Allow me to solidify my credentials as a space dork

Those of you who were hanging around the greater Red Bridge area in the mid-80s probably witnessed a few trails of acrid smoke hanging in the air. Maybe saw a skinny blond kid climbing a tree, trying to fish what looked like a small-scale red-and-white parachute out of the branches.

And of course those of you who attended Red Bridge Elementary (Roadrunners, holla!) witnessed, one spring day, the prelude to that aftermath: the launch of a model rocket. Hey, if I couldn't shoot myself into space, I was at least going to build something and launch it into the sky.

But this guy had bigger ideas.

Slightly smaller rocket go whoosh.

I have no idea who this dude is, but he built a 1/10-scale replica of a Saturn V rocket and launched it. One-tenth scale, in this case, means 36.3 feet. By contrast, I think the biggest thing I ever shot off was maybe 36 inches. It's probably just as well; anything remotely life-size, and there's a good chance I would have tried to climb onboard.