8B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATuRDAY, MAY 23, 2020
COFFEE BREAK
Bride chooses not to walk down the aisle with her father
DEAR ABBY: For some reason,
my father hates my fiance to
the point where, when I stayed
with my fiance
for one day, Dad
wouldn’t allow me
to come home. Dad
said many nasty
things after even-
tually letting me
back home, but among the more
hurtful ones were that he hoped
my fiance would abuse me, and
that I shouldn’t be allowed to get
married.
He says he doesn’t remember
saying them, but I remember them
well.
Only my immediate family and
my fiance’s family know the spe-
cifics, and whenever I say I would
rather have my brother walk me
down the aisle, my relatives are
all in disbelief. Dad has come to
terms with my engagement to my
fiance, but he treats him differ-
ently compared to
my older sister’s
DEAR
boyfriend. Am I
really in the wrong
ABBY
for not wanting him
to escort me?
— MISUNDER-
STOOD BRIDE-TO-BE
DEAR MISUNDERSTOOD:
Does your father have a substance
abuse problem? An anger man-
agement problem?
Under the circumstances, it is
understandable that you would
prefer someone else walk you
down the aisle.
Your fiance must be a saint to
want to enter a marriage with a
built-in in-law problem like your
dad. My advice is to do what is
best for the two of you, including
considering an elopement.
DEAR ABBY: I’m a girl in my
teens. My best friend moved away,
and I miss her so much. It feels
like the world has turned against
me, and I am depressed.
I don’t like to text her, and I
don’t think she would let me call
her every single day, although I
haven’t asked. I’m afraid we’re
not going to be friends anymore,
and I feel so distant from my other
friends. I made a new friend this
year, but it isn’t the same.
What should I do, Abby? Do I
talk to her about it? Or should I
stop being her friend?
— MISSING MY BEST
FRIEND
DEAR MISSING: It is painful
when life separates people. As
you pointed out, friendships,
unlike Lego blocks, are not inter-
changeable. Do not suddenly stop
communicating with your friend.
You should absolutely talk to her
and tell her how you are feeling
because she may be feeling the
same way.
With more time, you will get
past this. You will meet more
people and establish new relation-
ships. But in the meantime, try to
stay busy, which will help you feel
less isolated.
DEAR ABBY: I am an
84-year-old divorced alum from a
local college, who has developed
feelings for a 59-year-old wid-
owed alum from a local univer-
sity. She works at my former col-
lege and visited me a month ago
asking for a donation to the col-
lege. Since then, she has shown
extreme appreciation of my gift,
via letter, emails and phone calls.
I’m curious as to how much
her feelings of appreciation are
for her success as a fundraiser, or
if the attraction could be mutual.
Do you think the age difference
is too much for me to pursue a
meaningful relationship with her?
I would appreciate your opinion.
Thank you.
— UNKNOWN FEELINGS IN
VIRGINIA
DEAR UNKNOWN FEEL-
INGS: Depending upon the con-
dition you are in physically and
financially, the age difference
may not be an insurmountable
problem. At 59, she is old enough
to decide whether it’s a deal-
breaker. Invite her out. See if she
accepts. If she hits you up for
another donation, you will know
where you stand.
NASA, SpaceX bringing astronaut launches back to home turf
By Marcia Dunn
Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL,
Fla. — For the first time in
nearly a decade, U.S. astro-
nauts are about to blast into
orbit aboard an American
rocket from American soil.
And for the first time in the
history of human space-
flight, a private company is
running the show.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is
the conductor and NASA
the customer as businesses
begin chauffeuring astro-
nauts to the International
Space Station.
The curtain rises next
Wednesday with the sched-
uled liftoff of SpaceX’s
Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon
capsule with two NASA
astronauts, a test flight
years in the making.
The drama unfolds from
the exact spot where men
flew to the moon and the
last space shuttle soared
from Kennedy Space
Center.
While Florida’s Space
Coast has seen plenty of
launches since the shut-
tle’s farewell tour in 2011
— even at the height of
the coronavirus pandemic
— they were for satellites,
robotic explorers and space
station supplies. The only
route to orbit for astronauts
was on Russian rockets.
NASA’s newest test
pilots, Doug Hurley
and Bob Behnken, are
launching from home turf
with SpaceX presiding over
the countdown.
“Getting a chance again
to see human spaceflight
in our own backyard,”
Behnken said. “That’s the
thing that’s most exciting
for me.”
The cosmic-size shift to
private companies allows
NASA to zero in on deep
space travel. The space
agency is busting to return
astronauts to the moon by
2024 under orders from
the White House, a dead-
line looking increasingly
unlikely even as three
newly chosen commercial
teams rush to develop lunar
landers. Mars also beckons.
“We’re building
momentum toward a much
more exciting future,” said
Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA
In this Aug. 13, 2019 file photo, NASA astronauts Doug
Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken work with teams from NASA
and SpaceX to rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s
Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the
International Space Station, at the Trident Basin in Cape
Canaveral, Florida. For the first time in nearly a decade, as-
tronauts are about to blast into orbit aboard an American
rocket from American soil. And for the first time, a private
company — SpaceX — is providing the ride.
John Logsdon, founder of
George Washington Univer-
sity’s Space Policy Institute
and a professor emeritus.
The Russian launch site
in Kazakhstan is out of
the way and out of sight.
Launching crews again
from Florida is sure to fire
up the public, Logsdon said.
Adding to the appeal
is the flash generated by
Musk, SpaceX’s chief exec-
utive, designer and founder
who shot his red Tesla
Roadster into outer space
two years ago during the
first flight of a supersized
Falcon Heavy rocket.
In a touch of Musk
showmanship — he also
runs the electric car com-
pany — Hurley and
Behnken will ride to the
launch pad in a gull-winged
Tesla Model X, white with
black trim just like the
astronauts’ spacesuits and
the rocket itself.
The Dragon riders
appreciate Musk’s hands-on
approach.
“On more than one occa-
sion he has looked both Bob
and I right in the eye and
said, ‘Hey, if there’s any-
thing you guys are not com-
fortable with or that you’re
seeing, please tell me and
we’ll fix it,’” Hurley said.
While trumpeting
the return of astronaut
launches, NASA is urging
spectators to stay away
because of the pandemic.
But beaches near Kennedy
are now open, and the local
sheriff is welcoming visi-
tors even though inside the
space center, the number
of guests will be severely
limited. Among the excep-
tions: both astronaut wives
— who have flown in space
themselves — and their
young sons. Vice President
Mike Pence, chairman of
the National Space Council,
is also going, and Presi-
dent Donald Trump told
reporters Thursday that he’s
thinking of attending, too.
Liftoff is set for
Wednesday at 4:33 p.m.
Eastern time.
“It’s going to be a great
inspiration to the country
next week to see you two
go aloft from the Kennedy
Space Center,” Pence told
the astronauts Tuesday.
It will be just the fifth
time NASA astronauts strap
into a spanking new U.S.
space system for liftoff —
following Mercury, Gemini,
Apollo and shuttle. NASA
owned and operated all
those spacecraft, built by
contractors to NASA’s pre-
cise specifications. The
commercial crew program,
by contrast, calls for private
businesses to handle and
own it all, with input and
oversight by NASA.
Only three countries
have launched humans —
Russia, the U.S. and China
in that order — making
SpaceX’s attempt all the
more impressive.