The 13 Thursday Blast Off
1. Why did my sister Trish Bowen, who I think looks like Meg Ryan, model a T-shirt on Fox News on her birthday? See the video clip answer HERE.
2. The photo posted below appeared in The Boston Herald yesterday and is of Trish (front and center), her husband Danny, her sons Matthew (left) and Patrick (right), and her son’s aunt and cousins, all showing off the space memorabilia they got on their recent trip to Florida to watch Danny’s brother, Astronaut Stephen Bowen, and the rest of the Space Shuttle Endeavour crew take-off from the Kennedy Space Center last Friday (which I wrote about HERE).
3. I told Trish, who was a cheerleader in high school, that she looks like she was on the top of a pyramid cheer, just like the old days.
4. Everyone is very proud of Stephen, and Trish and her family have been getting a lot of attention from the media because of his space flight, but they were famous even before that for being on my blog! See Matthew HERE and Patrick HERE.
5. It’s been reported in the media that Stephen Bowen is an ice-cream junkie and I just learned that a local ice-cream shop near Cohasset, Massachusetts, where the Bowen’s are from, named a flavor after him. It’s called Cohastranaut Crunch.
6. The Endeavour’s destination of the International Space Station was reached on Sunday for what has been described as a “home make-over.” After reading my previous post on Stephen’s space flight a friend sent me THIS link, listing the dates and times when the Space Station can be seen (as something like a bright star) from Floyd. You can type in your own location to find out the best times for you to see it.
7. When I read what the Boston Herald reported yesterday: A navy captain and the first submarine officer selected by NASA as a mission specialist, Bowen spent roughly six hours on what an agency spokeswoman called a “milestone mission,” clearing away metal grit and lubricating the joint of the station’s solar wing – I wondered if while working Stephen was thinking about laying tile, once the Bowen family business.
8. Since I don’t get CNN, I watched the launch on Youtube. I couldn’t help but wonder about how much fuel the space launch used and how much the take-off looked like a mushroom cloud.
9. Did you know that there is rocket fuel in cigarettes, along with some of the same chemicals found in lighter fluid, moth balls, burial embalmment, nail polish remover, toilet bowl cleaners?
10. The photo above is a Blast from the Past that shows my sister Trish’s wedding to Danny Bowen in 1991. That’s me on the far left and future astronaut Stephen, who was my wedding party escort, standing behind me.
11. THAT was then and THIS is now.
12. When my brother Jim died in 2001, my young nephew Patrick asked his mom, “Is Jimmy an astronaut now?”
13. The soundtrack to this post is HERE.
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here. View more 13 Thursday’s here.
November 19th, 2008 11:13 pm
You certainly have an interesting family and I am sorry about your brother dying. Truly sorry. Also, no offense, but you sister looks nothing like Meg Ryan. She is cute nonetheless.
Have a great TT!
My TT is up at 13 Christmas Gifts for our Muslim Friends
November 19th, 2008 11:15 pm
wow! i’ll be proud too if my family is a part of country’s history.
Thursday13:WordsOfWisdom
November 19th, 2008 11:25 pm
I am sorry about your brother.
SJR
The Pink Flamingo
November 19th, 2008 11:43 pm
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing. Sorry about your loss, too.
Happy T13!
November 19th, 2008 11:51 pm
Interesting post, and I’m sorry to read about your brother.
#9 reminds me how wise I was to quit smoking.
November 20th, 2008 7:06 am
Seems that Stephen has done something nobody else’s done: seen the depths of the ocean and too, the depths of space. Pretty neat! I’ve been paying more attention than usual to this shuttle’s expedition…
November 20th, 2008 7:59 am
This is remarkable!
Maybe Jimmy is an astronaut and helped someone here on earth to become one. Who would of thought back in 1991…..we were so young, innocent and free from hurt. xox
November 20th, 2008 8:15 am
Congratulations to all of you! Exciting to be so close to something so important.
November 20th, 2008 8:35 am
I don’t know which is cooler, being an astronaut or having an ice cream flavor named after you. 🙂
November 20th, 2008 8:56 am
I could use a gallon of that ice cream!
November 20th, 2008 9:21 am
your TT posts are always fabulous! your sister is a doll. i know the family is proud of their famous astronaut. and who better than elton to salute this post?!
November 20th, 2008 9:23 am
OMG! You are related to an astronaut! That is pretty cool, Colleen – also, I love your sister’s cute, bright smile and the way she speaks! Thanks for sharing, I hope your sister’s BIL gets back safely.
November 20th, 2008 9:51 am
Great post. Brought back a lot of memories.
About the picture… what was I laughing at?
November 20th, 2008 10:39 am
I wondered too and wish I had a better picture.
November 20th, 2008 10:42 am
Wow! How exciting. You have such a fascinating family.
November 20th, 2008 1:07 pm
“Cohastranaut Crunch” LMAO! Wonder what it tastes like…
#9 seems awfully random in here, true, yes, but random, although, knowing you, there’s a perfectly good reason 🙂
November 20th, 2008 2:04 pm
I’ve heard that Cohastranaut is a chocolate flavor.
#9 connection: There’s rocket fuel in cigarettes. I’m going to italicize it. I like random things to be loosely related in a stream of consciousness way.
November 20th, 2008 3:50 pm
Love this post – how cool is this. I watched and went to all the links…
love it when you put in the links…
November 20th, 2008 4:58 pm
Wow! How proud your whole family must be, Colleen.
November 20th, 2008 8:29 pm
Neat space stories. #9 sure speaks to the power of chemical and habit addiction.
November 20th, 2008 10:48 pm
I’m so sorry for the loss of your brother.
November 21st, 2008 8:55 am
Hi Meg Ryan look alike here….or I once looked like her before her plastic surgery. We also share the same b-day! I’m late replying due to all the fame I’m dealing with lately. Phone calls at all hours and trouble unwinding. I will say this post is great Colleen….I’m getting ready right now to forward it to Stephen’s wife! Wow…this has been one wild ride. Love, Trish
November 21st, 2008 10:32 pm
Thanks for sharing all this. How interesting to have a personal connection. When my niece was chosen to talk to the astronauts in space the summer of 2007 it made it more meaningful for all of us also. I love the wedding photo!!!
November 22nd, 2008 6:59 am
You’re great for sharing the pride and joy of your family in this way. What a wonderful bunch of people. And that’s a beautiful wedding picture!
November 22nd, 2008 9:52 pm
Thanks for visiting our T13 (last trips taken). I’m guessing that the 5 you went to were the Cape, White Mtns., Baltimore, Mystic and Moose Head Lake region? You don’t strike me as a FL visitor. Regardless, I can certainly say that your sister’s brother-in-law’s last trip will top any that we ever take!