If you’ve read any of my creative writing over the years, it’s not hard to determine that I love space, and the worlds beyond the plant Earth. This deep-seated interested in space comes from a number of places, but none so large as the location where I grew up.
The small beach town of New Smyrna Beach is exactly what you might think of when you picture a Florida locale. The sandy beaches, the old time downtown, rivers and parks… the whole deal. It’s also nestled not too far north of Cape Canaveral, and is part of the Space Coast.
My parents grew up in NSB, and my father has worked around the space industry for my entire life. As a result, I have seen more launches than I can remember, and many of them were up close and very exciting (especially the night launches) for me.
The very real and close proximity to the space program instilled in me an interest in everything about the stars above.
So much of that interest pours into my creative writing. In Township, the Explorers Group is one step away from being NASA, at least when it comes to their large-scale exploration missions.
One of the very first LEGO sets I bought as an adult was 60080: Spaceport, a set I purchased for any future children, but ultimately ended up ripping open an building myself. In fact, any Township readers can likely identify Explorer Two in that set!
Today, my family got to sit on the couch and watch the Dragon Capsule launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, taking the first two astronauts to be launched from the Cape Canaveral since the last space shuttle mission ended in 2011.
I heard my daughter as she wiggled in her seat, looking at the screen and asking, “Is that a rocket? Can I fly a rocket?!”
With all the things that have happened in 2020 that make me feel concerned about the future, and believe me, there is no shortage of concerns here… today was a brief moment to stop and see something positive unfold.
The future is in the stars above, and finding inspiration in those moments of space exploration help foster our creativity, curiosity, and our drive to improve our lives, our world, and hopefully even ourselves.
Work continues on Season 5 of Township. I am very much looking forward to announcing more information when I have it. Watching that rocket take off today reminded me how much Florida played a part in helping me craft my own characters. I thought of Ruby piloting Explorer Two and I couldn’t help but smile.
Keep looking for the positive. We’ll talk again soon.
TechnicoolDad 