Apples, Gus Grissom, and Life on the Edge

Sunday afternoon was spent helping my 5th grader make her naked apple head doll look like astronaut Gus Grissom, of Mercury, Gemini III, and Apollo 1 fame.

I live life right on the edge, man. Teetering on the edge.

The apple head itself was carved at school a few weeks ago. I volunteered to help the students carve the doll heads and it must have gone well because I don't remember any severed limbs or arteries. But I did get stabbed once. My arm is fine. My sweater's arm? Not so much.

Know what I discovered that day at school? Apple head dolls are creepy.

Does this look like Gus Grissom to you?

At least he's dressed now. He looks pretty spiffy in his white felt astronaut suit with yellow pipe cleaner/ventilation tube thingy on it.

I, of course, didn't want to use white felt on Gus. I felt that it would be a better representation of early space travel and the 1950s and 60s for Gus to sport

a shiny silver suit.

Besides, I like shiny things.

I even had the aluminum foil already to go.

But I was, of course, outvoted. By a very logical and thoughtful eleven year old.

She wanted to use white felt because that looked like the white suit Gus was wearing when he (spoiler alert) died on the launch pad in 1967. She wanted to pay tribute to Gus by having him wear that suit instead of the ultra cool shiny silver aluminum foil suit from his first space flight.

Foil out. Felt in. I get it.

I still like shiny things though.

This could almost pass for John Travolta in his white Saturday Night Fever suit. Now that I really look at it, it kinda looks like a fashion love child between Saturday Night Fever and the militaristic stylings of a Mr. Michael Jackson.

Oh there. That's better. The space helmet makes all the difference, doesn't it?

Apple head doll? Still creepy.

Apple head doll with space helmet on?

Not creepy.

Freakin' adorable.

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