Shoot For the Moon

...even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Launch cleared for tonight.

Stockton waits tonight with great anticipation to see if Jose Hernandez will finally make his dream complete--a dream born when he was 17 years old, working the fields in California with his family.

"I was hoeing a row of sugar beets in a field near Stockton, Calif., and I heard on my transistor radio that Franklin Chang-Diaz had been selected for the Astronaut Corps," says Hernandez, who was a senior in high school at the time.

"I was already interested in science and engineering," Hernandez remembers, "but that was the moment I said, 'I want to fly in space.' And that's something I've been striving for each day since then."

From Jose Hernandez Official Page

Barring anymore frustrating delays, Jose will take off at 8:59 PDT tonight. I plan to tune into the NASA Channel to watch.

You see, Jose isn't just from Stockton--he attended one of the schools I teach at. He lived in the same area as my students--Mexican-Americans with the same hurdles he leapt over. Both of my schools are holding him up as an example of what hard work, positive attitude, and a big heart can do for a person. So I really hope he gets his lift-off tonight. Because his dreams are the dreams I have for my kids--that they, too, will grow up to be astronauts, or doctors, or teachers, or just happy, productive people.

Safe journey, Jose. Stockton is cheering for you, and watching from here on Earth.

De alcanzar la luna. Incluso si lo pierdes, te encontrarás entre las estrellas.