Image Of The Day

Bruce McCandless Jr., Februrary 1984

This guy is actually my cousin (well, my mom's cousin...which makes him my 2nd cousin).

This picture was a big deal at the time because he was the very first astronaut to walk in space, untethered to the ship. That chair thing he's sitting in is called an MMU, a Manned Maneuvering Unit.

The day after it was taken it was on the front page of every newspaper in the world. I brought a copy of the San Jose Mercury with me to Palo Verde Elementary School the next morning and got to be a bit of a celebrity for a day (or, for you cynical Hollywood types, a 5th grade star fucker).

A few weeks later, a signed glossy of this same picture arrived in the mail with my name and his signature on it. I guess he sent one to every kid in the extended family. It stayed on my wall until I finally replaced it in 7th grade with some chick in a bikini.

Sorry, Bruce.