I watched the palm trees do their calisthenics as the rain lashed the restaurant window.
The flight was obviously cancelled again and so here I was, stuck in a stupid hotel as Ralph or Romeo or whatever the Hell they call him grinds up central Florida.
I gulp the whiskey instead of sip it.
Damn, it was just my luck, wasn’t it?
One thing after another. Would I ever get a break?
My phone vibrated.
Next launch window in two weeks.
Come Hell or high water, or both at once, as now, I’d be the first man on Mars yet.
***
word count = 100
Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo by @ David Stewart . If you want to join or see other stories, go to the inlinkz linkup.
Trent's World (the Blog) 
I know this isn’t related, but the David Duchovney dad rock album with the same name is not half bad
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It sounds familiar but I’m not sure if I’ve heard much off of it.
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Wow! I hope he makes it to Mars… I think a hurricane would look alot better from space!
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I agree, being able to see that beautiful pattern from above would be much preferred to living with the chaos inside…
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I’d sip that rum … knowing that once launched … it’ll be a long time before any rum will be had ..
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That’s true, it will be a very long time, so he needs to savor it while he can.
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:)
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Well, why the rush – the weather on Mars is not going to be any better I feel – extremes in temperature and plenty of intense dust storms! :)
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I agree – not the most habitable/hospitable place imaginable. I think getting caught by a months long dust storm would not be fun….
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No rain or water on Mars. He should be careful what he wishes for.
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That’s true. I hear their weather can be nasty – months long dust storms and all….
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Oh, Trent, your story reminded me of this.
I was working in Titusville, FL and staying in a condo directly across from the shuttle launch pad. An often delayed launch was at 5 AM (still night but the last window for a long time). I sat on my lanai with TV on, coffee in hand, able to see and feel the rocket launch live.
The rocket engines shook my bones, I could see it live, and the TV gave me close ups. It was awesome. Thanks for the reminder.
Great story.
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That is very cool. I have never seen a rocket launch, and I am sure the shuttle was something special, not to mention the mixing real-life live and live TV. Perhaps when Artemis spools up I’ll make a special trip just for that….
Thanks.
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Into every life a little delay must come…. hehe! Hubby watches all the news pertaining to space flight. Me, I’m content with my own little world and writing about other ones.
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Yep, nobody can avoid that bit of delay, and nobody is bigger than the weather… I do follow space news and seem to, on a whim, always turn on the NASA Youtube channel at the exact minute soemthign big is happening. But the hurricane did delay the latest moonship, so…
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I know. Hubby’s been moping about it all week. So, you’re not alone. hehe!
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I feel like Prince waiting for that moon-rocket (Artemis) – Party Like it’s 1969 ;)
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1969 was a GOOD year!
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Yes, it was.
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The birth certificate I laid claim to had me born that year. :)
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lol, I should have guessed that you were born in 1969 (or at least that your birth certificate says that you were born in that year).
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Florida’s not a good place to be waiting, biting your nails!
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Onwards and upwards, a long way upwards! I hope it’s worth the wait.
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I do to. It is a long, long way to travel if there is an issue like not being able to send the lander down…
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Dear Trent,
I hope the weather is better on Mars. If he gets there. ;) Fun twist on the prompt.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I’m sure there won’t be a hurricane, but they do get nasty dust storms on Mars, so, knowing his luck…. Thanks.
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Let’s hope the weather on Mars lets him land. It just goes to show, no matter how good our plans are, the weather makes us wait.
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After traveling that distance it wouldn’t do to have a months long planet-wide dust storm raging as they show up… No matter how advanced we are, we are still at the mercy of weather.
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So true.
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You make me feel his frustration.
I can understand his wish to go to Mars. It’s not just the glory, it’s the thrill of reaching out into the cosmos. It’s a big universe out there!
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It is a very large Universe, and the urge to explore it is very high, so when a pesky, mundane Earthbound issue hits that delays it… lol, fortunately hurricanes aren’t too mundane. Yet.
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Love this, Trent! Well done! :)
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Thanks, Penny!
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Ralph or Romeo or whatever. . . . .going to Mars doesn’t trump a hurricane :)
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Nope, now matter what we accomplish, I think it will be a very long time before catch up with nature, which is fine with me. Well, the destruction caused by hurricanes isn’t fine, but conceding that humans still have a long way to go and still need to respect nature for many, many years is fine.
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Agreed.
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Trent I love the trees doing calisthenics and the rain lashing the windows. Such good imagery. Good for him on being first man on mars. He’s got a lot to win yet a lot to lose with this storm.
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Thanks. Send a man to mars is quite an accomplishment, but nature has a way of showing us that she is still ahead…
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You’re welcome.
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What ever floats his boat. Myself I can not see any pleasure in being tracing to Mars
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A few years totally out of your life, being uncomfortable the entire time, and a small chance of seeing home – I’ll stay on Earth as well…
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Having the shuttle launch pad in an area subject to tropical storms always struck me as slightly odd. I guess he’s waited this long, another two weeks shouldn’t matter.
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I understand being as far south as possible for a slight added boast by the Earths rotation. And I understand an east coast launch pad so any falling objects fall into the sea. But seeing how many times they have scrapped the latest Moon rocket… Yeah, two weeks should matter, but in two weeks there might be a fuel leak.
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Just so long as he’s not bothered about coming back
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As long as the history books has his name next to “first man on Mars”, who cares if he ever gets to see it? Getting there is the only goal.
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