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Inky & John The Saga Continues

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Questions, Questions

Now, I know that a lot of you think I've gone south on the nutsy trolley, but having a dog that talks to you does change your perspective on life. Inky is naive, but he's not a child. There are facets of his intellect and knowledge levels that compare favorably with a college graduate, so I do take him seriously, even if he changes his mind without much warning. So, we will go ahead with N.A.S.A., because that's what he says he wants. However, a project of such magnitude will require large scale planning, contacting the right people in N.A.S.A. and determining where we should begin. Job #1 - - Talk to Inky!

"Inky, please come into the den. We must talk about this 'astronaut' thing." The mob came bounding in from the back yard where they had been checking out every new smell they could find. I think that somewhere, in a well-hidden place, there exists a map of these smells, and it is updated daily.

Inky hopped up in my lap, gave me a nose kiss (You have to remember that, to Inky, signs of affection are very important, so I never question him about the last thing he smelled.)

"John! When are we going back to Houston? Can we leave right away? I'm so excited!"

I smoothed his beautiful, black mane for a moment. "Inky, I'm just as excited as you and the others are, but we must remember that, so far, we haven't asked N.A.S.A. There will be phone calls to make, letters to write, and many other things to do along the way. Also, we aren't sure that N.A.S.A. is even interested in a doggie astronaut. And finally, there is one more BIG thing and it is something that will require a great deal of thought from YOU!"

Inky looked at me and said "What is this very important thing?"

"OK, little pal, here it is. Up to now everything we have done together has always been fun. But what we are talking about now, will be WORK! It will be hard work. You will have to be away from home at different times. The training will be very tiring and the hours will be long. And, if there was an accident you could be killed."

His one eye widened and he gasped for air. "KILLED? How?"

I decided I'd better soften my tone a little. "Well, Inky, it isn't likely, but I just want you to remember that space is the last big unknown. It is exciting, maybe more so than anything we can imagine, because it IS the unknown. But it may contain dangers we are not familiar with. You need to be aware of all the things involved, OK?"

Inky sat in my lap for the rest of the evening with his head on my knee. I knew he wasn't asleep, though, because I could see his beautiful, dark eye wide open. Finally I picked him up and carried him to his bed, then I headed for bed. I had just settled down when Inky came in, hopped up on the bed, and said, "John, I have made my decision. I may not make it, but I have to try. I can't do it without you and Libby, though, so you have a decision to make, too."

I looked at that little, black apparition, so proud and full of optimism. "Not much of a decision, pal. If you're in, we're in. You can count on us to do our part." Inky gave me a big kiss, and headed back to his bed.

And so begins the adventure!