{"id":4788,"date":"2025-09-09T21:59:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T01:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/?p=4788"},"modified":"2025-09-09T21:59:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T01:59:32","slug":"spaced-outed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/?p=4788","title":{"rendered":"Spaced Out(ed)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spaced Out(ed)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpace, the final frontier\u2026to boldly go where no one has gone before.” \u2013 Gene Roddenberry<\/span><\/p>\n

I know what Roddenberry was talking about, being an avid Star Trek fan. But for me, you need more than boldness to conquer space. And, I\u2019m not talking about the one where the stars and planets are located. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpace\u201d is a never-ending place that we\u2019ve all been to and that challenges us daily, right here on our own planet. <\/span><\/p>\n

You just came home from shopping at the local supermarket. Unfortunately, when you get home, you discover that you didn\u2019t check the refrigerator before going shopping. Now, you have multiple items you just brought home – fruits and vegetables, cartons of liquids, packages of meat, jars of condiments, dressings, a bin full of assorted lunch ingredients, etc., and you notice that you have limited \u201cspace\u201d to store them and keep them from being spoiled. What do you do?<\/span><\/p>\n

You plan on redecorating your living room, but is there space for the old furniture and the new ones you were thinking of purchasing? Should you rent a storage unit? <\/span><\/p>\n

You can clear out a lot of stuff to make space, but did you ever think about where all those th<\/span>ings you throw out go? Does the town have enough space to dispose of your waste? Have you ever passed by a landfill? Not a pretty sight, or smell.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not s<\/span>ure about other writers, but my desk, between electronics, writing materials, and supplies, is in constant upheaval as recreating space to do things makes for very creative manipulation.<\/p>\n

Considering a house move to a smaller residence in your future. Check out your space in the basement\/cellar compared to your new abode. I would imagine that there is a major discrepancy between the old and new spaces for everything you own. What to keep? What to throw out?<\/span><\/p>\n

And then, there\u2019s the space between things. Do you all like parallel parking? I don\u2019t. Even in parking lots, being able to pull into a space between two parked minivans or trucks is a talent I don\u2019t excel at, considering that the original parking lines were designed for smaller sedans. <\/span><\/p>\n

What most of us need is something like Doctor Who\u2019s TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space), where it\u2019s bigger on the inside than the outside. That might solve some of our storage space issues. <\/span><\/p>\n

And I cannot leave this discussion about \u201cSpace\u201d utilization without bringing up the use of emotional and intellectual space, which, to me, is the most important space.<\/p>\n

We all need a private space occasionally to break away from the toils and troubles in our lives. A place where we can relax and forget about the things that demand our attention \u2013 work issues, home and family responsibilities and expectations, the inundation of self-centered individuals, who do not use the \u201cspace\u201d between their ears to listen, respect, empathize, or understand others, in order to do what\u2019s right. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, we also need a public space. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No, Gene, I wouldn\u2019t call \u201cSpace\u201d the final frontier. It is the ever-present frontier, the here and now frontier, and it is challenging. Some spaces we can fill on our own. Others require us to cooperate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps we do, as a group, need to boldly go forward\u2026 together. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s make space for our future, let\u2019s make time for it also, and let\u2019s make these voyages a trek worth taking. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spaced Out(ed) \u201cSpace, the final frontier\u2026to boldly go where no one has gone before.” \u2013 Gene Roddenberry I know what Roddenberry was talking about, being an avid Star Trek fan. But for me, you need more than boldness to conquer … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[342,177],"class_list":["post-4788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-story-writing","tag-space","tag-writing-prompt"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4788"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4792,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4788\/revisions\/4792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hdhstory.net\/Storyblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}