Parting is such sweet sorrow
A mix of pride and sadness came over me yesterday as I watched the Space Shuttle being piggybacked on a 747 to its final home at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.
President John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962, at Rice University, Houston, Texas
As we say goodbye to an era, I hope and pray that we as a nation do not abandon the desire to do great things because there are great things yet to do, and to once again boldly go where no man has gone before.
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I wish the era of wanting to explore wasn’t over but America doesn’t strive for greatness anymore.
Jason´s last [type] ..Look around for the whole of the blessing
But we CAN once again. That’s my hope.
This is unfortunate, it almost feels like giving up, which is the saddest thing of all. Fortunately, we can always strive for excellence in other ways, right?
Jake´s last [type] ..You are What you Feed
It amazes me that we can piggyback a shuttle onto a jet. The flyover of D.C. produced some amazing images, as it circled three times.
There’s so much of space left to explore, just as there is much yet to learn about our oceans. When we cease to think of such exploration in terms of conquering and winning and showing who’s better, we’ll take it up again.
Maureen´s last [type] ..Wednesday Wonder: Pamela Leung’s Clay Magic
Powerful post. It is very sad. Amen – there are many, many great things left to be done. Our inability to be adventuresome is trickling down to our young people, they need possibility and creativity more than anything to help restore this great nation to what it once was.
Audra Krell´s last [type] ..Partnering with the Equipped