One of my earliest childhood memories
Was walking one cold night with my dad
Peering up into the dark sky between lots of twinkling stars
He pointed out a moving object streaking across the sky
Told me it was the Russian satellite called Sputnik1
The first ever satellite put into orbit
I honestly don’t remember if I actually saw it
But I can recall the intense excitement we shared
He loved technology and his stories sparked my imagination about space travel
A few years later Yuri Gagarin was first man in space
I was spellbound and wanted to learn everything about rockets
Telling everybody I was going to be an astronaut when I grew up
Visions of myself wearing an oxygen mask with tubing at high altitude
The first manned moon landing was a very exciting time
I was fifteen years old the and already committed to be an engineer
Following every step on TV with baited breath
Later studying aerodynamics during my Mechanical Engineering degree
I finally understood the physics of rocket science and space travel
I never quite made it to piloting a rocket though
Marriage and a family became my priority over space travel
I entered the world of work and my career took off like a rocket
Flying millions of miles on passenger jets during 4 decades of Corporate life
Looking out of windows from 30,000 feet while sipping on cocktails and working on my laptop
Seeing many different terrains and vast unpopulated areas as I edited my Powerpoint presentations
I still had the urge to travel in space one day
Many years later I retired from corporate life and witnessed the start of commercial spaceflights
The mega wealthy paying huge sums to ride in orbit
Having to accept that I will never ride in space with those Billionaires
But I can still live my dream as a CPAPONAUT
Now I dress up in my own little spacesuit every night at bedtime
My CPAP machine has a long breathing tube
Connected to a full face mask strapped to my head
I can hear every breath through the mask
It feels like I am wearing a space helmet
I close my eyes and think about being blasted into orbit
Soon I am fast asleep and dreaming of space travel
Orbiting high with my CPAP lifeline watching Sputnik1 and Apollo 11 fly by
My dad is there smiling with me
I parachute back to earth in my dreams before morning
Taking off my CPAP space helmet after re-entering earth’s atmosphere
I walk to the bathroom whispering to myself
That’s one small CPAPstep for man, one giant CPAPleap for mankind