Streaks, Setbacks, and Spaceflight
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" data-medium-file="https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c..." data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c..." src="https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c..." alt="space rocket launching" class="wp-image-26078" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 1880w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 400w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 550w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 768w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/jamierubin.net/wp-c... 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comI try to walk twice a day: once first thing in the morning, then again around lunchtime. I do a pretty good job, especially in the mornings. I’d guess that I manage to get out 330-340 days each year. Even when we travel, I get my early morning walks in. It was on one such walk in Budapest this past summer that I visited the birthplace of John von Neumann.
Weather is the most common reason I don’t get out in the morning. I will walk in the rain, in the snow, in the blistering heat. I draw the line when two negative weather conditions converge. Windy cold, windy rain, etc. Being sick is a less common reason for skipping my morning walk. A mild sickness won’t keep me in, but a few weeks back, the flu hit me, and for three days I didn’t get out for a walk. Then, the weather turned cold, and being sick, my motivation was low, and there was about a week when I was not getting out for my walks.
I listen to books while I walk. It’s one of the things that motivates me to get out there. It so happened that a few days ago, I started a new book first thing in the morning as I set out for a walk. It was still cold, but I had to get out there, and I was looking forward to this book. The book was Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham. The book came out last May and I usually gobble up books about the space program. I hesitated only because I lived through the Challenger disaster. I was in school when it happened, and while I didn’t see it live on TV like some of my friends did, I remember explaining to them (not having seen the accident) that they could have performed an ATO (Abort to Orbit) and survived. The news that evening set me straight and I think I read everything about it in the papers in the days that followed.
With a book like this, there is always a risk that the writer won’t handle the material well. I needn’t have worried. The book set just the right tone, engaged me from the start, and made me walk slowly, rather than my usual quick pace: slowly, because it meant I could listen longer.
Since I started the book, I haven’t missed a walk, morning or afternoon. I look forward to more of the book. As I write this, I’m about halfway through, and already I’m eager to get up for my morning walk to get through more of the book. And a little bummed. The book will eventually end, and it is always tough to follow a great book. The rebound book never quite lives up. Also, we turn the clocks forward on Saturday and that means it will be dark again at 6am when I head out. At least for a little while.
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