The era of space shuttle exploration is ending, sad to say.  I think it gave us something collectively to dream about.  In 1989, I moved to Florida to program 107.1 WAOA, and was able to absorb the culture around the Space Coast, through the different folks I met along the way that contributed their talents to the space program.  And one of my all-time career highlights has got to be the two shuttle launches I was able to broadcast from Kennedy Space Center.  

One of them was for STS 31 which launched the Hubble.  The other was STS 36, which took off in the middle of the night, lighting the entire sky.  Being on site for these, in the bleachers that were constructed next to the network news booths, we were as close as people could get.  Upon launch, the cameras would start to go black as the cords melted from the heat.

Feeling the power, hearing the roar, it made me so proud to be an American. Thinking about all the governmental and private industries that had to cooperate to make this happen is dizzying.  And that is a model for the future, for any collective dreams we might choose to conquer next. Yes, there are still things to be achieved.

We welcome the crew of the shuttle back from their last mission to our “Warm Rock In The Sun.” Bringing you a tune we recorded during or Music Fog Marathon in Austin during SXSW in March.  And I don’t know about you, but being greeted by a Mariachi Band is a most welcoming sight for anyone, whether astronaut or not.  The Jack Grace Band does the honors; road dogs all, though they haven’t quite taken to the sky yet. They are at work on new material, which Jack says, “Will be less country and more rock, with a lot of the Latin flavorings.”  This time of year, they wisely are staying in the northern tier for their touring pleasure, heading up into Canada in September.  Dare we even think about fall, and the cool air?  Let’s join the band on the Threadgill’s stage; here are Jack Grace, Daria Grace, Mark Gonzales, Stephen Butts, Bruce Martin, and Carolyn Mark.

- Jessie Scott