ALL I’ve GOT

William Harris sat in the shuttle, buckled himself up, sat upright and waited nervously for the rocket to start.

George William Harris was an astronaut going on his first mission to moon. After years of training he was now ready to take- off from the Earth and go to his dream-destination.

Since he was a kid he always dreamt to go to the moon. Children made fun of him because he was afraid of darkness. He was in the minor case of nyctophobia. He always tried to overcome this but was unable to.

His parents died in a car crash when he was just 12. He was forced to quit studies and find a work for himself to support his livelihood.

His first job was in burger joint called THE BUNK BURGER. He soon became completely devoted to his work and was trusted by all his staff. At the age of 15 he became the HOB (Head of the Branch).

With earning a good amount of salary he thought of starting his studies back again. Though he wasn’t able to pay the fee of any school, he thought of buying the books and studying it up himself. He became a lot more interested in Physics, Maths and Chemistry.

He soon became to understand, learn and memorise all concepts of astronomy.

At the age of 22 he quit his job and went to study in the University of Hawaii- Manoa.

He was never a great-show in sports, but was the one who spent most of his time studying about space.

Due to his pursuit in astronomy he lost his scholarship. A year later, he applied as a scientist but failed due to high competition just in the entrance exam. He stood fourth but only top three were selected.

Then next year he again applied for as an astronaut.

After giving the written test, the selector Mr. Anderson, scowled at him. He walked off without looking back or saying a word.When the results were out, only one person was to be selected. George had prayed all night just to achieve something that morning.

He went to the Notice Board to have a glance at the rankings. Around 50 applicants were around to look at the results. He never kept high expectations from himself, so he started looking from the bottom of the result sheet.

He couldn’t find his name. He was broken. George had expected to be, at least in the top 15 selected students. He looked again. This time carefully and with a lot of concentration.

Believe it or not he made it to the TOP!

He rubbed his eyes twice, thrice…

The invigilator (the same, Mr. Anderson) saw him again with a scowl. He said- “George, the Principal wants to see you.”

He was honoured by the principal and given the Bachelor’s Degree of Astronomy. He thanked the principal and went straight to his house. He opened his computer and saw an e-mail by NASA. It was a request by NASA to work for them in the research centre and soon as an astronaut.

It was the first time ever that a person was given the opportunity to work for both, in the research centre and then as an astronaut.

Years passed, he was then ready to go to the Moon as an astronaut, after working for hours in the research centre.

It was 5 August, 1974 when it was declared that he was ready to go to the moon with Matthew and Caroline.

Looking through the window, he kept staring at the launch station, while the final tests were being run.

Praying to Jesus, he kept thinking about the moon and his future.

After 2 hours of wait, he finally seated himself in the shuttle, buckled himself up, sat upright and waited nervously for the rocket to start.

He remembered all the hardships that he went through. He couldn’t believe that he could surpass all the hardships and was able to live up to his dream.

He heard the sound of boost (fire). The rocket was about start.

The rocket stated and, 3….2…..1….

BOOM….

The rocket blasted…

How was this even possible!?!

Dark smoke rose up from the debris, fire everywhere; ashes filled the air, scrapes of metal all around. This site of horror was very traumatizing. No one understood what happened.

The blueprints of the rocket were checked again.

After 3 weeks of examination it was officially announced to the media that-“The mathematical measurement of the rocket for the first time was done by an astronaut himself. After examining the blueprints we have come to a conclusion that there was a small calculation error by George William Harris that led to the blast of the rocket.”

–END–