ruminating

I have been reading a book concerning the Space Race and the Race to the Moon.  I have been enjoying this book very much, although, since I am presently reading approximately three books at once, the going is slow.  The author was quoting from a speech by Kennedy about how he wished to end the space race and work cooperatively with the Soviet Union...etc., etc., ad nauseum.  Still, what played in my head was the speech we all know...at least part of...in which he says "we choose to go to the moon.... not because [it] is easy, but because [it] is hard."  Yes, that beloved president mispronounced the word "decade"...still, his meaning rings true.  It was these goals that set this mighty nation apart.

I sat, tonight, on our back step.  I looked at the stars and I thought of those words.  I thought of the president's description of the planets Venus and Mars as distant.  In truth, they are so very distant.  They seem but a speck of light in our night sky, but, compared to the stars which abound in our heavens...they are closer than we could ever imagine!  Even now there are man-made items on both of these planets.  That is a statement of Man's ingenuity!  We will go there.  

We may not have "Star Trek" technologies yet, but perhaps someday we will break that barrier.

My grandfather watched the stars.  Hell, he built his own telescope.  He ground the lenses himself.  I have always been enamored by the stars. I have been a science fiction fan for these many years simply because the books offer a jumping off point.  I wish I could visit them, but I recognize the time frames involved and hope that I can interest SOMEONE in completing the journey for me.  

I maintain that as long as someone remembers you, you never really die.  Maybe I can live on in my interest in space through one of the kids I teach, or maybe my own child.  

Those stars are there.  They hang from the night sky inviting you to reach out your hand to touch them and then they are back, 20,000 light years away.  It is an optical illusion performed by the darkness and the inability of our eyes to view such far-away objects with stereo vision that functions.

I watched them tonight...and I willd ream of reaching them, too.  The only way I will visit them is with an imagination.  fortunately, I seem to be overstocked in that!  

Good night folks!