NIH David Shapiro
"The program we were working on started out as just another research project. At that time, it was to put and keep some men in a near-earth orbit space station in order to do some science. We started working overtime, which gave me the money for dates and all, but not the time to have them!"
Linda interrupted again, "I don't want to change the subject, but what is near-earth orbit?"
"That's somewhere between two hundred and four hundred miles in space. By rocketing bits and pieces of hardware into orbit, we could assemble them in space, and end up with building a space station Then we could have scientists perform experiments without having the earth's atmosphere with gravity, pollution and other earthbound things interfere. Our big hitter Vice President and his Program Managers started to brief this "Space Station" to the powers in DC-Washington, that is-and eventually ended up in the Oval Office with the President.
"He listened, then sent them back to the drawing board with his pronouncement that he couldn't sell a program like that to the voters. He explained that the public didn't understand how difficult it was to send things and people into -space, let alone keep them alive there. The President felt that they would equate the couple of a hundred miles in space with an air shuttle trip to New York from DC, or LA to San Francisco. No big deal! His Administration couldn't, nor did he care to or have the time, to educate the great unscientific US population.
"Besides, he pointed out that Pegasus was already routinely sending a rocket-powered aircraft to altitudes of one hundred and twenty miles and had plans for one fifty. So, what's the big deal in another hundred or so miles! No, it had to be the moon - everyone could relate that that was far away. So the aerospace competitors scrapped their space station pre-proposal effort and began the process of how they were going to write a winning proposal to go to the moon."
"Is that what you mean by geopolitics?"
"Not all of it, but some! Pegasus had figured out what the other competitors hadn't and that was that the big hitters, all Chairmen on the Senate Appropriations Committee, the House Science and Technology Committee - that's the Committee that authorizes money for space projects, and the politico's apparent person to be the first Administrator of the new Agency called National Astronautics and Space Agency (NASA) - that was to become the dominant force in any space or related projects - were all Oklahoma Good ole boys, or had chits that could be called with other Hill types. The driving force was that the heir apparent to the Speaker of the House was an Oklahoma good ole boy - and from McAlester!
"What clinched my selection for the assignment of working with the good ole boys, and then writing the three pages for the hard sell of our including Oklahoma in our Moon Program proposal, was that Dave remembered that I had worked the publicity for the Miss Long Beach Pageant - same kind of writing, "fluff", and that I had been a Naval Aviation cadet in Oklahoma. It was natural for me to get to take my first company-paid trip there - I knew where Oklahoma was!"
Linda nodded as if to agree with the connection. "I see where that could make sense. But how did you get to meet the good ole boys? You just don't fly in and say, here I am, tell me what you want me to write!"
"Right on!" Ben replied, "When I arrived at the Tulsa airport, I was met by one of the senior Pegasus Washington Office staffers, Larry Lawrence. Larry had been an AAF ace during WW II and scored most of his kills flying the Pegasus fighter, which my boss at Pegasus, Bill, had designed. He was the architect of the Hill strategy.
"At the airport, Larry told me we were going to Bugtussle, Oklahoma for dinner. I informed him that I'd had dinner on the flight. Larry showed me his Pegasus white badge and asked to see my badge. Mine was grey. Larry was very military and reminded me that there were only three colors in the badge system at Pegasus: white for Supervision, grey for members of the Technical/Professional Staff, and yellow for those on the time clock.
"Without giving me a chance to comment, he went on to expand on the fact that Staff works for Supervision. Larry then asked me if I knew of any other white badges in Oklahoma? With that settled, we started the drive to Bugtussle - a short country drive from McAlester.
"Oklahoma was a dry state - liquor by the bootlegger or at private clubs that stored your - or anyone else's - bottle. The private clubs were also the best eating-places. Most of them were converted large homes with separate private dining areas. The politician's Larry had invited were to meet at Pete's Place in Bugtussle. Larry and I arrived first and were ushered into a moderate size room that was obviously selected because it was far removed from other rooms. The other noticeable part was a bar already set up and manned.
