January 28, 1986 - Washington, D.C.
For what was to be "A Big Break" for me during my early Stand-up Comedy Days; I jumped at the chance one wintery day when I got a prized Audition for a Special Project at a Major Network TV Station in Northwest D.C.
As I approached the icy Parking Lot with a prepared Stand-up Routine of Astronaut/Space Jokes swimming in my head - the Car Radio suddenly broke my thought & blared that all 7 Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger had perished.
In shock & with no time to think; I scoured my mind for replacements - but nothing came. Trying to "keep it together", I thought "Please don't blow it"! "How many chances like this will I have"? "These people don't want excuses..you have to show 'em what you got"! "The Country is depressed - now, be funny"!
I did get thru the Audition somehow with many lessons learned that have guided me thru many storms since. Here is a sample of the jokes I prepared - and trust me; there were Set-up Jokes before & a Big Finish as well.
I encourage you to laugh & even laugh out loud - as if you were with me on that day - before the Radio blared & we all were still "Innocent's".
"If you think our problems are bad now - wait until Space Travel!
"I can see it now..."You're on the Moon & your Suitcases will be on Pluto"!
"But don't ever fly NASA! When they lost my luggage - they said something about Uranus'!
"They certainly are"!
And the Food Service stinks too...
"3 Tubes & A Placemat"!
"Can you imagine the 1st Space Stewardess"?
I MADE A "G FORCE" FACE.
"Coffee"?
PRETENDING I'M A PILOT - I PUT MY HAND OVER MY MOUTH & BREATHED INTO THE MICROPHONE.
"If you look out the window - on the right side you can see...Oh my G-d; it's the Russians - they're already having a Garage Sale"!
In the big scheme of things; my little Tale was inconsequential - a speck in the life as a Comic - but the vivid scene came flooding back when on Friday, July 8, 2011 with pride & awe; I watched the Space Shuttle Atlantis take off for the last Space Program Mission - and again thought of our great loss.
On that day in 1986, I was moved when President Ronald Reagan spoke to all Americans & the World - and then to just the Young:
"And I want to say something to the School Children of America who were watching the live coverage of the Shuttle's take off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. it's all part of the process of exploration & discovery. It's all part of taking a chance & expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them".
"The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them this morning; as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye & "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God".
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V.Corso
OS Weekend Fiction Club
Thoth
Blinddream
Procopius
Rob St. Amant
Salon.com
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