders faces to get us where we are today. And most especially, remember those people who have through the years, worked so diligently to keep you safe and free. You will see them in the parades, service men and women, firemen and police, politicians, students, senior citizens, immigrants, farmers, and civil servants. Know your Constitution and celbrate our freedom and success. This is a freedom and success to be enjoyed by every citizen and guest.

Delta Unfairly Criticized Over Baggage Fees For Troops?

Jun 27

June 27, 2011

Ramblings from Martin
Delta, Military

1 Comment

Last month, Delta airlines got a lot of heat for charging service men and women for their fourth checked bag when they are flying home. They had already waived the fee for the first three bags, but their system and policy was that a fourth bag was $200. Delta quickly changed that policy and went further to waive the baggage fees for family members traveling with service men and women. This decision was made to recover from the bad publicity that surrounded the initial exposure of these fees via a YouTube video made by some service men as they were flying home on board a Delta flight.

So far, everything in this story is just fine. An airline had a policy to charge for baggage as is allowed via free commerce. Some service men complained about the fees, exercising their rights of free speech. The general public and the news media supported the service men, exercising their rights of free speech and freedom of the press. Delta dropped the fees to avoid loss of customers, again exercising free commerce.

Last week, Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA) introduced a resolution in the United States Congress to stop the fees. To quote Fox News who paraphrased the representative “those commercial airlines that refuse to do so could have their contracts reevaluated”. The resolution calls for “all airlines to provide military personnel with priority boarding, waivers of all baggage fees and priority seat preference when available”. I find this appalling. The federal government is trying to establish what fees a company can charge for services by fiat rather than negotiations and basically get something for free.

The United States military has plenty of airplanes and other vehicles to use to get our service men and women deployed and returned to their homes. The choice has been made to use commercial airlines. This is a good choice, but comes with responsibilities that the military has failed to fulfill. The United States Military has an obligation to negotiate fares and fees with the airlines for the services rendered. They (the United States Military) have the obligation to get our service people home, not the airlines. If the fares and fees have not been negotiated, it is unacceptable (to me) for the government to then strong arm and entire industry into un-compensated service.

I agree that our service men and women should not be paying these fees. I also do not think that these fees should be paid for by the airlines and therefore their non-military customers. The government has sent these men and women into a deployment, they should get them home. The government is more than willing to shell out millions of dollars to a fake Taliban representative, but skimps on the baggage fees of our military personnel.

If we take this situation to the extreme, why not pass a resolution that states that airlines must provide free seats to military returning or deploying. Now when they get to their destination, the taxis should provide free rides to their houses. And why not throw in free meals along the way. It is one thing when companies choose to give benefits to military families as part of their image building, it is quite another when they are forced to provide by government command.

Work Life Balance

Jun 13

June 13, 2011

Ramblings from Martin
Work

Work – Home Life balance is a buzz phase in today’s business world. What does it actually mean? For a company, it is the idea that employees need away time to be more productive. That idea is preached and repeated at every major corporation. The problem is that to stand out as an achiever, the employee still has to sacrifice family time to perform those extra tasks that cannot fit into a normal work week. This truth has a very negative effect on one specific class of workers, those who are raising children.

Early in the average career, before long term relationships and children, the only competition for time is entertainment. Entertainment includes the various mating rituals of young people as they try to pair up, for a night or a lifetime. Late in a career, after children have moved on to their own lives, most couples are actually looking for activities apart from each other. I am not suggesting that children hold all relationships together, it is just that by the time the kids are gone, most couples have matured enough that time apart is not detrimental.

Those people who are early in their relationships, especially when children are involved, are under so many more stresses; the stress of developing the relationship, the stress of child rearing, the stress of financial insecurity. Most people believe they are giving the most in a relationship, much more than their partner. Any other distraction only magnifies that perceived disparity of effort. When those stresses or life choice and events result in a single parent situation, the stresses are only worse. There is no support and yet the employer still expects the effort that will make you stand out among your peers.

Most corporations truly believe that they are helping in the work – home life balance. They have training, support seminars, even policies in place. The reality is that the final decisions cannot be based on how well you family is doing, but on the individual contributions to the corporation. Many people believe that corporations have a civic duty to take care of their employees. The best way for a corporation to fulfill that duty is to remain a viable company. That goal may actually be detrimental to individuals, but overall is beneficial to most of the workers.

I personally am in the category of children moving on. I have the capability of travelling whenever the need arises. I can work weekends or evening without causing a scheduling catastrophe at home. As a result of this freedom, I am being given opportunities at work that were never available before. I am also trying to help the younger people I work with understand that patience and dedication are the best ways to move up in a company. So many of the young people entering the work force today have an entitlement attitude. As a result, they believe that any single exceptional effort should be instantly rewarded and considered for all future compensation. Although instant compensation is available at most companies, these perks seldom add to the base compensation. Consistent excellence is what is rewarded in the long run. Patience is the trait, along with focus, that creates the best path to success.

Coming back to the work – home life balance, when an employee is in those stressful years of relationship building and child rearing, the aim is to do both. Work on your skills and you home life. Expect to grow, but do not expect to be the youngest Vice President. The consistency that you develop both in your career and in you home life will make you the most valuable employee that you company has when you hit your stride.

Summer Is Finally Here

Jun 06

June 6, 2011

Ramblings from Martin
Summer

Summer is finally here

After reading Kosmo’s article on politics, I was tempted to jump into that fray, but refrained. The reason is two fold, in my opinion we have enough political commentators on the site (Kosmo was just filling in) and I have a much better topic to discuss; Summer.

I know that astronomically, summer will not be here for several more weeks, but for me summer starts when the pools open and the famers markets become city festivals. I live in the Midwest, so sometimes summer starts early, sometimes late. This year we had a teaser in April followed by a cold and rainy May, but the first week of June is warm and beautiful.

As with any warm up with high humidity, we have had our share of weather, luckily not nearly as bad as the people of Joplin Missouri have had to deal with. Hard rains, hail, even some smaller tornados have passed out way already. This Sunday, I got up early to mow the lawn and was not alone. There is something reassuring about a peaceful Sunday morning with neighbors all sharing in the simple tasks of keeping there yards neat and attractive.

My wife joined me, pulling weeds, those volunteer plants that grow were you do not want them, and bringing me water when I slowed down. By noon, it was too hot for this fat old man to continue with activities out in the sun, but the tree shade provided plenty of opportunities to stay with nature. A quick trip to the Ice Cream stand took us by the local pool, absolutely packed with kids and adults.

The yard work meant we missed the farmer’s market, but we saw some of it on the weather report. Our city has a larger down town farmer’s market once a month. There are street performers, prepared food, crafts and farm produce. We can get some of the best pork, beef and chicken, not to mention fruits, berries and vegetables beyond count. The varieties will change as the year progresses with the largest in the Fall, but this first big one is definitely one of the best.

Now is not the time to argue politics, now is the time to enjoy the lives we have. The kids are out of school, vacations are being planned, and it is finally warm enough to go outside without a coat. It is finally summer.

Memorial Day

May 30

May 30, 2011