Ollie Test Fires a Moon Rocket Day
This month’s rocket story sponsored by:
Ollie’s Rockets N Jetpacks – We almost know what we’re doing.
One sunny day not unlike today, Ollie, Ticklebit, Clownley Bear and BearlyThere Bear were bored enough to think to visit the moon. Catapults and jet packs were fun but they won’t get there. Most past attempts at flying resulted in Ollie splashing down in the lake or hanging ten in the trees. A rocket was a perfect idea. The gang set out to build one. Again.
There’s probably math somewhere that says the more engines the better so they made their rocket with lots of engines. What could go wrong? {link} They worked in the lab which was also the club house and the secret magical meeting place. It’s really the back corner of Mama’s gardening shed.
Among the pots, soil and gardening tools they spread out their plans and parts. This was what the early stages of the Apollo missions must have looked like they thought. In the spirit of Apollo’s 50th anniversary, the group dressed in black pants, white shirts and skinny black ties. They calculated and fiddled with rulers as the drew up sketches.
Having only the vaguest notion of the physics of rocketry, they chose a rocket that “looked cool” over something more functional. The result did indeed look cool with all sorts of gadgets, antennae and buzzy things. They painted it metallic red with paint left over from the famous “Santa’s Sleigh Incident” (story pending). The engines remained a very fierce looking bare metal.
Lesson: Cool does not equal functional…
Now in red and blue flight suits, the crew prepared the rocket for lift off. They loaded the secret fuel (compressed burrito gasses; F.A.W.T. power, tm) and cleared the pad. Fire extinguishers stood ready. Ollie donned his purple and green space helmet as he strapped in. The flowers, ever wizened, already left the scene.
This segment of the story is sponsored by:
Ollie’s Treehouse Restoration and Rocket-proofing.
Things did not go as planned which is how things usually go. Oliver did not land on the moon. Instead he landed in the treehouse far downfield from the launch site. Artemouse and Spoon were ironically in the middle of a very intense game of Pirates and Astronauts when the rocket came calling. The flowers tried to warn them.
It was difficult to tell where the rocket ended and the treehouse began. Everything was a mess of metallic red paint, metal and splintered wood. Artemouse declared herself victor of the game since she drew the Reckless Rocket card and Spoon called for an investigation by the stewards. Results pending.
The crew arrived just in time to hose down the treehouse remains with the fire extinguishers though there was no fire. The stewards are looking into this too since it’s no secret that fire extinguisher fights are also a common occurrence.
The rest of that weekend the crew went from rocket pioneers to treehouse rebuilders. Again.
Oliver Bug is an adventurer, detective, inventor and gourmet chef residing in Moonwater Meadow. He can often be found in his workshop putting out small unintentional fires.
Tom Serafini is Ollie’s official biographer. He has an affinity for banana pudding. His first illustrated picture book, Ollie Bug and the Icky Sticky Thing From Space, will be funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign coming soon.