Joan E. Bauer: All But Lost
in the small print of NASA history
the story of my father: Harold E. Bauer,
known as Hal, technical director
of that workhorse, the Saturn IV-B.
He's quoted on domes, propulsion,
structural integrity, welding
of the bulkhead. He's not quoted
on misanthropic pigeons, cost overruns,
entertaining 'the brass' or how some rockets
blew to smithereens. His staff called him
'Dr. Bauer' though he only had four years
at LACC. In an audio recording,
he says: 'Let me be specific.'
His slow, deliberate voice sounds tired.
Missing from the records, his decades
in the Mojave, at Kwajalein, Holloman
& Huntsville, then Bremen for the Space Lab.
Unrecorded: the drag weight of being
'no-margin-for-error' responsible.
The struggle to de-pressurize. He had
that other family. Complications.
He's buried somewhere in Orange County.
I don't know where. I do have
a beer mug kind of trophy:
Eagle Has Landed
First Manned Lunar Landing
July 20, 1969
Hal Bauer A3 Mission Control
You can come over & see it anytime.
-----
Copyright 2021 Joan E. Bauer. First published in Chiron Review.
Joan E. Bauer is the author of two full-length poetry collections, The Almost Sound of Drowning (Main Street Rag, 2008) and The Camera Artist (Turning Point, 2021). For some years, she worked as a teacher and counselor and now divides her time between Venice, CA and Pittsburgh, PA where she co-hosts and curates the Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series with Kristofer Collins.
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon.
Vox Populi 
Nothing more fascinating than this poet’s history so subtly explored, with volumes expressed in a single phrase or line.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Since I lived near The Jet Propulsion lab of Caltech, many parents in our neighborhood were connected to it. I wonder what stories they never told.
LikeLiked by 1 person