Steve Austin in Palmdale

After studying the SR-71 Blackbirds at the Blackbird Airpark, we walked across to the adjacent Joe Davies’ Heritage Airpark, where we saw a large number of other aircraft.  They had been parked out on the desert in this arid environment, which should preserve them from rust and decay better than if they were left in a more cold and humid area, such as San Diego.  It was interesting to see these planes up close, read about them, and see the engines that powered them.

Another plane being readied for display.

After our tour, we ate lunch, and then walked into the museum gift shop.  As we had a long drive ahead of us, we intended to have a quick look around.  But Bob, a retired wiring specialist who had worked on the SR-71s, noticed my “Six Million Dollar Man” T-shirt.  He told me that he had met Lee Majors once, the actor who played Steve Austin, while the TV show was filming an episode nearby.  The conversation gradually shifted to the space shuttles, which he had also worked on.  He confessed that he cried when the decommissioned Endeavor arrived in California to become a display piece in a museum.  He had helped the space shuttles embark on so many missions, and taken great pride in his involvement with the program.  Now that grand era was over. 

Bob had told me that Frank, the man sitting behind the counter, had piloted the SR-71s on some of their secret reconnaissance missions.  But he was talking with a family, and my wife had signaled her readiness to leave.  As I stepped into the doorway, Frank broke off his conversation and called to me.  He told me that he had known Bruce Peterson, the pilot who had piloted those heavy lifting test vehicles like the M2-F2 and the HL-10, just as Steve Austin had in the TV show (and in Martin Caidin’s original novel Cyborg). 

Peterson flew the HL-10’s first test flight.  According to Frank, Peterson had been preparing to land when the vehicle suddenly turned upside-down.  During preflight simulations, he had been forbidden to use any controls unless specifically directed by ground control.  But at this point, he started working with the controls, and figured out to right the aircraft before it touched down.  After that, Frank said, the “wiring folks” had some sorting-out to do!

In addition to his two previous flights, Peterson flew the sixteenth and final test of the M2-F2.  These heavy lifting bodies minimized the wing structure by shaping the fuselage to maximize its lifting capacity, but the M2-F2’s shape was rounder than that of the HL-10.  The vehicle began to roll from side to side, and while Peterson fought for control, he spotted a rescue helicopter in his path.  As it turned out, he wouldn’t have hit the helicopter, but by changing course while wrestling with the controls, he touched down before the landing gear had fully extended.  This was the crash made famous during the opening of “The Six Million Dollar Man” TV show.

After that, Frank and I spoke about the X-2 and X-15 rocket plane programs, and the missed potential of the Dyna-Soar X-20 rocket plane program that was cancelled to make way for the space shuttle.  Intensely interesting stuff, but my wife was waiting patiently in the doorway, and I knew we had spent far longer in the gift shop than we had planned.  Still, I felt enriched by those two conversations, neither of which would have occurred had I not worn my T-shirt advertising a forty-year-old TV show.

Isn’t it amazing how the stories we love help us connect with others?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

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The Blackbirds of Palmdale

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Joe Davies Heritage Airpark

Blackbird Airpark

The Largest Outdoor Bookstore in America

As I wandered the streets of Ojai, I noticed bookcases lining the outside of a house.  As I neared, I realized it wasn’t a house at all, but a façade of painted wooden siding, interspersed with windows, and overhung with corrugated fiberglass panels to mimic a roof.  But the bookcases filled with books: they were real.

I perused the shelves.  Signs offered these books for sale or trade on the honor system.  The bindings of many looked loose.  The covers seemed faded and worn.  It was as if the books themselves, exhausted by poor handling and all who had read them, had grasped one final opportunity for someone to read and love them.  “Look at me,” they cried.  “Please, take me home with you!”

Callously, I ignored their calls and walked “inside” Bart’s Books of Ojai.

