"When I do not want to say things in real life I often say them here." — Mimi Smartypants
What was (and might have been)
Who’s the guy running behind her? That’s race official Jock Semple, trying to tackle her and pull her out of the marathon, yelling “Get the hell out of my race and give me that number!” The men running with Katherine blocked him and she was able to finish the race. Click here for the full […]
I love the jet fighters of the 1950s. Built for speed, sleek and swept-back, they were the embodiment of the fantasy planes of comic book superheroes. The North American F-107, an orphan fighter-bomber abandoned by the USAF, embodies the go-fast exuberance of the period. The F-107 began life in 1953 at North American Aviation as a drawing-board […]
When I started conducting walking tours at the Pima Air & Space Museum a few months ago, I quickly realized I’d talk myself hoarse if I didn’t overcome a certain egotistical reluctance to use a portable voice amplifier and speaker. The museum had two but they were big heavy things, each one powered by eight […]
Oh lord, is it that time already? First the AARP membership, then the Social Security, now Medicare. My 65th birthday is rapidly approaching, and with it the transition from Tricare (the military’s medical insurance plan for retirees) to Medicare. Last month I applied for a Medicare card from the Social Security office. Today I drove […]
When I lead visitors on walking tours at the Pima Air & Space Museum, we start underneath a replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer. I think about Orville and Wilbur often. They showed us the way, and the F-15 Eagle I flew in the US Air Force used the same three-axis controls the Wrights developed […]
Pardon the mess. My head just exploded. Never mind his hurt fee-fees over the mean things Obama said, and the strong possibility he’s only saying this to hurt Rick Perry’s chances … this is Karl Rove himself saying it’s offensive to describe America as a Christian nation. Yes! For years now the Christian right, specifically […]
Pima Air & Space Museum is determined to keep me on my toes. PASM is closing the normal entrance area for a month, and guests will now be entering the main hangar from the gift shop. Before, my walking tour started underneath the replica of the Wright Flyer. Now it’ll start smack in the middle […]
Today’s Pima Air & Space Museum tours were interesting. I had a group of 14-15 schoolkids for the first tour, kids who mostly appeared to be around ten to eleven years old. There were three adults with them, so at least they were chaperoned. Nice kids, but easily distracted. The number one question of the […]