View from the North 40: Here's to the self-made rocket man

While basking in the afterglow of too much Thanksgiving, rushing into pre-Christmas sale-ing and joining in the holiday season openers, we should all take a moment to send good thoughts to Mike Hughes, a 61-year-old southern California limo driver and nascent astronaut whose maiden voyage toward outer space is planned for this weekend.

Hughes has spent about $20,000 building a rocket — and launch pad made from a mobile home — to take him into space, and this weekend’s piloted test launch will take him one step closer to this goal, The Associated Press reported Nov. 20.

Hughes plans...