Before They Were The Right Stuff...

This is the story of when my Father knew one of the Mercury Seven.  And I just found out, now?!
My dad is visiting from Minnesota this weekend to attend the first wedding one of his grandchildren.  For a long time I had told him that when he visits next time we have to go visit the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.  But visits have become fewer and less frequent.  When you reach 85 (the new 65, I'm told...) you tend not to tolerate the trials of travel as well.  So, this time, when I noted that Sunday was not spoken for, I asked him if he'd like to check out the Spruce Goose.  We made loose plans and waited.
Finally, the day after my Nephew became a lucky man (congrats, David) we agreed to meet for breakfast and head out to McMinnville.  My wife had to back out after realizing a commitment made some time ago had to be taken care of this morning.  So, Keith (my Dad), Donna (my Dad's better half) and myself started the hour plus drive.
Lucky for me the scenery was some of Oregon's most pleasant, going through wine country in light traffic.  On the way I spoke of as much of the history of the area that we were going through, and made up the rest. (3% true stuff, 97% believable fiction?) and told them stories from my recent trip to JPLTweetup 2011.
Once we arrived at the impressive complex of buildings that is the Museum, we located a parking spot and moved our stiff joints out of the car.  Looking at the 3 large buildings surrounding the parking lot.  With no obvious signs to tell us where to go, we headed to the center one.  It made perfect sense to start in the middle, plus there were several school buses in front.......

WAIT A MINUTE! Stop the (pseudo)presses!  Where the heck do you think all this rambling is leading to?  The title promised something about "Before They Were The Right Stuff" so where is the Mercury Seven?!
Well, I have not had time to do this justice, and I do want to do it right.  So, gentle imaginary readers, ;-)  Please be patient with this novice.  Besides, since a request has been made to write something up for a web site to post, and my Dad will have final editorial rights on what gets posted...  You'll have to wait.

Let's just say my father worked shoulder to shoulder with one of the Right Stuff men.  I'd like to think he had a little something to do with the man's future work.  But maybe it was the future astronaut who was the teacher to my Dad in the end.

But, the best teacher is also a student to their student's lessons.  It is symbiotic when done right.

Stay Tuned