"Larry ordered two bourbon and branch waters. When I tried to change his order for me to scotch and soda, Larry pulled out his white badge and said, "I'm not going to explain the rules of engagement again, but I am going to tell you your mission and the rules over the target. Boy, when you are in my company you don't: correct, confuse, change topics, or anything but salute and absorb input for your writing assignment! You are to be a fly on the wall, and speak only when I request you to - and then it better be right on target!" He didn't wait for a "Roger and Over!"
Linda leaned forward, looking into his eyes with a compassion that showed she wanted to hear more, and said, "Sounds like you were in for quite an evening."
"It was. When the guests started to arrive, I was still trying to be the fly that absorbed. This was another field I wasn't trained in - but why should that stop me...it never did before! When I was requested to speak by Larry, I recounted to these good ole boys my experiences as a Naval Aviation cadet at Oklahoma University and South Base, including liberty in Tulsa, but only spoke about the positive experiences that enhanced the Okie image. I did not share any aspect of the California adages relating to the Okies in Steinbach's "Grapes of Wrath" such as mattress backs or similar aphorisms.
"During the many universal bourbon-and-branch water libations, I heeded the guest's respective positions in government. All the names didn't stay in my register, but their government pecking order and each of their respected sponsors names did: a couple from the Office of the President's Scientific Advisory Council, which had offices at the prestigious Old Executive Office Building on the grounds of the White House, one from the personal staff of the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee - a good ole boy from Tulsa, another from the personal staff of the heir apparent to the Speaker of The House. He was our registered host at Pete's - and owned the bottle with the name on it. Other staffers were from the Senate and House Science and Technology Committees who authorized the NACA (National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics) - the forerunner of NASA, budget in the Authorization system who would be in the Source Selection Approval chain. These staffers owed their positions to their respective good ole boy sponsors in the Southwestern Congressmen Coalition.
"It was apparent that the cast of players from Washington represented the movers and shakers of certainly the Moon Program and any other BFD of the government. I didn't know, and wasn't Washington smart enough to know the answer to the big "if" - could they make it happen! I was impressed, and got the gut feel that this was the way all really big Government programs were awarded."
"What's a BFD?"
"Let's just say it's a big friggen deal! Finally the appetizers arrived - lamb fries. I was enjoying them with gusto; they were mixing well with the sweet taste of bourbon and supplying the counter to the alcohol in my stomach. By then, I had enough booze in me to neglect my fly-on-the-wall commitment to Larry, and became one of the good ole boys. But I remained disciplined enough to stay alert to comments by the guests at my table.
"There were three tables of five each, with Larry at one and me at another. Larry had to leave the other one uncovered by a Pegasus player because his other man in DC had a schedule conflict that didn't allow him to get stateside in time. Some at my table were making comments about the lamb fries and my obvious enjoyment of them. I thought they were just pieces of lamb that was deep fat fried.
"They said, 'Hell no, boy! These are the succulent mountain oysters of the southwest.' I had never heard of mountain oysters, so I fell into the trap they had set up, 'What are mountain oysters'?' I asked. 'Lamb's balls,' they replied, 'and it sure does us southern boys good to see a New York Yid eat some real food.'
"I knew I had to control myself and maintain my cool. At least they didn't call me a kike! I informed them that I gave up the Jewish dietary laws a long time ago by recounting my reasons in story form. I believed Moses was the beginning of the Board of Health. According to me, it happened when Moses was on the lam with the Israelites from the Egyptians. Moses noticed that many of his troops were coming down with dysentery and some were dying from food poisoning. He needed them for battle, if and when the pursuing Egyptians caught up with them. He didn't know GOD'S plan about parting the Red Sea."
Linda moved her empty cocktail glass to the side as she said, "I have heard and read the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy. Now are you going to give me your version of the Jewish dietary Laws? And speaking of food, let's order before we get smashed and it gets too late for dinner."
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