My wife just called to tell me that one of our favorite people from church, Fred Haber, died this afternoon. None of you probably know who he is, and I'm not sure if you'll find his name in any histories of the space program, but Fred was the launch control officer at Vandenberg and other places for about three decades of the space program. He was the guy who decided if a rocket got to go or not.
I often forgot about Fred's background in the space program. He has been retired for a while, so my memories of him are mostly his leadership of our Saturday morning men's breakfast fellowship, heading our buildings and grounds group and making the "Men of Monday" happen -- some guys whose wives were quilting at the church on Monday decided that they'd come along, bring their tools and fix stuff. He was a quiet guy who did what needed to be done. I had asked him a week ago Saturday if he was worried about the bypass surgery that he had on Tuesday. Nope, he said. He'd gotten to know his doctor very well and trusted him completely. A friend had undergone the same surgery a year ago, same doctor, same hospital, with no problems. And he said his wife, Audrey, wasn't worried, either. The surgery went well, but somehow his heart gave out this afternoon. I'm sad. We lost a couple of our other favorite people from church in the last week. It's been a difficult time for that community. I know that although most everyone on the list is interested in the space program to one extent or another, Fred's death is a small one. But hey, writing this helps me. Nick -- Nick Arnett Phone/fax: (408) 904-7198 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