I found myself surrounded by alcoves, and hallways formed by bookcases.  All were sheltered directly overhead by corrugated fiberglass panels.  Some areas required electric lights to illuminate the titles.  I wandered through a wide selection of subjects and categories, each identified by hand-drawn cardboard signs.  Several times, a staff member offered to help me find whatever I might be looking for.  A few customers sat beneath umbrella-covered tables, reading or chatting as they enjoyed the drinks and snacks Bart’s also sold.  After finding nothing I wanted in the Fiction area, I headed for the Science Fiction section.

A few years ago, when I subscribed to Writer’s Digest, I remember the magazine proclaiming that something on the order of 200,000 books were published in the English language every year.  That’s 200,000 titles, multiplied by all the copies of each title printed.  Despite the rise of electronic publishing, I suspect the number of books printed each year, whether they be hardcovers or paperbacks, has risen since then.  All those books have to go somewhere, and some will inevitably be thrown out or otherwise destroyed. 

Libraries and bookstores cannot hold copies of all the titles ever printed.  Even when owners and communities care for their books, time, the elements, and disasters still take their toll.  Little survives of Pliny the Younger beyond his letters, and their existence was probably insured because he writes about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and because he speaks of persecuting and executing Christians.  Aristotle’s philosophical works have profoundly shaped how we view and interpret the world, yet only roughly a third of them survive.  SFWA Grandmaster Robert Silverberg has bemoaned that so few of the dramas written by ancient Greek and Roman playwrights are still available.  And me?  I was looking for copies of the four novels Martin Caidin wrote about Steve Austin.  I’ve had trouble finding them in bookstores.  Where better to look than Ojai, Steve and Jaime’s hometown? 

Nope.  Nothing by Martin Caidin, whether Steve Austin-related or otherwise.

In perusing the Science Fiction section, I found a few books that interested me.  When I pulled out the copies, they left a dusty feeling on my hands.  As I’m allergic to dust and dust mites, I reluctantly put them back.  Perhaps I’ll find them elsewhere.

Bart’s Books helps readers of all ages find books and stories that can add value and joy to their lives.  Where I to live in Ojai, I can envision many happy times sitting at those umbrella-covered tables, discovering a new book, sipping my favorite drink, and enjoying the company of my fellow readers.  But I can’t help thinking about those tired and worn books outside, or the ones “inside” that were slowly disintegrating as I held them.  I know that nothing humans create can last forever.  Yet I can’t help thinking that those books, the products of creativity and hard work by thousands of authors throughout the course of human existence, deserve a little more protection against the elements.  Just a little bit more.

What do you think?

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Bart’s Books

My Meeting With Oscar Goldman

My wife and I have been watching “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” on DVD recently.  During each show’s ending credits, the phrase “Inspired by the novel Cyborg, by Martin Caidin” came up.  This aroused my curiosity about Caidin’s original conception of Steve Austin, his bionic enhancements, and the people and governmental structure that supported him.  I’ve read the summary of the novel on Wikipedia, and reviews at sites such as Amazon, but that’s not the same as reading the actual story.  So I checked the novel out of the library, and enjoyed it so much that I read it twice.  (Then, sadly, I had to return it).

Television and movies tend to simplify literary works, and Caidin’s novel is much more involved than either of the shows it inspired.  But one area that the shows expand, and even improve, is the character of Oscar Goldman.  In Caidin’s novel, Goldman is the second-in-command of the Office of Strategic Operations (OSO).  He’s the governmental bureaucrat that Steve Austin, Dr. Rudy Wells, and the bionics staff interface with.  In terms of technical knowledge, Caidin describes him as holding a Master’s Degree in Electronics and Computer Systems.  But Steve only meets with Oscar Goldman a couple times, and no appreciable warmth or relationship develops between the two. 

The television show enlarges Oscar Goldman’s role, not only by making him the head of the Office of Strategic Investigations (OSI), but by making him Steve’s chief protector and friend.  He’s always concerned about sending Steve into unnecessary danger, and constantly refers to him as his pal.  He seems like Steve’s older brother, offering advice when the situation calls for it, and acting as a buffer between Steve and those in the government who might expect too much of their super-operative. 

