Roger, Liftoff, And The Clock Is Started.

The Suit Was So Clumsy, Being Pressurized, It Was Impossible To Get Two Hands Comfortably On The Handle And It's Impossible To Make Any Kind Of A Turn. It Was Kind Of A One-handed Chili-dip.

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.

It's A Very Sobering Feeling To Be Up In Space And Realize That One's Safety Factor Was Determined By The Lowest Bidder On A Government Contract.

I Must Admit, Maybe I Am A Piece Of History After All.

The First Plane Ride Was In A Homemade Glider My Buddy And I Built. Unfortunately We Didn't Get More Than Four Feet Off The Ground, Because It Crashed.