Mulberry Jam

We made a discovery last Sunday, when Mark and I went out for a drive in our little convertible. In the Virginia countryside north of the town of Orange, Virginia is an old-fashioned barnstorming air show– The Flying Circus in Bealeton, Virginia. Not Monty Python’s, but the real deal with biplanes and stunt planes, sky diving and wing walking demonstrations.

We had no intention of stopping when we set out in the morning, but as our route took us in that general direction I saw the airfield marked on the map and steered us in that general direction. As we got close we could hear the sound of the plane engines up in the sky and looked up to see a yellow biplane going into loops and stalls in a bright blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. We pulled over next to the gate at the airfield and we could see it’s a small operation– no tarmac, just grass runway and handmade plank benches next to the field for the spectators. A little shack selling hot dogs and ice cream, a gift shop and some bathrooms complete the setup. We impulsively decided it looked like too much fun to miss so we decided to stay.

One of the biplanes in the Flying Circus

And I’m so glad we did! The actual airshow started about forty-five minutes after our arrival and lasted for 90 minutes of non-stop entertainment. By the time the show started there were a couple of hundred people there, mostly families with kids of various ages. The grassy airfield setup makes it easy to tailgate or picnic, and many people had wisely brought beach umbrellas to ward off the strong July sun. With the admission ticket price of $10 a person plus a $10 lunch for two, it was bargain entertainment. If you’re really enthusiastic, you can even buy rides in the open-cockpit show planes. Prices this summer are $70 for a standard ride, or $130 for an aerobatic ride, where the pilot will take you through loops, rolls, dives and stalls in an open biplane.

To get there by the most direct path, go south of Manassas on Route 28 for about 25 miles and turn left onto Route 17 South. Continue for 4 miles, then make another left turn onto Ritchie Road (VA 644). The Aerodrome will be on your left. They have shows every Sunday from May through October. Coming up in August is a special weekend balloon festival when there will be balloon rides on both Saturday and Sunday August 15-16.

Today is the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong first set foot on the lunar surface. The astronauts left a plaque on the leg of the lunar lander that remains on the surface of the moon:

HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969 A.D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND.

My friends and family know I am deeply fascinated by the American space program. It started last year when I saw the Discovery channel’s series “When We Left Earth.” Soon I was scouring the library for all books I could find on the subject, and I’ve kept my Netflix queue full of films and documentaries about the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury programs.

I can’t get enough of the story, for many reasons. First, because it was such a tremendous technical achievement, built by thousands of unnamed and hardworking technicians, engineers, computer scientists and so on. Second, because of the bravery and grace under pressure of the astronauts who risked their lives to pursue the voyage into space. Third, because of the cosmic wonder of it all—to see the Earth from deep space is such an important perspective, and one we would not have if it weren’t for the Apollo program.

I could go on for pages with the list of great books and films on the topic, but I’ll confine myself to just one for today. In connection with the 40th Anniversary, the Criterion Collection of films has released a blu-ray version of the film “For All Mankind.” Created by Al Reinert and first released in 1989, this is the most lyrical and artistic of all the films I have seen on the space program. It has no narration, only the voices of the astronauts themselves describing their experiences. The soundtrack includes the ethereal and otherworldly music of Brian Eno. The images are from high-definition film recorded by NASA that at the time Reinert made this movie had not been seen by the public. The following Youtube clip is a little long, but will give you a taste of the film’s pacing and imagery.

The film was released twenty years ago and the Apollo 11 moon landing was twenty years before that. No-one has been back to the moon since 1972 with the final mission to the moon of Apollo 17. Only ten men have ever set foot on another planetary body, and at this time there’s little indication that any others will do so in my lifetime.

Reason enough for wonder, but there’s much more. In another post I plan to write about the spiritual insights that many astronauts experienced as a consequence of their unique viewpoint from so far away from the Earth.

Back to work today after being down last week with a very nasty cold.  Sorry for not posting, but I was completely busy blowing my nose for five days.

I was up way too late last night watching a film I haven’t seen for ages. “Bedazzled,” starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. Peter Cook is the Devil, who persuades nebbishy fry cook Stanley Moon (Dudley Moore) to sell him his soul for seven wishes. Of course, none of the wishes turn out the way Stanley intends.  Somehow the Devil always finds a loophole that sucks all the pleasure out of the wish.  For example, Stanley wishes to be desired by women. So the Devil turns him into a pop star with hordes of screaming girl fans. But then the Devil shows up as a newer and even more popular performer who effortlessly takes all the girls’ attention away.

I had seen it years ago on a terrible print but remembered it as clever and funny. Thanks to modern digital TV, the print last night was brilliant and looked brand spanking new. I got sucked it and wound up watching the whole thing, way past my bedtime.

Check it out:

They re-made the film in 2000 with Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil and Brendan Fraser as the poor shlub who is her victim. It was also pretty good. Elizabeth Hurley has such fun being evil, you have to love her.

Should I admit this? I’m really looking forward to a television show. There are very few programs I watch regularly, and most of the ones I do watch seem to be on the Food network. In a complete departure from my usual pattern, last year my husband got me sucked into the show Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. The first episode of the new season airs tomorrow, Tuesday April 15.

The show tracks the captains and crews of six crab fishing boats in the Bering Sea as they fish for king and opilio crabs through the fall and winter season. First time I heard about it I thought “Hmm. Sounds a bit dull.”

Oh, no, baby. It’s compulsively watchable. This program gives a whole new meaning to the idea of reality tv. It’s nothing like the “reality” of shows like Survivor or The Bachelor or the new one I watched for five horrified minutes last week on MTV (with Flavor Flav choosing among three harsh-looking women). Deadliest Catch is true documentary, and it doesn’t get more real than this.

The show title doesn’t exaggerate the danger these men face. Since Discovery began filming these boats in 1999, several boats in the Alaskan crab fleet have gone down in the dangerous winter seas. Over that time 48 men have had to be rescued at sea, and 44 men were lost. In 2005, the crab boat Big Valley, sister ship to one of the show’s featured ships, went down fast in rough seas with only one survivor. The money the men earn is good, as much as $40,000 for a crew member on a boat with a good haul over a four-to-six week season. But man do they earn it. Shifts of up to twenty hours for two weeks straight on the heaving deck of a ship. Ice-cold waves tossed up over them all day sometimes.

The men are all characters, to say the least. There’s plenty of salty language that gets bleeped out. But much of the time it’s under circumstances that would have me swearing the air blue as well. For instance, there was the time last season when Captain Jonathan of the Time Bandit was gingerly steering his ship through a field of crushing ice that threatened to tear his hull open. I sat on the edge of my seat, feeling the stress and fear he felt for his boat and crew.

This year’s winter crab season is over, and I look forward to seeing how the men fared. I dare you to watch this show and not thank your lucky stars. That your work isn’t life threatening. That you don’t have to show the kind of endurance and raw tenacity that these guys put out in an ordinary day. That you know for sure you’ll be going home at the end of your day.