Men Into Space

I'm currently reading "Rocket Men' by Craig Nelson, billed as the "epic story of the first men on the moon' i.e. Apollo 11. It is a great book, very readable and it covers the beginning of the space program for both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. with the capture of German rocketeers at the end of WW2 up through the launch and landing of Apollo 11. The book is worth reading.

I have always been space crazy ever since I was old enough to watch our black and white TV as a kid. I was convinced that the British were going to be the first in space only because of the 1950s SF movies that showed on T.V. were frequently made in England; the Hollywood movies cost too much for the local T.V. stations to show them! I was brought up on 'Science Fiction Theater' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_Theatre 'Men into Space'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Into_Space 'Rocky Jones Space Ranger' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Jones and loads of 50s vintage SF movies. Later on there was Twilight Zone (not usually SF) and the superb 'The Outer Limits' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outer_Limits_(1963_TV_series). I went ga-ga over 'Lost in Space' and then dropped it for 'Star Trek'. During all of that I followed the space program intently. I remember Alan Shepard's flight and my father's disdain for the history making event. "They just shot him a couple hundred miles downrange" he said with derision while reading the evening paper. Later on I stood on the front porch and waited to see Echo go by in the night sky, a giant balloon orbiting the earth. I was delivering papers when I saw the headlines about the three astronauts who died in the fire while testing Apollo 1. I recorded the launch of Apollo 11 and the landing on the moon on my little tape recorder at my grandparents house in sweltering Ft. Lauderdale in July. I still have the newspaper from that day. I was at my office in Chicago when someone told me that the Challenger blew up on launch - I didn't believe what I heard and I was on the way to the shooting range when I heard the news about Columbia. A while ago I read that the space station and the shuttle were coming over Santa Clarita at a certain time at night so we went to the backyard to see them. What a sight! A very bright light, not the usual moving dot that satellites display, appeared and moved swiftly overhead and then faded away. Just to think that people are up there, orbiting the earth! It is the stuff of movies and the TV shows of my youth. I just hope I live to see man (and woman) on Mars!

Now for something completely different...I recently acquired a replica WW2 Browning 1919 that will fire but once for each pull of the trigger and yes it is legal so don't be calling the Feds to snitch on me! This thing weighs about 35 lbs and is a amazing machine with levers, cams, springs, accelerators, springs, pins, pawls, and 35 lbs of massive machined steel. I am amazed at how heavy it is (the M60 that I used in the Army weighs about 23 lbs) and that GIs in WW2 and Korea carried this thing for days and weeks at a time especially considering that the average WW2 soldier was 5'7" and weighed a bit under 150 lbs. The greatest generation was also the toughest generation! Why did I get it? Why does someone get a Corvette or a speedboat or a high speed sewing machine? (ok the last one is not a good comparison). For the experience, the thrill and in my case to have a physical connection with my dad's generation of soldiers. Plus it is wicked cool looking.