Twisted Musings

Something stinks at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida,
and it’s not rocket fuel.

I have been to the Kennedy Space Center several times,
although not in recent years.  Everything was pretty
much free….you could wander around and look at the
various rockets and equipment, view the space capsules,
and even touch a rock from the moon.  The only thing
I remember paying for was a few bucks to see an I-Maxx
movie.

So, I was pretty shocked when I took a friend over to
the Kennedy Space Center this past weekend, and
found that everything was all fenced up, and that the
only way to view the grounds and equipment was to
pay a $40 per person fee, and take a mandatory tour.

According to a park employee, the government sold the
visitor rights to a private corporation for $1 per year,
and the Space Center gets a portion of the proceeds.

I didn’t pay the fee.  $80 for a two hour or so tour is not
in my budget.

It came to mind that there are a good many children who
will never experience the Kennedy Space Center because
like me, their parents won’t be able to afford to pay this
exorbitant fee.

Nor are many families ever again going to be able to watch
a lift-off.  According to the same park employee, all areas
within several miles of the Kennedy Space Center are
blocked off, and the only way to get near enough to witness
a lift-off is to pay a $50 fee.  I didn’t ask if that was per
person, or per vehicle, but either way that is outrageous.
When I watched a lift off a couple of years ago, it was free.

In my humble opinion, this is just plain wrong.  Every cent
of the billions upon billions of dollars spent over the past
60 years plus developing the Space Center and it’s programs
and equipment, came from taxpayer dollars.

America, the land of the free.  I don’t think so.  At least, not
at the Kennedy Space Center.