April 03, 2008

"We Choose to Go to the Moon . . .


. . . we choose to go to the moon and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."~John F. Kennedy

Last night, Mark and I watched In the Shadow of the Moon, a documentary from last year that incorporates fantastic NASA footage and interviews with the surviving moon mission astronauts. It was uplifting and epic, much like the entire Moon Mission. In addition to presidents and royals, the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs are my historical obsessions. When I was a sophomore in HS, I was at a loss at an airport bookstore, so I bought Lost Moon, Jim Lovell's account of the Apollo 13 mission. I was hooked. I have read dozens of books and watched many films on the space program. In the Shadow of the Moon was amazing, and I recommend it fully, along with Tom Hank's HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. The more I study it, the more it becomes the time period I would probably visit in a time machine. And my parents were there! Anyway, I'm now trying to figure out how to name any future sons after Michael Collins and Alan Bean, my favorite astronauts.

Spring Break #2: Staying Home
My Spring Breaks have not always been fantastic adventures. Frequently they have involved staying home in either Wyoming or Colorado. I have always enjoyed staying home, and I've had some adventures here. I've seen exhibits at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (yay, Vikings! Yay, Gold!), I've gone on free tours at Coors, Budweiser, Celestial Seasons, and the Olympic Training Center in C. Springs. I've read books, played games, worked on projects, graded, planned lessons, hung out with family and friends, and recharged. Sometimes, staying home is the best adventure.

4 comments:

The Coach said...

Are you saying, like Kennedy, that you stay home and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard?

Anonymous said...

collins and bean those are great names. I'll paint the night sky on their walls and ceiling

Sarah said...

Collins and Bean sounds like a law firm...or maybe a small label Scotch.

I would not recommend naming any of your children Mr. Bean. Even as a very nice pseudo-uncle I would have a hard time not teasing him.

Matty said...

I'd like the record to show that Sarah does not think she is an uncle or even pseudo-uncle...that last comment was, in fact, me. I apologize for my faulting commenting.