Happy Moon Day 2011
Jul 20th, 2011 | 7 responses
Perhaps the finest moment in the life of our species. Forty-two years ago today, on a hot summer evening.
A species from this planet …
Landed on its moon.
And walked around.
And changed our fundamental understanding of the Universe.
Not many sentient species ever accomplish this feat.
A holy day, whether a holiday or not.
Happy Moon Day!
(This was as reprint of last year’s post. Which was in lieu of my previous annual Moon Day post, “A Secret History of Neil Armstrong,” which is read virtually every day all around that blue marble we stared at from lunar orbit in 1968.)
Courage.
[Programming note: tomorrow we have ANOTHER big anniversary, which has nothing to do with the end of the Space Shuttle program with the landing of Atlantis.]
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A writer, published author, novelist, literary critic and political observer for a quarter of a quarter-century more than a quarter-century, Hart Williams has lived in the American West for his entire life. Having grown up in Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico, a survivor of Texas and a veteran of Hollywood, Mr. Williams currently lives in Oregon, along with an astonishing amount of pollen. He has a lively blog His Vorpal Sword. This is cross-posted from his blog.
7 Responses to “Happy Moon Day 2011”
It is somewhat sad that tomorrow will mark the US pullout from manned space program.
Hubble’s deep field, is for me, incredible. Makes me realize the pettiness of my own behavior. It lectures all of us of our unlikely survival, unless we can somehow find our way. We nervously bash around on this speck in space, generously given to us by what we cannot comprehend, as if we, or, this speck, mattered. As if the precariousness of our future has not already been spelled out to us in spades. We are discovering our existence, but we are incredulous of it’s blatant uncertainty. Worst horror of all, what if we are really alone?
I won’t take the liberty of revealing what tomorrow is the anniversary for
We can’t afford it (despite a GDP per capita at least 30% higher than when the Space Race began), we have wars to wage, wars to pay for and millionaires not to tax…
Quijote-
Well said.
Thank you Patrick. The secret is out now, tho. [emoticon]
Patrick — regarding endings and anniversaries:
1735-1826 and 1743-1826. Died July 4, 50 years after 1776.
Adams and Jefferson