The Van Horn Chronicles - Part 4
More Scenes On The Road To Space
Prologue
Okay, so “more frequent” means the same frequency of posts. Mea culpa. Alas, I’ve got three kids applying to high schools in New York City and work and everything else. So, like, I’m busy!
But I promise I will try to send these more often. I’m still tempted to post more than one entry per edition, but I get too much flack for making these too long. Doesn’t anyone like long reads?
Anyhoo - If you’re just joining us, go back and start with Part 1. If not, then read on for the next thrilling epicurean installment of our saga… to space!
Project: Blue Origin
Cast of Characters:
Peter - Director
Sean - Director of Photography
Donny - Assistant Camera
July 16, 2021
Insulated Chicken Caesar
The day began in town with a stop at the new mural opposite Gilbert's restaurant. Yes, that's Jeff and Mark in the mural. As Sean was capturing the painted beauty, I noticed some law enforcement officers exiting Gilbert's across the way. Peter told me there's a pool table in the back and going there was akin to stepping into a scene from a Coen Brothers' film. Well, the illustrations of a hamburger and sausages on the front of the establishment were all I needed to know. Peter then wondered aloud about the very large gravel mound just beyond the restaurant. As I scanned the tableau, noticing the flag announcing "Lunch Specials," I too pondered... What's it for?
Then we got back on the road and headed to LSO. I've done this trip many times now, but something seems different this trip. Something about the mountains. I don't know why but I'm just really digging them in a way I perhaps hadn't previously appreciated. Today they were purple and had wide swaths of green creeping up to the golden brown headwalls. And in the distance, I saw even more peaks, shaded by clouds. I've always loved the mountains, the Rockies, the Catskills, the Adirondacks... but these are different because it's also the desert. So what is it... It is that they are the first life and the last, the mother and the muse — solid geometry of rock and ice and water, abstract ideas of hope and soil. And I wondered, am I finally warming up to Texas? Is this how it happens?
Well, anyway, we got our permanent badges at check-in and then settled into a holding pattern until lunch. I have to report that the media tent is a fine place to sit. It's cool, lit with strings of lights, well stocked with drinks and treats, and there are pop-tarts. Then, in preparation for Jeff's arrival, we went to Boots N' Scoops for lunch. On the way to town, Sean and I discovered a super-medley-set that consists of Billy Joel's "Moving Out," Air Supply's "Even The Nights Are Better," "Killing Me Softly," and the theme song to "Growing Pains." You can go in and out of all these songs effortlessly. Try it.
But then I made a terrible lunch mistake. Rookie move. Usually, I go for a wrap - the "Jacked Up Club" or some such thing. But for some reason today I saw the Chicken Caesar and thought: Yes. Now, I have had countless Chicken Caesar salads for lunch; it's a bit of a safe space in terms of crew lunches. What could go wrong? At its worst, it's merely romaine lettuce, a grilled chicken breast, and some croutons. At its best it's a real Caesar salad complete with anchovies and legit dressing. But I'm sorry to report, dear reader, that this was uncommonly bad. The main offense was the chicken - it was shredded to the point of incomprehension. At first, I actually thought it was, perhaps, a misguided addition of wonton noodles - that's how destroyed the chicken was. But then... The mouthfeel - like eating Owens-Corning attic insulation. It was like shredded wheat but instead of wheat, you substituted the world's driest chicken. The smell - a combination of dryer sheets and baby powder and Dior. The taste - like that of newspaper or an old potato chip bag. I mean, there was nothing there; it was like eating the vacuum of space while imagining the platonic ideal of chicken and trying to complete a one thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle at gunpoint. I ate the whole thing.
Luckily, Donny had the bright idea of getting the "scoop" part of the eponymous restaurant, so for dessert he got chocolate and I got vanilla. I was saved. Thank you, production.
At Culberson airport, we waited in the sun for our quarry. Suddenly, the heat felt like a mouthful of cinder block or a touch of fever. I quickly searched for shade and in the nearby hangar, I stood by the swamp cooler and watched a soldier maintain one of many Shadow drones. My mind drifted back to shooting at Fort Huachuca with its drone pilot training systems, and their simulators. Point and click, that's all it takes to fly one of those. On the tarmac, I marveled at the beauty of the jets. I know nothing about planes, but these were beautiful machines, all curves, and lines, odes to the friction of wind. Then Jeff, Mark, and the family arrived and before we knew it they were off again in the choppers.
At the Barn, we reconnected with the soon-to-be astronauts and Wally kept remarking about all the big nuts. Jeff gave a deep dive into how the engine works, detailing the turbo, the bootstrapper, the gimbal plane, the pressurizer, and the oxidizer. Oliver was impressed. Everyone was excited. The press conference set is ready to go.
My flat-iron steak from Cattle Co was cold for dinner. All is well with the commander.
Tomorrow we sit down with the brothers!
Also Of Interest
There is so much generative AI stuff happening now, my mind is exploding. Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with what is already here and what is coming.
Oblique Strategy Of The Day
“Be extravagant.”
All good thoughts,
Avi