Rock Climbing

I could not go to Blast Off! the day Lydia took this picture. For me, it's fun to see grandchildren enjoy something so much, but it was also important to take care of some nagging problems I've had with my legs.

My physical condition is not what it was when I was young, not even like what it was when I was moderately old and in between.

For me, it's difficult to climb out of a chair in front of the TV.

It's fun for me to watch something like this vicariously. I know it's not like seeing Tommy do it "live," but it's better than just trying to imagine it myself.

I have no common reference. Tommy doesn't have to struggle to get to his feet, push himself up to a standing position, and then wait until knee joints stop makng the Rice Krispie sound: snap, crackle, pop.

Even then, I wait and stagger above the large leather chair, knowing that if I fall, I plunge into a large piece of leather furniture. It's like the way I sit down, just a different direction.

So Tommy, my hat is off to you, and it's fun to see you climb like this--as long as you don't do any of that free climbing without the harness and spikes I saw on 60 Minutes tonight.

Just thinking of someone climbing up a rock cliff 2000 feet straight into the air made me ache, but I ache pretty much all over anyway.