When baseballs and rockets collide

Would've, could've, should've. Normally I avoid such awkward contractions in my writings, but last night they kept running through my brain. At the end of September, I had to make a decision that affected what I'd be doing this week: potentially work a World Series game or head to California to watch a rocket launch.

(As an aside, I will say that I'm very blessed to be in a position where this is my toughest decision.)

Would've: If the Milwaukee Brewers would've taken just two more games from the Cardinals, I would've been working on the scoreboard production crew at Miller Park this week for a World Series game or two (assuming the Series would not have ended before Game 6).

Could've: On the heels of a successful and fun Space Camp Tweetup adventure in June and the close of the space shuttle program in July, I've been keeping up with the well-run social media endeavors of NASA. To that end, I've been applying for a coveted spot at a NASA Tweetup.

In late September I learned that I was one of 25 people selected for NASA's first West Coast Tweetup, to be held at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Awesome! California, here I come!

Wait a second, that Delta II rocket is scheduled to launch when? The week of the World Series? Oh, boy. And I had to let NASA know if I was attending the event before the Brewers had played in a single post-season game.

Fortunately, the kind folks at NASA were quite understanding when I declined. Rockets will be launched again, more Tweetups will be held, but chances to work post-season baseball games are never guaranteed. Clearly, with 16 seasons invested in my seasonal part-time job, the Brewers were my #1 priority in October. 

Should've: So how did it all pan out? I worked six great playoff games before the fun ended in mid-October.

As for launch night, I watched on television as the Cardinals forced a Game 7 in the World Series. I followed the NASA Tweetup attendees from my laptop in Milwaukee (and stared with a twinge of jealousy at their group photo), then headed to bed, sleeping through the launch of the NPP satellite aboard a Delta II rocket.

No real regrets, no second-guessing. I'd made the decision that I should've made. As we say at the end of each baseball season, maybe next year.

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