By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Content Agency
August 15, 2017
Former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski is a physician, inventor and once ranked among the top 10 American luge competitors during the 1988 Olympics Trials. He may now add author to his impressive resume, thanks to his memoir, “The Sky Below: A True Story of Summits, Space, and Speed” (Little A, $24.95).
“I’ve been in Houston, Texas, for almost a quarter-century,” says Parazynski, 56, who was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. “I never thought I’d ever live in Texas, but it was the only place to be if you wanted to be an astronaut. Older and wiser now, I now consider it one of the coolest and best places in the country to live!”
Fans may follow his adventures on Twitter.
Q. What would be your dream trip?
A. I’ve been to space on five space shuttle missions, but more than anything, I’d love to take my wife and my son, Luke, on a Virgin Galactic suborbital trip. I thrive in that environment and miss it but, more importantly, I’d just love to see the expressions on their faces when they saw our home planet for the very first time from that vantage point.
Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?
A. There has to be action and adventure or it’s not a vacation. Typically, I need what would be a traditional vacation (of) rest and relaxation after our adventure vacations. Mountain biking in Ladakh and scuba diving in Santorini are recent favorite trips. And we are headed to Colorado this summer, where we’ll certainly hike some 14ers. There are 59 summits in the state above 14,000 feet, and all are wonderful.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. My first big trip was to Germany, Italy and France, when I was in the fourth or fifth grade. I was hooked on travel for life. Thinking back to exploring the Catacombs in Rome and following the night watchman in Rothenburg, Germany, are vivid memories to this day and reinforced in me a desire to find a way to continue to see the world through the rest of my life.
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A. Perhaps it’s the astronaut in me, but planning for success and being prepared for failures along the way has served me well. Understanding the environment and risks of where you’ll be going, to the best of your ability, leads to a successful expedition or vacation. The most important lessons in life come from outside the classroom. I’ve learned more from the people I’ve met and the places I’ve gone than at the chalkboard or in textbooks. (That’s) not to downplay the overall importance of either. Being a physical explorer of our planet, on, above and below, another lesson that I’ve learned is the importance of rigorous preparation.
Q. Have you traveled to a place that stood out so much that you felt compelled to incorporate it into your work?
A. I vividly remember my first exposure to scuba diving when we were living in Dakar, Senegal (when I was) 11. A couple of older kids strapped a huge scuba rig on my back and gave me the simple instructions: “Come back up when you run out of air!” Thankfully, the harbor where I first dove was only 30 or 40 feet at its deepest, and I cheated death and the bends that day. Moreover, I was hooked for life on the undersea world. The freedom of motion and the sense of weightlessness there made me dream of one day flying in space.
Q. If you’ve ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?
A. As a young kid — maybe 13 years old — we had Christmas at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Although lacking in Christmas trees, being on safari with my parents and staring up at the mountain is something I’ll never forget. I remember wondering to myself, “What would it look and feel like to stand atop that snow-covered peak?” Although I’ve yet to hike Kili, it’s on my extensive bucket list. My wife shares my sense of adventure and fitness, so I can’t wait to share the summit with her and possibly my son, who’s a strong hiker, too.
Q. What are your five favorite cities?
A. Paris, San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Namche Bazar (Nepal), New York City, Sydney.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A. Although my wife and I have been married for some time, we’ve yet to take our dream honeymoon. We have targeted at least a couple of weeks on Bora Bora, diving every day.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
A. Now that I have a company (Fluidity Technologies) that develops control systems for everything that moves in physical and virtual space, I must have a drone with me on vacation — for fun and to document the scenery.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. Sedona, Arizona – where we were married – for the terrific hiking and food. There are also lots of wonderful restaurants and spas for after-hiking R&R. If we’re feeling a bit more ambitious, we’ll drive a bit further up to the Grand Canyon and do a rim-to-river-to-rim hike in a day from the south side. It’s a long hike with lots of vertical relief, but my wife is a geologist by training, so it’s like walking back in time and tracing earth’s history.
Q. Where is the most romantic destination?
A. Hands down it’s the village of Oia on Santorini, Greece. The greatest views, food and people.
Q. What is your guilty pleasure when you’re on the road?
A. Sometimes when my wife and I are at a wonderful resort-spa, we’ll splurge for a couples massage, which is really terrific if we’ve been working hard biking or hiking.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
A. I recently visited Perth, Western Australia for the first time, and I immediately felt right at home. Wonderful, friendly people, a great Californian climate and beautiful ocean views felt pretty ideal to me.
Q. What untapped destination should people know about?
A. Leh (Ladahk), India is an amazing cultural and adventure destination, high in the Indian Himalayas. It’s remarkable for its beautiful Tibetan Buddhist traditions and lofty peaks, coupled with great options to trek, bike and climb.
© 2017 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
Thank you, Scott! Best of luck w/your fantastic book. BTW, I want to go on the Virgin Galactic flight with your family! 👍
I always like to read the memoirs of our astronauts. I was an 18 year old reporter representing the college press media for the launch of Apollo 11. As one of the first and perhaps the youngest reporter to receive full NASA Press Accreditation, I have just finished writing a book on this experience. Its part memoir; part aerospace history; part period piece set in Chicago’s 1960;s and part commentary. I’m currently seeking a publisher and/or literary agent to promote my book.