This same man now walked over to us kids with a soft smile on his face and he squatted down to our level. The other two kids were generally ignorant of who was now addressing us, but I knew...and I was dumb-struck.
He reached out and shook all our hands. The other two kids gave timid response, but I offered the best Texas arm-twister I could muster, given that my hand was engulfed in his.
Three years later, Armstrong radioed back to Earth, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." I just knew when he said "Houston", he was thinking of that little red-headed kid at NASA headquarters that sweltering August afternoon. I felt chills run up my spine.
I still do, when I think about it.
Shepherd went on to land on the Moon with Apollo 14, and became the first man to play golf on another world. I had occasion to meet him several more times over the next couple of decades, until he died in 2007.
I remember at one point early in my career as a TeeVee cameraman running into Shepherd at a hoity-toity function at the River Oaks Country Club. I lowered my camera and reached out to shake his hand.
I know that our future lies 'out there', and so did that nice man at NASA.
I was secretly hoping that Armstrong's death would trigger the release of some Great Secret about the Moon. Maybe that will come when the last Moonwalker passes on. Maybe never.
Posted by Bernard Grover at 05:32
Labels: Apollo 11, Gemini 8, Houston, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Texas politics
Posted by Bernard Grover at 09:48
Labels: LFS world headquarters, Rudyard Kipling, summer vacation
Labels: Curiosity rover, Exo-Issues, hype and hyperbole, Mars, search for life
Posted by Bernard Grover at 04:43
Labels: Curiosity rover, Mars, MSL, the color of Mars
At this point, we seem to hit upon the very heart of the problem in the world today. For us mere mortals, murder is wrong and punishable by draconian methods. But if you are a member of the elite, then you can slaughter on the most horrendous scales, and it is justifiable because of your higher moral stance. If you are a mere human, it is wrong and punishable to steal. Yet, if you are part of the elite, you are justified in helping yourself to the productivity and possessions of whomever you please without recompense.
The list goes on, but the dichotomy is apparent in every case. You can't dodge taxes, but the elite can. You can't get out of speeding tickets, but the elite can. You can't get a decent education for your kids, but the elite can. You can't pass on you life's savings to your family, but the elite can. In every case, might makes right, and we mere mortals are not allowed to question it because the elites live by a different and superior moral code.
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred thing
Posted by Bernard Grover at 05:17
Labels: Bible, psy-ops, social manipulation, tower of babel, war and peace
This same man now walked over to us kids with a soft smile on his face and he squatted down to our level. The other two kids were generally ignorant of who was now addressing us, but I knew...and I was dumb-struck.
He reached out and shook all our hands. The other two kids gave timid response, but I offered the best Texas arm-twister I could muster, given that my hand was engulfed in his.
Three years later, Armstrong radioed back to Earth, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." I just knew when he said "Houston", he was thinking of that little red-headed kid at NASA headquarters that sweltering August afternoon. I felt chills run up my spine.
I still do, when I think about it.
Shepherd went on to land on the Moon with Apollo 14, and became the first man to play golf on another world. I had occasion to meet him several more times over the next couple of decades, until he died in 2007.
I remember at one point early in my career as a TeeVee cameraman running into Shepherd at a hoity-toity function at the River Oaks Country Club. I lowered my camera and reached out to shake his hand.
I know that our future lies 'out there', and so did that nice man at NASA.
I was secretly hoping that Armstrong's death would trigger the release of some Great Secret about the Moon. Maybe that will come when the last Moonwalker passes on. Maybe never.
Posted by Bernard Grover at 05:32
Labels: Apollo 11, Gemini 8, Housto
n, NASA, Neil Armstrong, Texas politics
Posted by Bernard Grover at 09:48
Labels: LFS world headquarters, Rudyard Kipling, summer vacation
Labels: Curiosity rover, Exo-Issues, hype and hyperbole, Mars, search for life
Posted by Bernard Grover at 04:43
Labels: Curiosity rover, Mars, MSL, the color of Mars
At this point, we seem to hit upon the very heart of the problem in the world today. For us mere mortals, murder is wrong and punishable by draconian methods. But if you are a member of the elite, then you can slaughter on the most horrendous scales, and it is justifiable because of your higher moral stance. If you are a mere human, it is wrong and punishable to steal. Yet, if you are part of the elite, you are justified in helping yourself to the productivity and possessions of whomever you please without recompense.
The list goes on, but the dichotomy is apparent in every case. You can't dodge taxes, but the elite can. You can't get out of speeding tickets, but the elite can. You can't get a decent education for your kids, but the elite can. You can't pass on you life's savings to your family, but the elite can. In every case, might makes right, and we mere mortals are not allowed to question it because the elites live by a different and superior moral code.
Of sun-split clouds, --and done a hundred thing
Posted by Bernard Grover at 05:17
Labels: Bible, psy-ops, social manipulation, tower of babel, war and peace