The Rocketmen are a fraction of a splinter in the body of the Federal Budget. The contemporary remains of a WPA jobs program, the Department of Municipal Rocketry employs men (who are maybe not employable anywhere else) to wear hydrogen-fueled rocket packs and spend their days on city rooftops, awaiting any peril that might befall the city. There is a lot of waiting. In the old days, there was the threat of Russians to battle and 50-foot robots to contend with. Now, they rescue cats, detain illegal skywriters, and start the occasional roof fire. Some of these Rocketmen haven’t flown since their training session. Mostly, they kill time waiting for the emergency phone to ring, which never happens. Until one day, when it rings.
