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"We just decided to go."
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Published Thursday, July 20, 2023 @ 12:11 AM EDT
Jul 20 2023

As a teenager, I knew the moon landing was something spectacular because I had rarely seen Walter Cronkite rendered nearly speechless.

I don't think younger people can appreciate the impact Cronkite had in the country. Prior to his retirement in 1981, he was the news. Sure, the ABC and NBC networks had their own news broadcasts, but I always considered them to be secondary sources reinforcing Cronkite's primary coverage. At least in my house, at news time my grandparents always made certain the station was tuned to the local CBS affiliate, KDKA-TV2. (I still prefer KDKA, but- like most local news broadcasts- it's just a shadow of its former glory).

Cronkite was frequently cited as the most trusted man in America. At that time, prior to 24/7 cable news and the internet, everyone in the United States shared a more or less a singular existence. When Uncle Walter told you something, you knew it was true. "Fake news" was an unknown term. Television network news operations were viewed by their corporate bosses as a public trust, not a profit center.

That glorious Sunday afternoon 54 years ago was a time of optimism and enthusiasm. When Kennedy made his May 25, 1962 Congressional speech announcing the moon landing goal, NASA had no idea how to get there. Indeed, at that time only four Americans had even been launched into space, in tiny one-man Mercury capsules- and only two of those actually achieved orbit.

Yet in only seven years, one month and 26 days, Americans- 400,000 of them, working mostly in private businesses under NASA's direction- made it happen on July 20, 1969. Ideologically, it proved that the American capitalist system was superior. Spiritually, it proved the America could achieve almost anything if it had the will to accept the challenge.

It's that attitude I miss the most. As astronaut and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell observed, "From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go."

Our unsolvable problems are not unsolvable. We just have to decide to solve them.


Categories: Apollo 11, James Lovell, Jim Lovell, NASA, Walter Cronkite


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The moon, intelligent life, International Dance Day
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Published Thursday, April 29, 2021 @ 2:12 AM EDT
Apr 29 2021

Remembering Michael Collins (October 31, 1930 – April 28, 2021), who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon in 1969 while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface. Armstrong died in 1982 from complications of bypass surgery. Aldrin, the sole surviving crewmember, is 91 .


Taken while orbiting the moon in 1969, Collins is
the only human, living or dead who is not in this photo.

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Quote of the day: "He was old and wise, which meant tired and disappointed."
-T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia).

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If it Ducks like a Quack:

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Lifehack: Avoid frozen TV dinners that feature stuffing. TV dinner stuffing is treated by the digestive system in a manner similar to corn, the major difference being that corn is not cube-shaped with sharp corners.

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Yeah, I know how that feels:

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Among other things, today is National Peace Rose Day, National Shrimp Scampi Day, Poem in your Pocket Day, Viral Video Day, We Jump the World Day, World Wish Day, and National Zipper Day.

It's also International Dance Day

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Remembering Rod McKuen (b. Rodney Marvin McKuen-April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015), one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks and classical music. He earned two Academy Award nominations and one Pulitzer nomination for his music compositions. McKuen's translations and adaptations of the songs of Jacques Brel were instrumental in bringing the Belgian songwriter to prominence in the English-speaking world. His poetry deals with themes of love, the natural world and spirituality. McKuen's songs sold over 100 million recordings worldwide, and 60 million books of his poetry were sold as well. (Click here for quotes by Rod McKuen)

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Willie Nelson (b. Willie Hugh Nelson on April 29, 1933) is 88 today.

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Remembering Tammi Terrell (b. Thomasina Winifred Montgomery; April 29, 1945 – March 16, 1970), a star singer for Motown Records during the 1960s, notably for a series of duets with singer Marvin Gaye.

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Tommy James (b Thomas Gregory Jackson on April 29, 1947) is 74 today.

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Jerry Seinfeld (b. Jerome Allen Seinfeld on April 29, 1954) is 67 today.


"You're a comedian with the President going nowhere.
Back it up."

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Kate Mulgrew (b. Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew on April 29, 1955) is 66 today.

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Uma Thurman (b. Uma Karuna Thurman on April 29, 1970) is 51 today.

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On this date in 1992, riots erupted in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 63 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.


Categories: Apollo 11, Marvin Gaye, Michael Collins, Motown, Rod McKuen, Rodney King, Tammi Terrell, Tommy James, Uma Thurman, Willie Nelson


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