Travel

On the cold planet of Mars is a lonely piece of equipment. The rover named Spirit is stuck in a sand trap and the Martian winter is coming. NASA has decided to initiate a plan that allows the rover to rest for much of the time. Spirit now wakes up once a week and sends a data downlink back to earth before resuming its shutdown.

Originally sent on a 90 day mission in 2004, Spirit and her sister Opportunity still endure the Martian cold. The rover’s mission of exploring the planet and sending back data has succeeded beyond all expectations. NASA hopes to free Spirit from its trap after the winter is over.

My sister is a huge fan of Willie Nelson. I know that he is still on tour – and the man is at least 70 years old. This year he is doing Farm Aid again, in St. Louis. And then he will be in my sister’s home town in October for the dedication of the Patsy Cline Theater, in Winchester. If I come into a little extra money, I just might spring for a couple of tickets and take my sister to hear him sing.

That downed plane is still a mystery. Very little news is forthcoming. It appears they have found just 4 bodies floating in the Atlantic and one briefcase that had a ticker for that flight inside. Convenient proof, don’t you think?

Still no idea what happened to the plane although they are blaming the bad weather and think that maybe lightning struck the plane in an odd spot and it may have caused the fuel tanks to explode.

I still think it is odd that the pilot never radioed about the bad weather or called for a mayday. The way these governments like to hush up everything we might never know what happened.

News reports are that an Air France jet departing Brazil for Paris just suddenly disappeared somewhere over the Atlantic. All 228 passengers were lost in the crash.

The officials are blaming a severe thunderstorm for the crash. Sorry guys – I don’t believe that story. The pilot didn’t even radio a Mayday. You can’t make me believe that weather caused this crash when the pilot didn’t even radio for help or take any kind of evasive action.