QUESTION:
Who were your heroes when you were growing up?

ANSWER from Dan Machak on October 28, 1995:
Who were my heroes when I was growing up? I didn't need to look too far away
to find heroes. I enjoyed sports and music, but I never thought of atheletes
or muscisans as heroes. To me a hero was somebody who worked very hard in
order to help other people.

Some of my heroes were teachers. Miss Broderick in sixth grade was a big
influence on me. In junior high it was Mr. Westcott and Mr. Savatsky. Mrs.
McFarlin, my high school debate coach was also great.

My Dad was always my biggest hero. He was always very inquisitive and I think
he passed that along to me. He worked very hard to make sure that myself and
my brothers and sister all got a good education. My mom also worked very hard
to take care of us.
Dan Machak

___________________________________________________________________________

ANSWER from Wendy Whiting on November 2, 1995:
I was twelve during the summer of 1969, when NASA made the first moon
landing.  Like just about everyone in the country (and the world), those
guys were my heroes. You just couldn't help but be in awe of what they
were doing!

My other heroes were more down to earth, and closer to home.  My
grandfather was one of my heroes.  He was orphaned at a young age and led
a pretty hard life, but he always considered himself one of the luckiest
men in the world.  He just didn't get discouraged; he made the best of
things.  I like to think that a little bit of my grandfather rubbed off on
me! My parents are also both my heroes. They both taught me how to
recognize the important things in life, and not to be afraid to walk down
a different path every now and then.

In high school, I trained for the cross country team with Joan Benoit, who
later went on to win the Boston marathon, and to become the first woman to
win the marathon at the Olympics.  I was always amazed at Joan's talent
and her determination and her guts!

Another person I have admired is Dorrit Hoffleit, a professor at Yale
University where I worked for about a year right after college.  Dr.
Hoffleit was one of the first female astronomers in the country.  She
attended Radcliffe and studied astronomy way back in the 1920's, when it
was unusual for women to become scientists.  It was a real inspiration to
know her and work with her.

As an adult, some of the other people I've admired for their
accomplishments (but have not known personally) are: the writer Harper Lee
("To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of my favorite books), the poet and writer
Maya Angelou, Paul Sullivan (a pianist from Maine, my home state).

Also, my friend Bob Dolci is one of my heroes.  He's the chief of NASA
Ames' Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART).  Bob was one of the
rescue specialists who went to help out in Oklahoma City after the bombing
of the Murrah building last April.

So, these are a few of the people who have provided inspiration or
guidance or friendship so far in my life.  I think I've been pretty lucky!

___________________________________________________________________________

ANSWER from Marc Siegel on October 30, 1995:
Thanks for your question about heroes.  I really had three types
of heroes when I was growing up: family heroes, sports heroes and
astronaut heroes.

In terms of family heroes, I always looked up to my Dad.  He was
a wonderful father to me.  He made lots of time to play ball with
me, he was always interested in what I was up to in school (even though
he is an attorney and I was always interested in science and computers),
and he seemed to get along with everybody and always have fun.  My
clearest memory is that whereever we went, people would always know
my Dad and say hello to him.  So my Dad was a good role model and
to this day I admire those parts of his personality.

I also had many sports heroes.  Since I grew up near New York City,
I was always a Mets fan.  I remember going to a baseball game at
Shea Stadium and a Mets third baseman named Ed Charles hit two home
runs.  From that day on, he was a hero.  Also, the Mets had some
great pitchers.  Tom Seaver was the best, but since my brother liked
him, I had to find someone else.  So my pitching hero was Jerry Koosman.

In terms of science, I was always into the NASA Space program.  I can't
exactly remember idolizing the first moon walkers (Neil Armstrong, etc), but
I'm sure I did.  Later, when I was in college, the Space Shuttle program
was just getting started.  I remember always waking up early and watching
the Shuttle launches.  I knew the names of all of the NASA astronauts.
When I was almost ready to graduate from college, I interviewed for
a job at NASA Ames.  At Ames, we have a very good flight simulator where
Shuttle astronauts practice their landings.  During my interview day, I
was given a tour and we went to visit this simulator.  Well there were
a few NASA astronauts practicing and one was standing outside observing.
He introduced himself to me, "Hi, I'm Gordon Fullerton".  Wow, I actually
got to meet one of the fellows I had watched pilot the Shuttles on TV.
I think it was then that I decided to work for NASA.  So anyway, I guess
you could say that all of the men and women who fly NASA spacecraft were
and still are heroes to me.

Yours, Marc