"Richard Wadholm - Orange Groves Out to the Horizon" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wadholm Richard)

тАЬI donтАЩt want to talk about Butter, man.тАЭ
тАЬIтАЩm just saying, that funeral was too much.тАЭ
тАЬHe did it for me, тАШcause I was in mourning.тАЭ
тАЬMourning.тАЭ
тАЬI felt like a rat murderer.тАЭ
тАЬI told you not to launch him. DidnтАЩt I tell you? The space program is no
place for pets or relatives.тАЭ
When we were eight, we launched model rockets from the orange grove
at the end of the street. I was the chief engineer. Ken, with his empathy for
bugs and rats, was the mission payload specialist.
We built our rockets in the old fallout shelter that my dad had dug in
the backyard. We called it our тАЬLaunch Complex.тАЭ
My father wanted me to use the garage for all our gluing and painting,
because the ventilation was better. I explained to him, with eight-year old


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gravity, that the fallout shelter was protected by sandbags. You knowтАФin
case of an accident.
We didnтАЩt expect any accidents. WeтАЩd been launching vermin into space
all summer. I was confident enough to launch my pet rat, Butter. The fallout
shelter just seemed like the place to do military things with rockets.
тАЬYour dad, was it his idea for the funeral?тАЭ
тАЬHis idea for the flag-draped shoebox.тАЭ Though he would have settled
for a military honor guard.
We buried the shoebox in the orange grove, where ButterтАЩs capsule had
disappeared. Ken had a sandbox shovel. He was in charge of digging the
hole. I was in charge of the interment. The whole time weтАЩre burying the
shoebox, My father is coaching us on how we should live up to ButterтАЩs
example. Practical stuff: тАЬDo your homework. DonтАЩt watch too much TV.
Never use hair oil in a pure oxygen environment, like a space capsule,
because thatтАЩs how we lost the Apollo 7.тАЭ You knowтАФlife lessons.
When we were finished, and the shoebox was covered over, he gripped
me by the shoulder. He became reflective.
тАЬWe used to wander though here every evening, your mother and I.
This was all orange groves.тАЭ He waved his arm. тАЬFrom Mechler Street to the
Towne Center Plaza. We felt like pioneers of a new frontier. I canтАЩt think of a
better place for an explorer like Butter to end up.тАЭ
This is my favorite dad-memory of all time, you want to know the truth.
For all the times he embarrassed me, I think of him, standing over ButterтАЩs
grave, and no cool father will do.
We were silent a moment, Ken smoking, me watching the calls stack up
on my phone. тАЬDo they still make movie posters where you work?тАЭ
тАЬThat was at Warner Bros. IтАЩm at Chiat Day now.тАЭ
тАЬDo they make movie posters? I got some guys in here want movie
posters.тАЭ
тАЬWeтАЩre working on a recipe book. For the Jelly Belly people. You want