How would you end the sentence “2021 was the year of . . .”? Depending on the lens with which you want to retrospectively view the last ten months, you can talk about the state of the planet’s climate, domestic and international politics, the Summer Olympics, or Korean TV shows. Of the many superlatives we can ascribe to this year, the one that I find most intriguing: the year of commercial space travel.
Unlike many of my grade school classmates, outer space was one of the few adolescent interests that did not captivate me (I did, however, have a solid dinosaur phase), and while everyone else watched Star Wars, I remained firmly grounded in earthly matters. Perhaps because outer space has never been in my orbit (pun intended), I have been amazed by the many space-related stories that have appeared on my newsfeed: billionaires racing to send rockets beyond the stratosphere, reports of alien aerial phenomena, and op-eds on the viability of a Martian colony. At a social gathering I attended last month, the topic of space travel came up and everyone seemed well-informed about the latest developments. Could I be the last person on Earth to be uninterested in spaceflight?
In our thirty-second issue, which came out during the summer of 1999, we published a piece titled “A Letter From Space” by musician and writer John Bonnell. In this humorous piece of epistolary short fiction, we see an exchange between a “mission specialist” and a friend. I think the humor of the story lies in the twist, which incidentally reflects how the grouchy old me feels about space travel.
Letter From Space
by John Bonnell
Dear Henry,
Life aboard the station is well. In another week we expect to
have completed the assembly of the final sections—those being the
astronomical observer and planetary studies lab.
The glitch in the secondary power unit, that I mentioned in my
last correspondence, was discovered to be a pet mouse gone astray.
It was uninjured; and the trouble was corrected without further
incident.
I know I've commented on it before, but the view from up here
is spectacular! We're just coming into the light, and I can see over
the green fields of the northern plains. A few of us are going to go
down there today. I'll try to bring back a souvenir for you.
How's Nicole and the kids? It seems so long since I've seen
them, in person that is. What has it been? Two or three years?
Thanks for sending the pictures, Jimmy has really grown quite a bit.
And I'm glad to see you've lost all of that weight.
Well, it's almost time for my duty shift. I'm running a few
experiments on some lifeforms we found. But it's all hush-hush, you
understand.
I will try to write to you again soon. Take care.
Your Friend,
Robert Filfo
Mission Specialist
Dear Bob,
Please stop sending those stupid letters.
I'm sick of hearing about space stations, aliens, and whatever
other crap your screwed up mind comes up with. You live in Jersey
for crying out loud.
Go to hell,
Henry
