First an apology to NON-rodentia: A friend of the family, a retired fact checker, was kind enough to point out that neither opossums nor raccoons are, in fact, rodents. I did know this, but apparently he missed the sarcasm disclaimer in last month's rant. I do apologize to all raccoons (actually just failure-to-thrive pandas) and all opossums (lest I find myself in a marsupial court) for any emotional trauma I may have caused. I DO NOT apologize to the rodents, as they should be pleased with the implied upgrade. A Volkswagen cannot be upset if it is mistaken for a Porsche! (I really DO feel better!)
“Space, the final frontier...” I don't care if it's Kirk or Piccard, the words still send a chill down my spine. Not just because I'm a die hard Trekkie (guilty), but because ever since I read my first piece of science fiction in the fourth grade, that's exactly how I've thought of it. That's also why, even after 32 years, I still get a thrill out of any launch. ROCKET SHIPS BLAST OFF FROM MY BACK YARD!
Yes, I am a little disappointed that we don't have the flying cars they told us would be commonplace by the year 2000, or the rocket packs, or the lunar tourism. But, I can live with that, because the home computer they envisioned for the the year 2000 took up a whole wall, and mine fits in a briefcase, while the phone in my pocket has more memory than the computer on board Apollo 11! I can live without Rosie the Robot Maid, because solar panels are available to everyone, as are satellite operated Global Positioning Systems.
What I could also live without are all of the people who still complain that the space program has been nothing but a waste of time and money. Their belt must be cinched a little too tight under their armpits, and it's cutting off blood flow to the brain. Where do they think the Velcro on their track shoes came from? (Or the plastic fabric that sweat suit's made of?)
The light-weight aluminum alloys and heat resistant rubber found in near every kitchen, as well as the insulation and wiring in most homes are ALL vastly improved as a direct result of technologies pioneered by the aerospace industry. Not to mention Uncle Louis' pacemaker and the microwave that he can't go near.
When I sit on my dock at night and gaze at the stars, I wonder what we'll find when we get there. Not “if”, mind you, but “WHEN.” I have no doubt that man will one day travel to other worlds, my only concern is how long the penny-pinching whiners will continue to delay the journey. Maybe if we told them a better golf ball had been located... They DO seem to like those light-weight aluminum and graphite golf clubs, both made of materials that had their inception in the aerospace industry!
Let us learn from hisory, lest we repeat it. Columbus first tried to get John II of Portugal, then Henry VII of England and Charles VIII of France to fund his expedition. None would take the risk. More to the point, none would pay the price. Isabella of Spain eventually became so convinced of the merit of the proposition that she offered to pawn the crown jewels to raise the funds, though her husband, Ferdinand, finally agreed to fund Columbus from the treasury. One visionary believed in another, and Spain wound up with territories over twenty times the size of their original nation!
After that first success matters were a bit easier for the likes of Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa and de Soto. Soon all the other nations that had laughed Columbus out of court were playing “catch up”, with Cabot and Hudson from England, Cartier and Champlain from France, and, of course, Magellan of Portugal. All of these late-comers proved that even if you're late to dinner you can eat well if the table is HUGE! Corn, zucchini, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, and pumpkins were ALL new foods, exotic wonders brought back from the New World in those early days. So was Chocolate!
We have already had many such visionaries pointing our way. Ours were Sheppard and Glenn, Armstrong and Aldrin. Do we really wish to make theirs the first steps to a dead end just because a few myopic moaners whose ability to dream is stifled by their petty concerns for their own wallets?
Granted, wallets are part of the equation, but we are our own Ferdinand and Isabella. WE, the heirs of what was once called “The New World” have the authority to encourage or deny exploration of worlds beyond. We may not get to personally walk on the surface of the moon, or Mars, or unimagined worlds beyond, BUT our great grandchildren may. Theirs may well be born there. But that will only happen when we turn our collective faces to the stars and say, “Let's go there!” We are a nation born on a frontier, and as such, there is nothing that can stop us from braving any frontier beyond. Nothing save our own lack of resolve. Space may not be the “Final Frontier”, but it is certainly the next obvious step. (We'll talk about TIME another day!)
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