Getting back in the game

Wow, it's been almost two months since I wrote a journal entry. Work has been keeping me very busy. I'm a software systems engineer working primarily in support of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

As many of you probably are aware, a terrific crew of astronauts recently completed a highly successful HST servicing mission. This being one of the last space shuttle missions, and the last with any connection to me, I decided to go to see the launch of Atlantis. (Like many who have worked on the project, I received an invitation to view the launch from a site at the Kennedy Space Center.) I was named after Alan Shepard and grew up following the manned space missions. I made scrapbooks from newspaper and magazine articles, and space-themed school art projects. I went on to get a PhD in astronomy. This stuff has shaped my life. Anyway, the launch was spectacular - well worth the trip.

The checkout of all the new and repaired hardware is underway. So far, so good, but much remains to be done before the publicity pictures, not to mention regular science data, are obtained and released.

So how does this relate to coins? The bottom line is that it is the source of my numismatic allowance - your tax dollars at work! But deeper than that, just as my interest in space started when I was young, so did my love of coins. My earliest coin memory is that of being jealous that my great aunt was giving old coins to my older brother and not me. Eventually, for Christmas when I was 12, he gave me most of his collection. It wasn't particularly extensive or valuable, but it was a special gift I'll always remember.

Over these last two months work has kept me quite busy, but I have acquired two more coins that are now in the registry - a PF70DC nickel and an MS67RD wheatie. But as I get a little more time to enjoy our hobby again, and let the allowance accumulate a bit, I have my sights on another pricier target in an upcoming auction. I'm hoping to see it in hand during the upcoming Baltimore show and to own it not too long after that. Wish me luck!