The Flower That Wanted to Be Sputnik

 Whenever I see a flower like this, one that has long spikes growing from a central core, I think of Sputnik 1, the first of three artificial Earth satellites, launched by Russia in 1957. Sometime afterward, my school class made a field trip to Indianapolis that included a stop at the Allison Manufacturing plant. While there we saw an exhibit of items made by the company. I vaguely recall some engines, but I definitely remember seeing a bright, stainless steel globe hanging from the ceiling. One of the men told me it was a model of Sputnik. I don't know why Allison had it. I also remember thinking how small it was - about the size of an armor-clad grapefruit with long antennas sticking out. The real Sputnik, at 184 pounds, weighed about the same as a grown man, so the one I saw was definitely a mock-up of some sort. But of everything we saw that day, over sixty years ago, that little Sputnik is the thing I still recall. And since Sputnik's first appearance well over sixty years ago, it might be said that the satellites, now often launched in entire bouquets, have proliferated, well, like weeds.