On their return flight from the moon, the three astronauts in a live space news conference thanked NASA and the American people, but each astronaut specifically thanked the American workers whose skilled hands had created marvels out of dreams. In watching Neil Armstrong's lunar landing, always remember that when the voice says "sixty seconds" that is how much fuel is left on board. When that voice says "thirty seconds," that is how much fuel is left on board. When Armstrong says, "Contact light, engine shut down." there was nine seconds of fuel left. Yet throughout, Armstrong's voice never wavered nor did his inflection change.
I read a comment on YouTube the other day that asked, "How could they fly a lunar lander and land on the moon with less computer power than a pocket calculator?" They were bad ass pilots, fearless men who flew with ice water in their veins. Men who by their skills landed a vehicle on the surface of the moon with less computer power than a pocket calculator and had the presence of mind to thank the workers who built it. This was the apogee of American exceptionalism, when the world admired us because at our own national pinnacle we gave it away and shared it with the world and the world admired us for that and for all of what we could do without using a gun.
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I who am I? Born at the pinnacle of American prosperity to parents raised during the last great depression. I was the youngest child of the youngest children born almost between the generations and that in fact clouds and obscures who it is that (more...)
