Growing up in the shadow of Johnson Space Center and moving to Texas to welcome our last moon mission home, I wanted to be an astronaut. Combined with my love for Navy history and World War II flight ops, and unsatisfying degrees in college and law school, I joined the Navy and became a naval aviator.
Son, you can't go around painting yourself black, you hear?" "Why not, Papa?" "Because they'll take you away. " "Why?" "Because you shouldn't want to be like black people or Jewish people or anyone who is. . . not us. " "Who are Jewish people?" "You know my oldest customer, Mr. Kaufmann? Where we bought your shoes?" "Yes. " "Well, he's Jewish. " "I didn't know that. Do you have to pay to be Jewish? Do you need a license?". . . . . ". . . you've got beautiful blond hair and big safe blue eyes. You should be happy with that; is that clear?