SPACE:    ANOTHER TOURIST

I am just an ordinary guy and I’ve been everywhere man. Music cue: I’m the ‘Urban Spaceman’ baby; I can fly. I’m a supersonic guy. That sort of thing.

 In my latter years I like to think of myself somehow as more of a ‘Space Tourist’ and I am but a voyager in the broadest possible terms. I’m also gutted to be stopped at the last possible moment from boarding the Virgin Galactic and thus making history. Why? I’d really been getting into the swing especially after that amazing jamboree in the Mojave Desert when I was little ‘Mr Shitloads of money’, who managed to claim a place; or at least I thought I had. Welcome to Spaceport America- I was there with my arms wide open and loving it. Another first.

‘Test run,’ they’d said, ‘and definitely no passengers as yet.’

‘What?’

I felt like someone had blown me away and then I became so determined that I was going to be on that flight- God help me. I’ve flown with the best of them, my credentials are as long as my arms: The Mongolfiers, now there were a couple of nice guys with such attention to detail; a wonder to behold, believe me. Then of course The Wright Brothers, always a little bit intense, but happy to have me aboard: true pioneers. They took me way up into the pale blue yonder alright, it was mind blowing; I was reeling.

Just call me an old Athenian at heart. To be up there flying and floating around in space, with the sky above and the Earth below, there’s nothing like it whatever your style of transport; trust me.  And the name’s Ike by the way, name’s had a few tweaks over the years but I’m basically the same person deep down inside. My dad was of the old brigade, wax, string and feathers, that sort of thing: positively archaic when you look back. He was always so afraid I’d burn my fingers with my dabbling.

‘We need to clip your wings ‘, he’d laugh.

I almost believed him.

I flexed my muscles and felt a renewed surge of energy pass through me and knew I just had to be aboard that damned flight of Mr B’s. It’s funny but everyone else had been of the mindset- ‘See how it goes, take it easy, don’t want to rush these things...’

Hellfire.  

To infinity and beyond was my thought, as always.

I’m a get it done, fly it now, go meet that bloody deadline kinda person. People were starting to ignore me; so what’s new? I would’ve even missed that walkabout on the Moon  if I hadn’t sneaked onto the craft un-noticed. If you look real close you’ll see me even though I might just look like a passing shadow with a big grin on their face. 

Well, I was incandescent when I boarded the VG, blazing if you want the truth. So what could possibly go wrong I asked myself?