Blog: A Monrovian's Space Shuttle Adventure

A friend of mine, whom some of you know, Brian Ulm, had the bright idea of hanging out on Saturday night, to see the Shuttle Endeavour.  Now anyone who knows me, knows I've never been a fan of space.  Hold your judgment until after this blog.  I never got the hoopla of the Mars Rover and Curiosity, etc.  But I'm telling you after I witnessed the Shuttle Endeavour up close and personal, I had a change of heart.

I was pumped to hang out, so we started our adventure by supporting our Metro trains.  We got off the new Expo line at 6:30 p.m. and the Expo drops you right off at USC, California Science Center and the Coliseum where USC plays, and the Natural History Museum.  I being my usual chatty self, talked to a nice stranger that asked me, "Hey are you coming here to see the shuttle, because if you are it's 6 hours behind in schedule".  6 hours behind?  What?  Well I'm pretty impatient, I swear I have Adult ADHD, self-diagnosed.

When the man said it was stuck at Lamert Park, Baldwin Hills area, I shared that info with my very patient hubby, Dave and Brian.  We all decided hey it's only a 2 mile walk, let's go.  So if Mohammed won't come to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammed.  We started our trek for the Shuttle.

We walked there, and what I began to see, wasn't the amazing shuttle, but what I saw was much more.  What I witnessed was people of every color, black, brown, dark brown, white together waiting for a piece of history that we may never see again in our lifetime up close and personal. 

I didn't see Blue or Red State people. I didn't see any Obama or Romney lawn signs. What I saw were a sea of people coming together to witness something of such a magnitude having fun.  We walked down Martin Luther King Blvd. going towards Crenshaw Blvd.  Wall to wall people, as if they were waiting for a Rose Parade with only one float, the Shuttle Endeavour.

There was a man in a parking lot, entertaining anyone nearby singing his heart out karaoke style with speakers the size of a giant.  He had such a great voice and was dancing.  There were people on their lawns and on their roofs. Families.  People were selling sodas and waters. A lady couldn't speak English very well, but I just wanted a bottle of water. so we bought waters from her. She was so nice.

We saw people with parasols dancing on their front lawns and getting others to join in their party.  There were barbecues and parents with babies and children all waiting along side the road just to get a glimpse of history.  I heard over and over again the word "history" being thrown around, while walking through this colorful sea of mankind.  Cameras in almost each hand all to get a glimpse. For just a few hours I felt so proud of everyone.

As we approached and got closer I was getting so excited and not just for the shuttle, but for everyone that was so happy to be there. We took so many photos as well as everyone else. Well, needless to say, I got all choked up.  I said if something like this can get us to get along and be happy for just a few hours in our lives............... JUST THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES.

So I did have a change of heart and I was overcome with emotion just seeing the shuttle, because the shuttle doesn't just represent an object, it represents the possibilities of humankind and I am emphasizing the word "kind".