…Three…Two…One… BLAST OFF !!

Now...to the world-weary and jaundiced eye of an adult this picture probably looks like an old lady and a young child in a dog cage. Even little Bella, whose cage this is, seems a bit bewildered.

However, to the eyes and imagination of little 6 year old Faye this is a wondrous space ship and we are about to be launched into outer space.

“Where are we going?” I ask and she informs me that we will be traveling to a far off planet. “Which one?” I ask. “Oh, I don’t know, Grandma. How about Mars, or maybe Jupiter?”

We call to the earthlings that it’s time to secure our ship and they need to give us the countdown. Faye’s dad and the others gather ‘round us and they latch the gate shut so we won’t fall out. “Let’s get going,” they shout and they start counting loudly ...10...9...8...

Faye and I hold Bella tightly and wiggle into the best positions for take off. ...5...4...3...

“Lets go to Neptune instead”, I say and Faye says she thinks that’s a great idea. ...2...1...BLAST OFF ! and we’re on our way.

I hear someone in the background saying that they don’t care which planet we choose as long as it’s not Uranus. They all laugh at the off-color insinuation and someone else says, “Can you imagine actually naming a Planet Uranus?”

I ignore this “wit” and it goes right over Faye’s head. Our eyes are closed and we toss ourselves around in the cage as we picture ourselves hurtling through outer space.

“How long will we be gone ?”, I ask Faye but she just pats my hand and says “Not long, Grandma. We’ll be back on earth real soon. That’s a planet too, you know”.