Simple words can make dreams come true.

It’s the longest eight minutes,” remarks Cloverland Electric member, Jim Hobaugh, as he and his wife, Virginia, anxiously sit and wait. Positioned on bleachers across the bay, their eyes remain fixed on NASA’s launch pad. Inside Shuttle Endeavour, the seven-person crew makes final preparations for NASA’s 22nd mission to the International Space Station.

Hours before, they enjoyed a pleasant dinner with Space Shuttle Endeavour’s crew. Among them was someone they have shared many meals with over the years, and know very well. Their son, NASA astronaut and U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Charles O. Hobaugh, is the pilot on Space Shuttle Endeavour’s recent STS-118 mission.

With a twinkle in her eye and beaming with pride, “He’s just Charlie!” says Virginia.

The visit is short, and the conversation is light. Much like his father, who served as a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, Charlie is focused and determined.

“He’s tough on the outside, but down inside he’s mush,” Virginia adds.

An avid pilot himself, Jim introduced Charlie to flying. With his seven-year-old son seated beside him, they would ascend over the mountains in Juneau, AK. “Once he understood the controls, he was hooked on it,” Jim says.

While father and son have shared similar experiences in their lifetime, the closest encounter Jim has had with space flight was sitting inside a shuttle simulator. With Charlie by his side, Jim put his hands on the extremely sensitive controls and prepared to glide the shuttle in for a landing. “He tells me to back off, you’re too heavy-handed,” Jim recalls. Fortunately for them, they were in a simulator.

Just the same, Jim was thrilled at the chance to try something new. Very simply, he says, “You don’t know you can’t, so you do.”

Jim and Virginia are both positive, upbeat people who choose not to make certain words part of their vocabulary, and that decision has reflected positively in their childrens’ achievements.

As they sit quietly side-by-side, surrounded by family and friends, the shuttle’s rocket boosters ignite and the shuttle lifts off.

“He never learned the words ‘can’t’ or ‘quit,’ except together,” Jim explains. “Can’t quit.” Words of wisdom that have literally enabled Charlie to “reach for the stars.”

After 5.3 million miles and 13 days in orbit, Charlie and the Endeavour crew glided safely back to earth on Aug. 21.