BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
U.S. Sen. John Glenn's colleagues in the Ohio congressional delegation want to see the once-and-future astronaut's face on a Wheaties box.
Well, most of them do.
Seventeen of the other 20 members of the delegation asked General Mills, the Minneapolis-based company that makes the breakfast cereal, to put Mr. Glenn's face on the box to commemorate his return to space this fall aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
The 77-year-old Ohio Democrat will become the oldest person to travel in space. He is retiring.
"We realize the cover of the Wheaties box has been reserved for sports icons," the members wrote. "We also acknowledge that John Glenn is not technically an athlete, although he has the heart, dedication and mental and physical toughness of the best athletes in the world."
The campaign to get Mr. Glenn, who became the first American astronaut to orbit the earth in 1962, on the Wheaties box was the brainchild of Sen. Mike DeWine, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Madison Village.
The request was made by all members of the delegation except Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati; Rep. John Boehner, R-West Chester; and U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor, R-Old Fort.
General Mills has not responded.
