I was walking through a parking lot a few years ago and happened go look down toward MacDill AFB and lo and behold there was the 747 with the shuttle on its back on final approach to MacDill. Turns out the Cape had been hit with some afternoon thundershowers and they decided to spend the night in Tampa and finish the flight the next day.
I can't begin to tell you what a tremendous sight that was! Wow is the only word I can think of to use and it's way too mellow.
That experience set me to thinking how neat it would be to put one of them on the back of the 747 and fly it around the country for a year or so, stopping at anyplace that had a runway that could accommodate it. And for other areas they could make some low altitude, low speed passes to give people a chance to say they had seen it.
It would cost a fortune, but I can't think of a better way to spend some of my tax money than letting the people who have funded this fantastic program for all these years get a chance to stand near it and take in the thrill.
It might even be possible to pay the cost through private donations, especially if the project were taken on by a national organization like the American Legion or VFW.
With all that's going on these days in our country it's getting harder and harder to find something that can lift our spirits. Seeing one of those magnificent machines sitting on the tarmac at 100 or more airports across the country certainly couldn't hurt!
I was fortunate enough as a kid to have a neighbor that worked for Rockwell and his family and mine had the opportunity to see one of the space shuttles up close on the ground before any of them had ever seen space flight. It was amazing!