My John Glenn Story

Although I met him more than once in my 30 years in Washington, my association with John Glenn was one of a degree of separation – I knew many people who knew him well.
In 2009, I spent a month on a mission to a strange, beautiful, dangerous place with someone (astronaut Scott Parazynski) who spent several weeks on a mission to a strange, beautiful, dangerous place with John Glenn.

There is a scene in “The Right Stuff” (that never actually happened) where Gordon Cooper watches Glenn fly over Australia at night with some aborigines while sparks fly upward from their fire. Years later, on my way to Everest to meet up with Scott, I taught a Sherpa to spot satellites in the night sky – and that movie scene flashed through my mind.

That is my John Glenn story.