October 2004

Dear Mr. Sean O’Keefe, c/o NASA;

Hi. Will you give me a job writing about space stuff? I can write about many space things. Like the Sun. I can write about the Sun till my fingers fall off. Also comets, which are like frozen tennis balls flying in space. They even have tails, like my dog Cheddar. Cheddar is a puppy with brown fur. I told my teacher that instead of inches and feet we should learn how to measure stuff as parts of astronomical units. I bet you did not know I knew that word. Neither did my teacher. She got excited when I said it although I said it sort of wrong. Now I am in a higher math class. I get to eat lunch early and sit with the nerds and talk about what happens if Superman fights Spider-Man, though nobody really knows. I am a nerd too I guess, but I heard you hire more nerds than regular people.

Please give me a job. I will work hard writing space books and those big posters at the space center.

Nebulas are cool.

Sincerely,

Karen Vaughn, Age 8 —Space cadet in-training