Christmas, Today - 40

I remember Christmas Eve 1968.

I listened, as the crew of Apollo 8, Jim Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman, took turns reading Genesis.

My Dad worked on the booster and had gone to Kennedy for the launch. He was back by Christmas and with us at home when the broadcast came. I had an intimate connection with the program. I had visited my Dad on base. I had listened (felt!) the tests of the first stage from ten miles away. I was as proud of being my Dad's son as I was of being an American. I knew I was a witness to something great.

In 1968 I was sixteen years old. I had ceased thinking about being a minister but I hadn't yet given up on the idea of God-- that would come about a decade later. The mind that I have now, forty years later, cannot be the mind I had then. Too much has happened; too much has been learned.

So, I cannot truly recapture the effect on me of those voices coming from across space. That sixteen year old child is gone.

Human beings are amazing and we should dare to do amazing things. Heal the sick. Care for the poor. Cure the planet. Reach the stars.

We should expect nothing less from ourselves.
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Political Links
Creationism in Europe
Cheney Infallible

Links of Interest
Happy Birthday Earthrise
Trading Favors with orangutans
Pound Sound
Bert Simons
Steampunk NERF Rifle
The Future of Man
New Battery

DIY
Introduction to Blacksmiting