I was looking at the big book with all the pictures of stars and planets in my room. It had funny names like Mercury and Neptune that I liked saying over and over.
"Walt!" Daddy yelled from downstairs. When he calls, I gotta go see what he wants right away. I hoped maybe he had a cookie for me.
But when I got there, Daddy was holding something all wrapped up with ribbons. "Happy birthday, Walt!" he said with his funny smile. "I got you a surprise."
I jumped up and down, trying to guess what it was. It felt long and hard under the paper. When I tore it open, I couldn't believe my eyes. "A telescope!" I shouted.
Daddy said he knowed how much I've been talking about the telescope at Mr. Johnson's store. I was so excited I could look at the real sun and Jupiter through the eyepiece, not just in books. Maybe now I could see an alien too!
"Do you think one day we can look at the stars together, Daddy?" I asked, pulling on his big hand. He promised we would, and that made my birthday the best ever. I can't wait to see the whole sky!
September 7, 1962
Me and Daddy were looking through my new telescope late at night. "And here's Jupiter and Venus and there's Saturn," I pointed excitedly.
Daddy nodded as he peered into the eyepiece. "Looks like there's a lot out there, all right."
An idea popped into my head. "Dad, do you think I could be one of the great ones someday?" I asked. "Be one of who, son?"
"One of the really big smart guys like Albert Einstein or Mr. Tesla. The ones who change the whole world!"
Daddy looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't see why not. You like your books enough, and you pay good attention in school. If you put your mind to it, I'm sure you could do something great."
"Really?" i said.
"Sure as the sun rises," Daddy replied. "Big things don't happen overnight. All those scientists, they just kept at it day after day, year after year. And look what they made in the end! Who's to say you won't win yourself a Nobel Prize too, by the time you're 20? And you know I'll be there cheering the loudest for you."
I grinned widely, staring up at the glittering sky. Maybe he was right—with work, anything was possible.