In “The Bionic Woman,” Oscar Goldman regards Jaime like a father.  He’s even more reticent to send her into danger, and usually keeps in direct touch with her while on assignment.  When danger presents itself, his first instinct is to pull her out.  He constantly puts his hand around her, and his eyes glow with concern as he talks with her.  His pride in her successes is equally clear. 

These days, Oscar Goldman goes by the name of Richard Anderson, no doubt due to security concerns.  (After all, he was once privy to a wealth of Top Secret information).  When I spotted him at Stan Lee’s Comikaze, I approached him respectfully, and just intended to tell him how much I enjoyed watching him in both series.  But I found him so warm, friendly, and engaging, that time sped past as we talked about Martin Caidin’s novel, his experience with the author, the enduring appeal of Steve Austin, his hopes of producing a feature film, and the current state of bionic enhancements for the handicapped.  When his associate took a photograph of us, Oscar Goldman placed his hand on my shoulder like he always did with Jaime (and like he probably would have done with Steve, had the Air Force Colonel not been such a man’s man). 

My meeting with Oscar Goldman was unscheduled, and came as a complete surprise.  It lasted no more than ten or fifteen minutes.  But of all my experiences at Stan Lee’s Comikaze, it was the one that most touched my heart.  I sincerely hope he succeeds in his mission to bring Steve Austin to the big screen.  If he does, I’ll support him in any way I can.  Mr. Goldman, sir, you can count on me!

Dragon Dave

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A Vintage “Star Wars” Interview

"Luke, I am your Father, but only from a 'certain point of view.'"
"No!!!  
Wait, are you speaking of us in existential terms? 
No, wait, I get it now.  You're saying that the Millennium Falcon
skipped a few parsecs during our transit through hyperspace,
and we've emerged in an alternative universe
similar to that featured in the 'Mirror Mirror' episode
of the original 'Star Trek' TV series.  Right?"
"Hm.  Why must children always ask their parents such difficult questions?"

As mentioned previously, I’ve been trading emails with Kenneth Johnson.  I may not be able to correspond with Martin Caidin, who wrote the Steve Austin novels, or interact with Harve Bennett, who produced “The Six Million Dollar Man.”  But to correspond with Kenneth Johnson, who created Jaime Summers, and later produced her TV series, has been a treat.  From “Bionic Woman,” to “The Incredible Hulk,” “V,” and the “Alien Nation” TV show, he produced shows that consistently entertained me, and fed my interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy.  I consider it a rare privilege to revisit “Bionic Woman” on DVD, and to be able to write to him with my questions and observations.

This process has also provided an unexpected discovery.  In one email, I mentioned to him how much I enjoyed a second season episode of "Bionic Woman" in which the great Vincent Price played two roles.  Kenneth Johnson wrote back that he and Vincent were already old friends at this point, as they had met when Johnson was Executive Producer on a daytime talk show called “The Mike Douglas Show."  After that discussion, I not only studied his website more carefully, but researched “The Mike Douglas Show” to learn more about it.  During this research I stumbled upon a vintage “Star Wars” interview.

This interview, conducted by Mike Douglas and cohost Richard Thomas (best known for his role of John Boy on “The Waltons,” although he later starred in the Roger Corman Sci-Fi film “Battle Beyond The Stars”), features Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford.  It aired in July 1977, when “Star Wars” was just beginning to surprise everyone with its box office success.  While most of it is “old news,” I learned a few interesting facts about Mark Hamill’s previous TV work, and about George Lucas’ casting process, that I hadn’t known.  

If you’re a diehard “Star Wars” fan, and regularly watch video on the Internet, you’ve probably seen these interviews.  But if not, and you love the “Star Wars” movies, check out the first two segments.  Alternatively if you’re a baseball fan, you may be more interested in the third and fourth, in which Tom Seaver and Pete Rose discuss how the recent change of “free agency” has impacted their sport.  Either way, don't miss the final minutes of segment four, in which Mike, Richard, Tom, and Pete try to shave Mickey Mouse balloons with hand razors.  Their antics might just put a smile on your face.

