Lost In Space

    A bit of reflection today if I may!
    I was driving home after an early
morning trip to Philadelphia the
other day when the music from my
XM Oldies station not only took me
back a few years but started me to
thinking.
    The song was "Telstar", a 1962
instrumental preformed by a British
band call  "The Tornados."
     It came out at a time when the Space
race was a reality. Our country was
in a 'catch up mode' after the
Russians beat us into space with
the first satellite and,later, the first man
in orbit!
     Back then we huddled around our
television sets, perhaps with fingers
crossed, and literally shouted "Go,go.
go" as Alan Shepard became the first
American to travel into space.
   The space program was a big deal
back then.
    About a week ago I watched as
the International Space Station
passed overhead across the night sky.
    I'm still impressed with that sort
of thing.
    But how many of us can name
any of the American Astronauts
who have been aboard that station
or who were part of the last
shuttle mission?
    It's far more likely we can name
the actor who played Captain Kirk
or can explain how Darth Vader was
related to Luke Skywalker!
    Seems our united "Go, go, go
attitude" is gone, gone, gone!
    I guess when what seemed like
the impossible became close to
routine we lost our collective
enthusiasm.
    That's too bad.
    I like Spock as well as the next
guy. But, as a symbol, he'd be
standing in front of a United
Federation of Planets banner
rather than the Stars and Stripes.
    And now-a-days, instead of
cheering on NASA missions,
we're just worried that a storm
might disrupt the satellites that
bring TV programs into our
living rooms each day.
   We've accomplished a lot
since the late Alan Shepard
took that first American flight
and we really ought to be proud
about it!
   Hope everything is A-OK with
you and that all your NEWS is
good!