With my birthday approaching I am getting a little bit depressed about growing older. If you’re interested in helping lift my spirits, I do have a couple of suggestions for thoughtful gifts that would definitely cheer me up.
First on my wish list is the US Airways Airbus 320 that Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed in the Hudson River last year. The bidding is open until March 27 so you still have time to get in on it.
Sure, the avionics and engines have been removed and the offering page says “severe water damage throughout the airframe, impact damage to underside of aircraft” but how great would that thing look in my back yard?!
If you get out-bid on that, NASA is offering a retired space shuttle for a cool $28.8 million. You might want to go in with a couple of people and make this a “group gift.”
The Space Shuttle Discovery has already been claimed by the Smithsonian but the Atlantis and Endeavour are still available.
And don’t balk at the price tag because $28.8 million isn’t a bad deal. NASA was asking $42 million just a year ago! You can’t really afford not to pick one up!
There are actually lots of cool old space program related items for sale including surplus main engines for the space shuttles and Apollo and Mercury space suits (You already know how I feel about the Mercury space suits
…).
For a complete list of shuttle-related items, check out this PDF .
Hey, I’m not looking for a big party or telegrams or anything else. I just know how hard it can be to find the exact perfect gift so I just wanted to help.
3 comments:
Aging can be a real bummer, with the aches and pains. But in younger days like after Tim Foil's space party I woke up feeling alot worse than I do at 44 (I'm holding out till 45 to call it mid-forties...). I still don't wear glasses though, but I can tell that I am dependent on perception of another dimension at times when my eyes (good vision or not) seem to let me down. Tim, you once explained this other dimension to me that rendered my eyes "useless...USELESS." We were somewhere in the Rio Grande valley. But I didn't realize then that I had this ability. Hey, NASA kind of sounds like it is going the way of Detroit. If we can't get you one of these clunkers how about a cheaper import. I might afford to go in on a Sputnik.
Dude! You ruined the surprise. I had the hull of the plane all wrapped and ready to go. Now I've got to send it back and find something else. What's the point of giving someone a present if they already know what it is?
here, i've got a present for you:
http://cubicleconfusion.blogspot.com/
happy (almost) bday.
xm
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