Chapter 7, "The Cape" Summary

Cape Canaveral is not a glamorous Florida beach. It's Low Rent, where you go if you can't afford the glamorous beaches. The beach itself is packed so hard that kids drag race on it and "No See 'Um" bugs attack anything warm-blooded. The astronauts adore it. In the test pilot's mind, terrible living conditions are reserved for testing the hottest machinery and therefore for the top pilots. To them the Cape is reminiscent of the legends of Edwards in the early days. The military creates instant traditions, and immediately the tradition arises that the Cape is off-limits to wives. This makes sense, since the astronauts are working twelve-hour days and the surroundings are unappealing. It also means that astronauts who want to can avail themselves of the groupies who have begun to appear. The unofficial Military Wife's...