JimB.
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 4,415
I remember.....................
As a small child in 1963, standing at the seawall at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, watching Gordon Cooper rocket into space in the final Mercury flight, with my mom bending down to me and saying "your father fueled that rocket. Be proud of him"...........
That awful night in 1967, when my parents came home early from a friday night social outing, and my father immediately leaving for work. Only later did I realize the horrible events on Pad 37 that resulted in the deaths of Gus Grissom, Ed White & Roger Chaffee.
The thrill of watching the launches of Apollo's 8,9,10,11,13 & 15 from the viewing site at Kennedy Space Center from only about 4 miles away. What did I think at the time?? "Geeez, that thing is LOUD!!!!"
The grainy pictures from the Sea of Tranquility as Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin took the first tenative steps on another world. (my parents actually let me stay up waaaay past my bedtime for that one)
Being woken up by my father early one morning to his words "there has been an explosion on Apollo 13. They may not get home" and spending the next 4 days glued to the television.
The pride of the successful completion of the Apollo program & the minor part my dad had in it. Also wondering when will we go back. Still wondering..........................
The video of astronauts cavorting around the FIRST space station, SkyLab, and marveling at the ability to repair the initial damage that threatened the entire program.
Watching the first launch of the Columbia in 1981 (not more than a mile from where I watched Gordo Cooper go up).
Seeing John Young on television after the first landing of the Columbia in California acting as happy as a kid in a candy store.
The tragic destruction of Challenger in 1986, as seen from the Flight Line at NAS Cecil Field,FL and the soothing words of President Reagan a few days later at THAT memorial.
The wonder of witnessing a space shuttle launch last spring, the first I had seen in person since the first Columbia launch in 1981, and scolding myself for not making the effort to get down more often.
Life itself is a series of conquests and tragedies. Today we mourn our loss, and the loss to our Nation & the World. Let us celebrate the memory & the ambitions of those that have fallen before us by comitting ourselves to making our world a better place, whether in our families, community, nation or through the continued exploration of the world and universe around us.
GodSpeed Columbia......................................
Remember, it is always darkest before the dawn.....................
As a small child in 1963, standing at the seawall at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, watching Gordon Cooper rocket into space in the final Mercury flight, with my mom bending down to me and saying "your father fueled that rocket. Be proud of him"...........
That awful night in 1967, when my parents came home early from a friday night social outing, and my father immediately leaving for work. Only later did I realize the horrible events on Pad 37 that resulted in the deaths of Gus Grissom, Ed White & Roger Chaffee.
The thrill of watching the launches of Apollo's 8,9,10,11,13 & 15 from the viewing site at Kennedy Space Center from only about 4 miles away. What did I think at the time?? "Geeez, that thing is LOUD!!!!"
The grainy pictures from the Sea of Tranquility as Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin took the first tenative steps on another world. (my parents actually let me stay up waaaay past my bedtime for that one)
Being woken up by my father early one morning to his words "there has been an explosion on Apollo 13. They may not get home" and spending the next 4 days glued to the television.
The pride of the successful completion of the Apollo program & the minor part my dad had in it. Also wondering when will we go back. Still wondering..........................
The video of astronauts cavorting around the FIRST space station, SkyLab, and marveling at the ability to repair the initial damage that threatened the entire program.
Watching the first launch of the Columbia in 1981 (not more than a mile from where I watched Gordo Cooper go up).
Seeing John Young on television after the first landing of the Columbia in California acting as happy as a kid in a candy store.
The tragic destruction of Challenger in 1986, as seen from the Flight Line at NAS Cecil Field,FL and the soothing words of President Reagan a few days later at THAT memorial.
The wonder of witnessing a space shuttle launch last spring, the first I had seen in person since the first Columbia launch in 1981, and scolding myself for not making the effort to get down more often.
Life itself is a series of conquests and tragedies. Today we mourn our loss, and the loss to our Nation & the World. Let us celebrate the memory & the ambitions of those that have fallen before us by comitting ourselves to making our world a better place, whether in our families, community, nation or through the continued exploration of the world and universe around us.
GodSpeed Columbia......................................
Remember, it is always darkest before the dawn.....................
Wow - Simply beautiful - Thank You 
