The old man hasn't even been sick to his stomach -- he's been up there trading one-liners with Jay Leno, for heaven's sake.
At 77, John Glenn is flying flawlessly through the hoops and motions aboard the space shuttle Discovery, set to return today. If research warrants, NASA administrator Daniel Goldin has promised to send more seniors into space. "Famous people" are apparently lining up for space flight, he says. NASA didn't name names, but just imagine -- a shuttle mission featuring an entire crew of celebrity 77-year-olds.
Aboard a new shuttle -- the Decrepit -- the crew of brave men and women from the "Class of '21" would be assigned tasks geared to their specific skills -- and day jobs. Inspired by Glenn, Decrepit's crew of 77-year-olds would aspire to conduct "two or three" scientific experiments, perform a "Broadway-style" production, stage a boxing match, and win a Pulitzer Prize.
Introducing the crew of the Decrepit:
Betty Friedan
Birth date: 2-4-21.
Experience: Author of "The Feminine Mystique," the seminal book on the modern feminist movement
Flight rank: Commander and Pilot
Role: Commanding and piloting
Mission statement: "I am the commander and pilot. It's not commander 'gal' or pilot 'chick.' Now, all things being equal, I will request the male crew members lower the seat when they're done."
William Donald Schaefer
Birth date: 11-2-21
Experience: Comptroller-elect and former governor
Flight rank: Payload Specialist (D-Maryland)
Role: Will contemplate mooning Earth from 340 miles over Indianapolis. Official duties will include bringing professional football back to the space program.
Birth date: 10-18-21
Experience: U.S. senator
Flight rank: Payload Specialist (R-North Carolina)
Role: Led failed filibuster against NASA naming Schaefer to crew; unsuccessfully blocked Friedan's appointment as commander (Helms had lobbied for 77-year-old Nancy Reagan as shuttle commander).
Jake LaMotta
Birth date: 7-10-21
Experience: Former middleweight boxing champ, immortalized by Robert De Niro in "Raging Bull"
Flight rank: Athletic Director (AD-2)
Role: Organizing on-board boxing tournament and poetry contest.
Quote: $%#
@" (NASA translation: "Jake is honored to join six other great Americans on this historic shuttle flight.")
Jim McKay
Birth date: 9-24-21
Experience: Beloved sports broadcaster
Flight Rank: Color Specialist
Role: Will provide color, play-by-play, analysis and commentary for the shuttle's main event -- Friedan vs. Helms.
Ben Bradlee
Birth date: 8-26-21
Experience: Former editor of the Washington Post
Flight rank: Media Specialist
Role: Sports editor; editor of shuttle newsletter; on-board correspondent for "The Drudge Report."
Abe Vigoda
Birth date: 2-24-21
L Experience: Played gloomy sad-sack "Fish" on "Barney Miller"
Flight rank: Social Director
Responsibilities: Will choreograph and direct shuttle dinner theater production of "Rent." Will also, schedule permitting, conduct experiments on the effects of zero gravity on people named Abe.
Pub Date: 11/07/98