Astronaut's visit is out of this world

There are no bigger heroes among us than the seven men chosen for NASA's Mercury 7 Astronaut program in the late 1950s and early '60s.

They had The Right Stuff, all right, and America owes its exploration of the heavens to these gutsy gentlemen who weren't afraid to ride on top of a lit firecracker powered by a big tank of gasoline.

Scott Carpenter flew the second American manned orbital flight on May 24, 1962. He piloted the Aurora 7 spacecraft through three revolutions of the earth, reaching a maximum altitude of 164 miles.

The spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,000 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral after four hours and 54 minutes of flight time.

On Wednesday, Carpenter will be at Vanderford's from 4-5 p.m. to autograph his latest book, For Spacious Skies. Be sure and stop by Vanderford's and shake hands with a real hero.

Carpenter really became a household name when Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff book was published.

Carpenter also gained some noteriety as the first astronaut-aquanaut. In the summer of 1965 he spent 30 days living and working on the ocean floor.

Oh, and in case you think time stands still, Carpenter turned 80 on May 1.

There is no bigger fan of the astronauts and men in space than Priest River Elementary School teacher Chris Nacarrato.

Nacarrato put together Carpenter's visit after going from business to business for donations as well as digging into his own bank account.

"The kids need to meet astronauts," Nacarrato said. "Scott Carpenter is a space pioneer and my students deserve to meet a real-life hero."

Nacarrato has attracted other astronauts as well as cosmonauts to his classrooms during the past few years. He incorporates the visit into a variety of lessons.

On Thursday morning, his classroom will transform into a submarine as well as a Mercury 7 rocket ship.

Tony Dement will transform from a typical Priest River sixth grader in to a fire control officer/ flight surgeon.

Wendy Cramer will be throttleman as well as head of recovery.

Carpenter will take the lesson in and then speak to the class.

"We are all excited," Nacarrato said. "I think I am the most excited, though."

There are still seats available at the Bonner Mall for the 12:01 a.m.! showing of the final Star Wars movie on Thursday morning.

Assistant manager Melissa Long said that there are 96 seats left of the 246 and the calls to reserve seats for the movie are picking up as the deadline looms.

"We have had a few people call to say they want to camp out to be the first ones in the theater," she said. "I can't imagine anyone really doing that."

The movie is being shown on two screens simultaneously until the crowds start slowing, she said.

The last time the theater had this type of buzz was when the Lord of the Rings trilogy played.

Long thinks she and two other employees won't be going home until about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

News Bulletin: Two freighters, one carrying purple paint and the other carrying red paint, collided in the Atlantic ocean today. It is believed both crews were marooned.

This gem was reported in the Rotary Rooter newsletter in Bonners Ferry.

Congratulations to the new Ponderay Rotary Club! Twenty-five members received word last week that the club has been officially chartered.

This being the 100th anniversary of Rotary International, the club will be forever known as a Centennial Club.

Sandpoint Rotarians Jim Michaud, Ryan Luttmann and Joan Wanamaker all deserve giant pats on the back.

The Ponderay Rotary club meets Thursday mornings at 7 a.m. at Slate's. Come join them …

Congrats also to Principal John Wahl and the rest of the Kootenai Elementary School crew.

On Wednesday the school will receive the A+ Excellence in Education award.

David Keyes is publisher of the Bee. His column runs Tuesdays.