CLEVELAND, Ohio – The son of a NASA engineer, Paul Jeris grew up watching space flights and idolizing astronauts. This month, Jeris will emulate his heroes John Glenn and Neil Armstrong with a space flight of his own, part of Blue Origin’s latest commercial launch into space. “It’s my dream,” said Jeris, 65, who splits his time between Middleburg Heights and Put-in-Bay. “I’ve been thinking about this my whole life.” Jeris’ father, Ed Jeris, was an electrical engineer at Cleveland’s NASA Lewis Research Center (later renamed NASA Glenn), who worked on the Centaur rocket program. As a kid, Jeris sat in on NASA presentations and traveled frequently to Florida to watch rocket launches. “I was a space kid,” he said. Soon, he’ll be a space adult, joining five other paying passengers aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle. He’ll travel at a speed of up to 2,300 mph straight up for about 65 miles, to what’s called the Karman line – the “universal boundary of space,” Jeris said. “It’s called breaking the Karman line, where aerodynamics no longer applies.” In contrast, large commercial airplanes typically cruise 6 to 7 miles above the Earth. “You’re up there to see the darkness of space and look back at Earth and see that thin blue line,” Jeris said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” The entire journey should take about 20 minutes, he said. Jeris will train for three days before launching from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site. The launch date has not been publicly released, but is expected to be announced in the coming days by Blue Origin, the Kent, Washington-company founded in 2000 by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos. Jeris applied to be part of the flight last year. He said he was unsure why he was picked other than, he joked, his ability to pay. Jeris said he was not permitted to reveal the cost, other than it was “nowhere near” the $28 million that a passenger paid in an auction to be on the first flight in 2021. A $150,000 deposit is required to apply. The company was in the news recently after an all-female crew, including singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King, took part in an April launch. Jeris, sometimes known by his nickname “Put-in-Bay Paul,” is a real estate developer and entrepreneur who owns several businesses on Put-in-Bay, including the Island Club, Put-in-Bay Condos and Put-in-Bay Golf Cart Depot. He operates the putinbay.com website and recently published “101 Things to do at Put-in-Bay.” Jeris is something of a serial traveler, having visited 149 countries in a quest to see all 196 nations recognized by the United Nations. He’s also a bit of an adventurer, enjoying skydiving and scuba diving. Traveling to space, of course, is the ultimate travel adventure. Asked if he was afraid, he responded, “You have to set that aside and enjoy the experience. If something happens, you can’t control that anyway. You have to experience the journey.”