Ohio Earthlings Experience Economic Liftoff from Rocket Men Invasion
CLEVELAND, Ohio—You can be forgiven if you haven’t heard the term “rocket men” before—not outside of golden oldies stations and genre fiction at least. These days, it’s an Ohio term, though the phenomenon stretches across the Midwestern US: In Indiana, they’re calling them Flyboys. In Chicago, Go-Boots. In Missouri, they’re Jayhawks. But no matter what title they’re working under, the phenomenon is the same. Increasingly, blue-collar transport workers and rocket pilots—roles that have been traditionally reserved for space townies out in the starry boonies—are living on Earth, and in this case, in Earth . . . Ohio, that is.
Ruth Elstar is one of many rocket men who make their home in the small city, which lies almost due south of Cleveland, near Wooster. “I moved here four years ago,” says Elstar. “The city was practically giving away lots in some of the mobile and rocket park areas, and they were saying ‘Hey, Mr. Spaceman, don’t you want a home?’ and, you know, I realized—I did want a home.” For many years, space pilots like Elstar lived without a permanent address, ping-ponging between the small asteroid towns and rest stations along Flight Path 66, from Mercury to Pluto, while her son grew up on Earth with his grandfather. “It was tough. Not everyone recognizes rockets as homes, and you don’t qualify for the longer shift schedules without an address. It’s tough being away from your family. I didn’t want to live in a space town because they’re so small, and I want my son to be able to go to school and make friends and be social.”
When the city of Earth came along with special lot offers in 2153, Elstar quickly purchased a plot in the packed mobile home area they call Luna Park, where most properties are equipped with plenty of space for a personal launch pad. Now, she lives two months at a time in space and two months at home on Earth. When she’s home, she helps her father run errands, makes dinner for her and her son, and catches up with friends. When it’s time to work again, she fires up her iconic Flarestream Travel Rocket and makes the long commute to and from Neptune or Titan. “Then I bop around the outer planets, transporting diapers and things to the more remote stations before I head back home.” Her new schedule has vastly improved her work-life balance and ensures she gets to spend more time with her son. Elstar isn’t the only beneficiary. In the past few years, hundreds of rocket men have turned up to make Earth, Ohio, their new home. From Solar System mail carriers to seasonal space restaurant workers and waitresses to salesmen and even asteroid miners, more and more people are leaving resource-poor space towns to make their homes on solid ground while keeping their careers in the stars—and the city of Earth, historically a pilots’ town, is an ideal location for rocket men’s unusual work schedules and housing needs.
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