When I was a young boy, I was a voracious reader. I devoured Greek myths and stories of ancient Egypt. When night came, I would hide under my covers and read Tom Swift books by flashlight. Finding that ineffective, I convinced my parents I was terrified of the dark so they let me keep a light on. It made reading so much easier.
I discovered Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. The first time I read the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov I loved it but didn’t quite understand it all. The third time I reveled in his artistry in creating a universe. I still, once and again, read Heinlein’s “Citizen of the Galaxy.”
In later years, friends and I would gather and watch “Star Trek,” at an age when we would enhance the experience with cannabis. I have looked toward the stars. When the Challenger exploded, I was driving down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and nearly rear ended the car in front of me in my shock.
Yesterday Elon Musk’s Space X rocket, during a test, exploded, destroying not just itself but also a satellite Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had invested in to bring internet to Africa.
It is unlikely I will meet Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. And I credit them for using their wealth and technology to work to expand our efforts toward space. It’s always been my belief that we, as a race, need to long beyond now to something more.
We have conquered this planet. Maybe to its detriment, but there is little left undiscovered here and so much undiscovered beyond the gravitational fields of this planet.
Okay, I am a great supporter of space exploration. I think we need it as a species. We’re, as humans, driven to look for more. Always been that way and hope it will always be that way.
When I was young, I was in a theater troupe and we all stopped that night in 1969 to watch the landing on the moon.
In my life, I’ve met the famous and the once famous and have never asked for an autograph. Except when I met Buzz Aldrin, 2nd man on the moon. It’s framed, in my study.
Okay, I have now exposed myself as a space geek.
And I admire, no matter what we think of them, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Richard Branson of Virgin everything, and Elon Musk of Tesla and Space X, for wanting to take us out there.
Since we retired the Space Shuttles we have no way of bringing personnel to the International Space Station so we use the Russians. But Elon Musk’s company has brought supplies there for a fraction of the cost of other means.
It is my belief that we need to be looking outward because looking outward gives us, the human race, a sense of hope in the future and it is the hope of a future that has propelled us from the caves to here.
Tags: Ancient Egypt, Buzz Aldrin, Claverack, Elon Musk, Foundation Triology, Isaac Asimov, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Richard Branson, Robert Heinlein, Space, Star Trek
This entry was posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Hudson New York, Life, Literature, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Space Exploration, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Letter from the Vineyard
Letter From New York 09 01 2016 From the Creek, thinking about space…
When I was a young boy, I was a voracious reader. I devoured Greek myths and stories of ancient Egypt. When night came, I would hide under my covers and read Tom Swift books by flashlight. Finding that ineffective, I convinced my parents I was terrified of the dark so they let me keep a light on. It made reading so much easier.
I discovered Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. The first time I read the Foundation Trilogy by Asimov I loved it but didn’t quite understand it all. The third time I reveled in his artistry in creating a universe. I still, once and again, read Heinlein’s “Citizen of the Galaxy.”
In later years, friends and I would gather and watch “Star Trek,” at an age when we would enhance the experience with cannabis. I have looked toward the stars. When the Challenger exploded, I was driving down Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and nearly rear ended the car in front of me in my shock.
Yesterday Elon Musk’s Space X rocket, during a test, exploded, destroying not just itself but also a satellite Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had invested in to bring internet to Africa.
It is unlikely I will meet Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. And I credit them for using their wealth and technology to work to expand our efforts toward space. It’s always been my belief that we, as a race, need to long beyond now to something more.
We have conquered this planet. Maybe to its detriment, but there is little left undiscovered here and so much undiscovered beyond the gravitational fields of this planet.
Okay, I am a great supporter of space exploration. I think we need it as a species. We’re, as humans, driven to look for more. Always been that way and hope it will always be that way.
When I was young, I was in a theater troupe and we all stopped that night in 1969 to watch the landing on the moon.
In my life, I’ve met the famous and the once famous and have never asked for an autograph. Except when I met Buzz Aldrin, 2nd man on the moon. It’s framed, in my study.
Okay, I have now exposed myself as a space geek.
And I admire, no matter what we think of them, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Richard Branson of Virgin everything, and Elon Musk of Tesla and Space X, for wanting to take us out there.
Since we retired the Space Shuttles we have no way of bringing personnel to the International Space Station so we use the Russians. But Elon Musk’s company has brought supplies there for a fraction of the cost of other means.
It is my belief that we need to be looking outward because looking outward gives us, the human race, a sense of hope in the future and it is the hope of a future that has propelled us from the caves to here.
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Tags: Ancient Egypt, Buzz Aldrin, Claverack, Elon Musk, Foundation Triology, Isaac Asimov, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, New York, Richard Branson, Robert Heinlein, Space, Star Trek
This entry was posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Hudson New York, Life, Literature, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Space Exploration, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.