moon

To the Moon, Alice

Growing up with an abusing father, 'the king', meant spending a lot of time keeping out of his sight and creating a world of our own in our back yard. My brother and I had a special interest in the moon, the stars, and the great expanse of the universe. Whenever we would get a chance we would sleep outside at night, I would give my brother a pillow to lie under his back and we would lay out under the stars and watch the moon, the meteors and the strange little lights that sometimes flew across the sky. Staying away from the leather razor strap that was waiting for us for doing anything that our father thought that didn't conform to his book of rules. Laying on our backs with that razor strap a long way off and nothing between us and the stars above except the blackness of space, we would talk of the wonder of rocketing through space and exploring the moon, mars and the distant stars. Even before the first manned space flight we ascended into the heavens in our dreams. Reading about the conquering of space by Jules Verne, watching every movie and TV show that dealt with space travel gave us something to talk about as we would lay back and watch the stars.
   My brother was a person with a lot of ingenuity that was always inventing things from parts we scavenged from our local dumpground, a car salvage and anywhere there was an available part to be found for free or a small price. We usually kept our things hidden or out of sight for fear that 'the king' would accuse us of stealing, whip us then take them for his own.
    My brother usually took the brunt of the abuse from 'the king', If knowone would confess to the broken tip on the steak knife or the crack in the window pane, my brother would always take the blame so the rest of us wouldn't have to. He always said that if he was going to get a whipping anyway he might as well take the blame so everyone else wouldn't have to.
   My brother's most inventive idea was to build a rocket, he said he was going to soar through the stars and on his return trip where ever he landed is where he would live the rest of his life.
   Building the rocket was no easy task and it meant that he was going to have to keep such the big project out of 'the kings' sight and use 'the kings' tools without getting caught.
    My brothers rocket was over twenty five feet long and wasn't easy to keep hidden. He had devised a small capsule that he would crawl into with a pillow and a few blankets and an old set of scuba diving tanks for breathing. He said he would breath through a small hole on the side and when he reached an attitude high enough where there was no oxygen he would close up the hole and breathe through the scuba gear. He had a home made parachute he would use upon reentry made of rope and some old sheets.
     The king came home one night and was upset about a tool he found laying in the yard. He had us line up for the whipping, asking for the guilty party to step forward. My brother took the blame and the whip. That night he was unable to sleep because he was in a lot of pain.
   In the morning when I woke up my brother was not in his bed, I got up got dressed and heard him working in the back yard. He was getting ready to hoist the rocket upright and was putting the finishing touches up on it. I helped him hoist it into place along side the barn. He then proceeded to fill the rocket with propane and then with oxygen from 'the kings' cutting torch. He had a hand operated valve that he would use to control the thrust and a spark plug and a battery he would use to ignite it.
    It was about 4PM and not long before the king was to return home from work. My brother gave me a hug and shook my hand, he said we would probably not see each other again and said goodbye. He climbed into the capsule from the roof of the barn. We waved goodbye and he closed the hatch. I went inside to grab the camera for a picture of him lifting off.
   As I ran inside I heard a thundering explosion, I grabbed the camera and when I got outside all I could see was the barn was on fire and my brother was gone.
    Now as I lay out under the stars at night with a pillow under my back I wonder what it would be like to rocket through space and explore the moon, mars and the distant stars.