In 1985, Tom Norton tried his hardest to get on a space shuttle in hopes of playing his violin in space.
“I thought I could play my violin in outer space,” said Norton. “It is not trivial to think in terms of using the violin to measure manual and acoustical dexterity required to play the violin in a weightless environment.”
Norton, now 81, was a New York State finalist for the NASA Teacher in Space program that year but didn’t quite make it. That didn’t deter the high school physics teacher from fantasizing about how the experience could have impacted his students’ learning.
“I made a solar energy experiment book published for high school and college students and I thought I could have a similar book of experiments from outer space that the students could participate in,” said Norton.
For example, if he was circling the Earth and knew the rate at which he was traveling plus a few other scientific numbers, his students back in the classroom could have used the data to calculate the distance he traveled, the speed and predicted what stars he’d pass.
“They can do the timing from the clock in the classroom and I can bring them up to outer space to see what I see and do their experiments that way by taking real time data,” said Norton.
Remembering helps today
Norton enjoys sharing his close brush with the extraterrestrial, his diverse knowledge bank and other life memories whenever possible because with dementia, it keeps his mind fresh and cognizance active, said his daughter Susan Norton-Scott.
Lauren Jacobi, marketing director at Beacon Pointe Memory Care Community in Clifton Park, where Norton now lives, said staff rely on a combination of building aesthetics, therapeutic activities and communication techniques to help residents retain their memory and skills as long as possible.
Flying into space all those years ago would have taken Norton’s long-time love of flying within the Earth’s boundaries to an extreme. Before he was a teacher and applied for the Teacher in Space program, he liked flying so much that he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
“I always liked to fly … but I have scar tissue in my eardrum so I could not be qualified as a pilot in the Air Force so I finished my enlistment as a weather observer and got early discharge to teach,” said Norton.
Teaching was a whole new life path for him, but not a surprising one.
“I was encouraged by my Mom. I was always interested in science so I combined the two,” said Norton.
Of science and service
He taught chemistry, algebra, biology and physics at Shaker High School in Latham when it first opened and then Linden High School in Schenectady, his hometown. His mother supported his teaching aspirations but he has his father to thank for his affinity for science.
“My Dad was a scientist at GE Research lab (during World War II). … I was born and raised with science. The people my Dad was associated with were Nobel Prize winners, those were his colleagues,” said Norton, whose father helped invent the mass spectrometer, an instrument used to measure masses of atoms and molecules.
Teaching was his passion but Norton said the way he left it in the early ‘90s was disheartening.
“I loved the teaching best but it turns out that the kids finally drove me out of (it) because the behavior in the classroom was so bad. I gave them my 60-day notice and figured winter vacation was coming up so I’d include that and the first day after winter break would be my last day of teaching,” said Norton. “Angels were smiling upon me because that day was a snow day so I didn’t have to do that last day of school.”
Somewhere in his action-packed life, Norton also found time to participate in Angel Flights, where he volunteered his time to fly patients for medical treatment.
“Going from Plattsburgh across Lake Champlain to Burlington where the hospital is … would be an 18-hour trip by car,” said Norton. “We went right across in an hour and a half.”
Norton also flew people to Long Island and areas along the east coast of New York.
“I liked to fly. I was selfish, I just liked to fly,” said Norton.
Airplanes aren’t the only transportation device Norton knows how to operate. He volunteered with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary (he’s still involved as an “honorary old member”) and would provide support during parades or other public events.
“We get the training so we can assist the Coast Guard in their civil functions but never in the law enforcement,” said Norton. “For example, the Coast Guard patrol boat would be in a parade … and we would follow behind as a running escort to keep the boaters and recreational boaters from going back to the parade route.”
A celebrated life
Long before he conducted Angel Flights or provided nautical back up, Norton rode cross-country on a motorcycle, a favorite story to share with his four grandkids and something he wishes he could still do now.
“I rode it out west, did some logging in the Redwood region to get some more money and went from Washington to Schenectady in four days. I didn’t stop much,” said Norton. “I went right over the Rockies and even in August I can still feel the cold and I’d stop for gas and grab any papers they had to stuff in my jacket to keep warm.”
Norton has enough stories to fill a book, and in fact, his daughter compiled one for the caregivers at Beacon Pointe called “Tom Norton: A Celebrate Life.”
“If you don’t live life and sit you just rot so I just go ahead and have fun. After a while you do one thing and get tired of that so you go on to something else. That’s the way I’ve done it my whole life,” said Norton.
Norton-Scott said her father has always “followed his curiosity” and “didn’t like to color within the lines” which is why he’s accumulated so many tales and the reason she felt it important to preserve them.
“It’s more of a collection of photos as opposed to text. I wanted to capture his spirit all in one place in a format that would be long lasting and one that could be easily gifted,” said Norton-Scott, who distributed copies to the whole family.
Norton still approaches life with the same vivacious attitude. Even though he’s 81 according to his birth certificate, he said he’s “more like 50 going on 10” and is always looking for a good time.
“I’m not behaving as an 81-year-old. I’m doing a lot, having fun within the rules that I have. Sometimes they’re a little restricting so you find ways to get around them. Otherwise you just grin and bear it,” said Norton.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, Norton was planning a bit of fun that was within “the rules.”
“This afternoon I’m picking up my little kitty. … I’ve got kitty on my mind,” said Norton. “I’ve had cats before but this is new here. You’ve gotta find love where you find it.”