An inside glimpse into the garages, storage rooms, attics, or sheds of our executives at Freedom Consulting Group, the “In the Garage Series” searches around for the odd, interesting, and downright funny objects taking up residency in our leadership team’s homes.

Name: Norm Walters

Object: Tasco Collapsible Telescope

The Tale: As a small child, I always wanted to be an astronaut. Then, as I grew a little older and discovered how unlikely that was, I decided I wanted to be an astronomer. I was always awestruck by pictures from outer space of galaxies, nebulas, and other distant objects; so I constantly begged my parents for a telescope. My family couldn’t afford much, but one Christmas, I got a Tasco collapsible telescope. It wasn’t the large telescope I coveted, but I decided it was extra cool, because it was like a pirate telescope. It wasn’t powerful enough to see a lot, but I used it to study the craters in the moon on summer evenings under the stars in my sleeping bag.

I also liked to climb trees and was forever getting into trouble with my mom for coming home with pine pitch all over my clothes. Then one day I discovered that by climbing very high in one of the pine trees near our house I could shimmy across onto the limb of a giant cherry tree. Once up that high, I could reach other branches and climb to the very top of the tree where no one could find me. So, I started taking my telescope and climbing to the top of the tree to survey the surrounding woods, and also to check out what was happening in the neighborhood. I also felt like I was a lot closer to the moon, and I imagined I could see the craters even clearer from up there.

I never got to be an astronomer, but I still have a love for stargazing. And I now have a larger telescope that I occasionally drag out to get a glimpse of objects like Jupiter, Saturn, and the Orion nebula. I still covet that massive telescope that will help me see even more distant objects. Maybe one day, after I’ve retired and moved away from all the bright lights of the DC/Baltimore area, I’ll then be able to see them all.