“Star Wars” made a huge impact on my life.  Knowing how their careers have turned out, it’s interesting to look back now, to see how casual and carefree the three young stars were.  Back then, I thought all three would have big futures in the movie business. (I imagine they did too).  Of the three, only Harrison Ford rose to become a "star" in the movie business.  While we may never understand Fate’s whims, I have to think some of his success came about because he was the oldest, had already experienced several setbacks, and was therefore the hungriest. 

Perhaps there’s a lesson there for all of us.

Gazing back in time,

Dragon Dave

Featured Internet Link

The Mike Douglas Show interviews

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Building a Bionic Reality

Torn from an issue of "Hello" magazine.

In 1972, Martin Caidin’s novel Cyborg excited people with the idea of bionic replacements for injured limbs and damaged organs.  TV shows like “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” explored how such technology might not only allow recipients to live ordinary lives, but to serve their communities in extraordinary ways.  Visions of a bionic tomorrow fueled hope among the disabled.  When I wrote to Kenneth Johnson, asking for permission to share a portion of our correspondence with you (included in yesterday’s post), he also offered this insight.

“In addition to what I wrote you previously about my responses to disabled kids, I often said that maybe they would grow up to be the doctor or scientist who actually helped create such real bionic devices.”

I would not be surprised if Kenneth Johnson’s TV show, and his encouragement to disabled children, bore such fruit in today’s technology and medical fields.  While many use Science Fiction to warn against dystopian futures, other authors empower us to dream about a better tomorrow.  I’m not sure what dreams fueled Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer, but he has designed ReWalk, a lightweight brace suit.  Powered by rechargeable batteries, a computer drives actuation motors and motion sensors.  After proper training, the paralyzed wearer uses crutches for stability, and must focus intensely on each step, as he or she cannot feel their legs.  Still, the suit offers something a paralyzed person would otherwise never regain: the ability to stand, walk and climb stairs. 

Recently hailed by Britain’s “Hello” magazine as a real life "Bionic Woman,” Claire Lomas is an irrepressible young woman who refuses to let her injury constrain her dreams.  In the five years since the horse riding accident that broke her neck, back, and ribs, Claire has gone skydiving, learned to monoski, and returned to horseback riding.  With the aid of the ReWalk suit, she’s added one more item to her list of impressive achievements: the London Marathon.  It might have taken her sixteen days to complete the 26.2 mile course, but how many of us with normal ability manage a two-mile walk each day?

Unfortunately, even in a bionic reality created out of yesterday’s dreams, technology such as the ReWalk suit remains out of the grasp of most people.  Claire had to borrow the $70,000 suit, but as of today’s writing, her accomplishment has raised over $270,000 for Spinal Research.  So, while Claire may not work in the medical or technology fields, she is doing her part to create a better future for all of us.

To some, Science Fiction is just entertainment.  Over the years, many have derided my love for the genre by labeling it as escapist fiction.  But I think we all know, deep down, that it is much more than that.  Science Fiction allows us to dream about a better tomorrow.  Perhaps all of us cannot conceive of powerful dreams that will make their way into print, or onto TV and movie screens.  But by daring to dream, by encouraging others to dream, and by supporting the dreams of others, we can aid people like Martin Caidin, Kenneth Johnson, Claire Lomas, Amit Goffer, and all those who help transform today’s dreams into a better tomorrow. 

Still daring to dream,

Dragon Dave

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Related Internet Links

Kenneth Johnson’s website

Claire Lomas’ fundraising site

Cyclone Technologies

In addition to "Hello" magazine, and the sources listed above, I’d also like to thank: 

www.guardian.co.uk, 

www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk, and 

www.ubergizmo.com.