Jimmy’s Space Adventure

Last time on The Adventures of Jimmy the Hose Fitter:

A meteor is heading towards Earth, and as luck would have it, a string of unfortunate events has landed Jimmy in a space capsule orbiting around the planet. He is the only chance humanity has!

‘Jimmy,’ said the General. ‘The new special design capsule you’re in is not only state of the art, but also one of the largest nuclear reactors in the world. Our original plan was to fire the empty capsule at the meteor and blow the damn rock to pieces.’

‘You want me to blow myself up?’ asked Jimmy. This was not how he had imagined his day would go when he woke up this morning.

‘Excuse me,’ interrupted one of the NASA technicians. ‘But don’t the French have a shuttle?’

‘They do, but they won’t get to the meteor in time!’ yelled the General.

‘Yes, sir,’ the NASA technician agreed. ‘But there is a space suit in our capsule.’ The woman moved close enough to be heard through the microphone. ‘Jimmy, you could aim the capsule at the meteor, put on the space suit and eject yourself out. The French shuttle can rescue you.’

The General nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, that could work.’

‘There should be a space suit and an oxygen tank in one of the lockers near the exit hatch,’ said the NASA engineer. 

‘I found it!’ Jimmy exclaimed, after a few seconds of searching. But his relief quickly turned to disappointment as he made a devastating discovery. ‘There’s no hose here to connect the oxygen tank to the suit.’

‘Damn it!’ yelled the General, banging his fist against the desk. The mood in the control room grew solemn.

‘Wait!’ Jimmy cried out, slapping a hand against his forehead. He was a hose fitter! He could just make a hose by repurposing some of his supplies. Luckily for Jimmy, he had a H19MM crimper in his toolkit. The H19MM was a small portable crimper ideal for tight spaces and hard to reach areas. It would be perfect for this!

‘Wow,’ Jimmy thought, as he pulled out the crimper. ‘Taipan have some really cool stuff.’

Selecting a length of 100R14 hose, which was ideal for gases, Jimmy got to work hooking up the oxygen tank to the suit. A few moments later, he stepped back to survey his handywork. In the control room, the General and the NASA staff waited with bated breath.

‘It works!’ exclaimed Jimmy. The control room erupted in a loud cheer as he climbed into the space suit. Jimmy was ready to save the world.

The NASA technician directed Jimmy on how to aim the rocket towards the meteor and eject from the capsule. Staring through the window, Jimmy was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the meteor. He took a deep breath.

Jimmy aimed the capsule and launched himself into space.

Thrown backwards by the force of the ejection, Jimmy watched the capsule get smaller as it flew away. He pulled down the spacesuit visor to protect his eyes. Safety first, even in space. The capsule impacted the meteor and exploded in a beautiful array of colours, like hydraulic oil on wet tarmac. The meteor broke into millions of pieces and the room at NASA erupted in celebration.

‘You just saved Earth, Jimmy!’ said the General. ‘The French are getting ready to launch; you’ll be home in no time.’

‘Hold that thought, General,’ said Jimmy, staring in bewilderment at the Starship that had suddenly appeared beside him. ‘I don’t think I’ll be needing the French to pick me up after all.’

A door slowly slid open on the side of the ship and a man’s smiling face peered out at Jimmy.

‘Hey, man,’ said Elon Musk. ‘You need a ride?’