By now, you’ve all heard about the astronaut who’s stuck in space after his mother was struck by a train. Redscape and I had just weeks ago talked about NASA’s policy of allowing astronauts to choose whether or not they are informed about bad news on terra-not-so-firma while they’re in orbit. Obviously this bloke chose to find out about these things, and why not? I’m sure that while talking to someone else, they’d let it slip at one point…might as well get it over with.
Now two things, and I’ll get to my favorite second. This guy Daniel Tani, 46, is a United States Astronaut. Trained not only to physically endure the rigors of spaceflight and extended periods in the vacuum, but to survive the mental beating of being in space, isolated from family, other people, pissing in a space diaper, and idle contemplation about the physics involved should he decide he wants sex bad enough to force his whip on a similarly trapped cosmonaut. So stories on CNN that attempt to invoke some kind of sympathy for the guy who’s “Trapped in Space!” while his mother’s going underground aren’t hitting their mark. Now, granted, I’m a true cynic…and hate is my game, but come the fuck on. The guy had to have geared a large portion of his life toward going into space for extended periods of time, and is doing something that many people would either kill or pay millions of dollars to do. Plus, he didn’t go up when his mom was 45 and healthy…she died at 90! Shouldn’t have been a surprise, right? I’ll move on.
Now for my favorite bit. This dear old granny didn’t die of natural causes. She didn’t choke on a bingo coin, fall on a knitting needle, slip in the tub, suffocate on powdered sugar, strangle herself with a doilie, or roll down many steps. No.
Police said Rose Tani stopped behind a school bus at a railroad crossing and then drove around the vehicle, bypassing the lowered crossing gate. The train struck Tani’s vehicle on the passenger side and pushed it down the tracks before stopping.
So she broke the law in passing a stopped school bus…and then broke a law by trying to drive through a train crossing gate that had been lowered. Okay…so she was 90. Maybe she forgot 74 years of driving experience at that moment. And maybe she wasn’t in control of her facilities…but instead of ramming the rear of the bus at high speed, she was in control enough to steer around the bus, with clear intent to get through the train crossing before the train.
It’s sad that the guy’s mum is dead…but don’t ask for my sympathy that he’s STUCK in space, and don’t goddamn ask me to be sorry that someone died pulling such a stupid stunt.
I defer to Darwin.
December 21st, 2007 at 8:10 am
Either way it goes it’s a shitty situation. I’m sure if the guy were here on Earth (the planet proper thats is) and his 90yr old mother got struck by a train his grief wouldn’t be any less.
It does suck dick to have to be stranded 60 miles above the planet and get this news. It can only add to the already considerable pressure of knowing you could die in any 1 of 50,000 ways at any moment.
And why was a 90yr old woman driving unsupervised?
But yeah, my condolences.
December 21st, 2007 at 8:53 am
Cheers Magic J, lol
It’s a bad situation but your right, the news media can’t really spin as much of a “greased lens” on this story.
“Grandmother dies through stupid action, grandson happens to be in space. “
I think that this story is a setup for a possible emotional failure, causes flaming reentry expose.
What do you think?
December 21st, 2007 at 1:54 pm
No doubt, B. I’m sure they’ve already drafted the story. CNN’s Ed is licking his chops, hoping that the Griefonaut goes Sunshine and starts ejecting parts of the ISS into an orbit as unstable as himself. Then hijacks the shuttle and flies it into Union Station, trying to avenge the death of his grandmother by reducing the freight train to a smoldering mass.
Shuttle vs. Frieght Train? Good luck, Chuck.