Passport to Outer Space
And a lot of us have experiences around the city, and I’ve tried to see the world, not just this continent, but 15 European countries, Russia, China...
I’ve searched for these stories around the world, I’ve gotten my passport stamped like mad... but my sister told me about Don Stump, a friend of my dad’s who ran a restaurant, well, his father-in-law apparently bought and had the rights to the space in outer space (you know, like all of the space beyond out atmosphere between planets and stars and comets and asteroids and stuff...). My sister even said that his father-in-law stamped the passports of the astronauts that went into outer space, since they were crossing the areas he owned.
But Don Stump was pushed away from their house once, because at least two men from the FBI were there... Apparently Don’s father-in-law was minting coins, it wasn’t money that was valid anywhere, but it’s illegal for U.S. residents to try to make any sort of profit this way, the way they might have potentially done.
Now, Don and his wife and parents have passed away, so.... I guess there’s no way I can pay them for having my passport stamped for going to outer space. But when you’re up high in the Earth’s atmosphere, a lot of places look the same. I mean, Siberia, with snow peaks and mountain lines along the eastern coast, looks like the Rockies in America in the winter. It’s only when you get closer to the ground do you see the real differences.
Copyright © 2007 Janet Kuypers.
U.S. Government Copyright © 2004
Chicago Poet Janet Kuypers
on all art and all writings on this site completed
before 6/6/04. All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.
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