In Memoriam
Posted by LC Aggie Sith on Thursday, January 28, 2010 in History
High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
- Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
- And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
- Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
- of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
- You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung
- High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
- I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
- My eager craft through footless halls of air….
- Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
- I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
- Where never lark nor even eagle flew—
- And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
- The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
- Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Loading ...
Has it been 24 years ago already?
All those brave souls are in a far better place. And may they all (continue to) rest easy.
That event aside, it saddens me to see how far we have fallen as a nation. I can remember the hope and dreams I experienced (as did millions of other Americans) when we sent our first man into space back on May 5th, 1961 (my sixth birthday, by the way). How, if we just put our minds and backs to it, there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish. Now the space program stagnates, the vision obscured. And we, as a people, as a nation are all the poorer for this.
Yeah, that’s one of the days I’ll never forget. I was in the library at high school when the shuttle exploded. There were some students in the astronomy class that were watching it live, and they saw it happen real-time. Word spread quickly, and before long, every television at school was tuned to that station, and everyone was watching the coverage of the incident.
Thanks for posting this, Aggie.
Guy, eddie the bear posted a fabulous response to Obama’s announcement about his plans for NASA:
http://doubleplusundead.mee.nu/remember_this_quote#more
Best rant I have ever read!!!
CF, I was in my freshman year in college, and my dad was at Cape Canaveral in the VIP area…. it’s still hard for him to talk about it.
One of those moments that you remember where you were and what you were doing, and you won’t forget for the rest of your life.
Obama has cancelled the space mission. We will now pay Russia for our launches. No more moon mission. No more International Space Station without paying Russia for the launch. No more Mars. Cancelled.
Welcome, Steve! NASA is now Obama’s main tool for his AGW agenda. Little wonder why Hansen still has a job there.