Things that go Boom

When Judy Garland sang, “Somewhere over the rainbow” I wonder if the pilots on the shuttle Atlantis were inspired when they were young by the lyrics, “Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow. Why, oh why can’t I?” Twelve days ago, Atlantis and six astronauts took off for one last mission and I missed it.

When we heard the loud boom and then a softer boom, in the pool this morning at 8:48 none of us recognized the sound of Atlantis reentering the atmosphere. In retrospect, it did sound like a sonic boom.

Seeing as we are at war and our current culture is on guard for terrorist attacks, one person said, “I hope I don’t see a mushroom cloud.” Another said, “Don’t even joke about that sort of thing.” I felt a cold chill run through my body. The lifeguard said, "My chair shook!" Then, someone said, “It must have been an explosion from a plant in Ft. Lauderdale.” Then we feared for the lives of those people. The pool was quiet. We stopped moving and looked up for smoke. The air seemed still.

When we found out that the sound was the space shuttle, we were relieved. We are truly blessed.
I am grateful Weston is a peaceful place somewhere over the rainbow.

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