The First & the Last- GodSpeed Atlantis

Growing up ... kids dream of different things they want to do and all the things they want to be.

Photos: CoCo McCain

(CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.) - For me, I must admit I always wanted to be the Queen of England, Miss America, or someone from Europe. To this day I still partly wish I was a naturalized American from "the Continent" ... who knows why?!? Perhaps it's because I find foreign lands and people so interesting, and therefore calculate being "foreign" would somehow make me interesting as well. (Don't we all crave interesting?)

In any event, it’s no surprise I was never a single one of those things, but this past weekend I may have actually become "interesting" ... although not by my own doing ... so I'm not really sure if this "interesting" counts or not!

This past weekend I flirted with interesting because I am now an historic viewer of both the First and Final Launches of the US Space Shuttle Program. This "interesting" is qualified however because my mother and my husband were actually the ones which planned and organized these historic viewings, and so the only credit I can take is one of a fabulously awe-inspired spectator.

At any rate, the mere virtue of witnessing the first and final launches seems to place me into an "interesting" shuttle viewing category. It is now both an honor and pleasure to share what it was like to watch the rising and setting of the Space Shuttle program.

We'll start with Launch Number 1, well actually a little before that. My dad's father, Big Jack, was a fighter pilot, and then went on to serve as an Eastern Airlines Captain during the "Golden Age" of flying. He was so handsome and distinguished ... I can still picture him in his Eastern uniform. My grandmother was every bit the lady. They really were a lovely and nostalgic couple. I grew up watching Big Jack and being proud of what he did. Given this history with flight, the shuttle really made waves in our family.

Additionally, I grew up in Central Florida, just hours from Cape Canaveral. We could actually see many shuttles- once in flight - from our front porch! I can also remember being at the beach and being able to watch the shuttles minutes after launching, as they made their way into the stratosphere. In addition to these more back-row shuttle viewing seats, we also went to the Cape many times to be able to taste, see, and feel lift-off.

And so it was, for the very first shuttle launch. My grandmother, Ma'Ma', and Big Jack came to visit and we all packed up to go watch history in the making. We actually packed up over and over again, as scrubbing a launch multiple times just seemed to be "part of it" from the very beginning. At the time of the first launch, I was eight years old. So I have to say, I have much more of a memory of the time with my family than I do of the launch itself.

Of course I remember Ma'Ma' and Big Jack coming to visit and go watch the launch. I remember Big Jack's binoculars. I remember the blankets by the edge of the river. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to go watch the launch. I remember donuts and Big Jack's black coffee in a thermos. And I remember there being lots of people on the banks of the water all looking at the same thing. It's hard to say what I actually remember about the shuttle, or what memories I've created by what I've been told about it; but the first launch was in the early hours of the morning. The shuttle lit up the sky and roared its awesome roar. There was brilliant light ... awesome sound. The ground shook ... the crowd cheered.

Fast forward thirty years, and now I am watching the final launch with my husband, my boys and my in-laws. This time the binoculars are those of my father-in-law, the blankets are ones that I packed, no one could sleep, we woke up very early, and the coffee and donuts are courtesy of the Super 8 hotel. (Pictured above, Jackson, Sharon and Ray McCain at launch-site.)

The Super 8 is another story in and of itself, but if you can believe this, a one night's stay at the Super 8 sold on-line for $379.00! And, it was sold out! One friend remarked, "that must be a really nice, 'Ritz-Carlton like' Super 8." The only response I could think of was to inform them that the room returned to its normal rate of $59.00 the very next evening. (I'm still not sure whether to call that price gouging or the glory of capitalism.) In any event, all the folks down at the Super 8 were VERY kind, and the Super 8 donuts were a nice touch!

So with donuts and coffee in hand, the McCain clan, made its way to the banks of the Indian River directly across the river from the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

We knew just where to go because the evening before we scoped out our route and secured our "parking space." Most parking spaces are really the front lawns of the homes along the river. So up and down the river, families would "lease" their yards for parking and viewing. Most "leases" included snacks, drinks, a roped off seating area, a TV viewing area to watch NASA pre-flight coverage, and of course, a powder room.

The camaraderie of the crowd was unlike any I have witnessed in a long time. Most of the time, when you get a large group of people, half of the group is generally in direction opposition to the other half. But on launch day, everyone present was there for one singular, glorious goal. To say Godspeed to Atlantis and to pay their respects to the end of a magical era.

To say the launch was bittersweet was an understatement. Particularly for the city whose life force has been the space shuttle program. The fear about jobs and the future of space exploration was definitely palpable. The only thing that really could interrupt the sadness was the Atlantis itself.

Statistically, the Atlantis had very little chance of launching on time. Most experts were giving it a 30% chance at best, due to inclement weather. But hour after hour, there continued to be just enough hope for a break in the weather that the launch remained scheduled. People were canceling their $379 Super 8 rooms and then rebooking, canceling, then rebooking. But the folks at NASA just kept looking forward and kept hoping.

In the end, Atlantis launched on time to the roars and cheers of one of NASA's largest crowds ever. Watching Atlantis fire its rockets and head to the heavens was fabulous. Hearing its roar in the wake of its flight, even more inspiring. The Atlantis did it! The Shuttle Program did it! And we now look forward to the next space age, the next season of exploration, and the next kind of "interesting"!

Thank you NASA & Thank you Atlantis ... for an "Interesting" that Reaches the Heavens & Beyond

CoCo McCain grew up in central Florida and attended the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. After graduating in 1995, she moved onto the Cumberland School of Law in 1998. In addition to her role as an attorney and writer, CoCo works with a translator so that her articles can also be enjoyed by a Spanish speaking audience.

CoCo presently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and a roost of beautiful children. She says she is your ordinary girl-next-door … but on that one November day in 2009, CoCo was given an extraordinary dream: "A dream to shine a light on all the good things that happen every single day! Everyday acts of love, bravery and generosity. Everyday acts of determination, kindness and triumph in the face of tragedy. The simple things that make life so rich and rewarding! The zest and marrow of life."

She says from the very beginning, the vision for her column The Good Stuff has been crystal clear: shine a bright light on the good in life because sharing the good has the power to touch lives around the world.

You can write to CoCo McCain at this address: TheGoodStuffDesk@cocomccain.com