I Can Hit It Farther

Al Is On The Surface. And It's Been A Long Way, But We're Here.

Miles And Miles And Miles.

I'd Like To Say I Was Smart Enough To Finish Six Grades In Five Years, But I Think Perhaps The Teacher Was Just Glad To Get Rid Of Me.

I Woke Up An Hour Before I Was Supposed To, And Started Going Over The Mental Checklist: Where Do I Go From Here, What Do I Do? I Don't Remember Eating Anything At All, Just Going Through The Physical, Getting Into The Suit. We Practiced That So Much, It Was All Rote.

Later, In The Early Teens, I Used To Ride My Bike Every Saturday Morning To The Nearest Airport, Ten Miles Away, Push Airplanes In And Out Of The Hangars, And Clean Up The Hangars.