Cosmic Crescendo

First you leap, then you grow wings.

William Sloane Coffin
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Hello Vienna, Austria
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First there was a primitive man stepping out from his cave and contemplating a bright light in the sky. It seemed to have some control over life so soon he and his buddies began to worship it. They gave it a name and as paganism arose it took on the persona of a goddess. Folks knew it was a goddess because they could see a face in it. But it was a fickle goddess, sometimes she was there, sometimes she wasn't and she came and went gradually.

Then came the scientists, the astronomers with their telescopes trying to get a closer look at the goddess. With them it wasn't a goddess at all, but a planet. And since they could tell that it was moving around the earth. the earth must be the center of everything. That made biblical sense, so people settled on that for a long time.

But then some uppity scientists tried to suggest that the earth was not the center of it all. in fact it was just another planet like the one they were contemplating. And if that was so then what was the relationship, since the other one hung around all the time, or most of the time? And why did it come in gradually changing shapes? Some lunatic proposed the absolutely preposterous idea that it wasn't the planet itself that changed but the shadow of the earth on it. Now things were getting very confusing.

Then folks thought that if it was a planet like ours then maybe there was life on it. The only way to find out was to go there, but how could anyone do that?

Jules Verne wrote a book about going there which depicted the travelers sitting aloft in a Victorian living room. Verne was a science fiction writer. Nobody was going to take it seriously.

But then with the improvement of air flight a few deluded souls did start to take it seriously and tried to think of ways to get there.

Rocket science was born and men tried with some success but mostly failure to put something up there into the vast area which, for want of a better name, we call "space."

Then there was sputnik.

Then there was Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

Then there was John Glenn, the first man in orbit.

Then there was the , Program and trips around to the goddess' backside.
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Then there was Neil Armstrong's "One giant leap."

I think the primitive man, peering out of his cave at the bright light in the sky, is pleased and proud that he himself took that "one small step."

DB - Vagabond Journeys
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Never Give Up
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Precocious Prophecy 5/17/09

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.

Thomas Paine
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Come in, make yourself comfortable.
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A band leader once said "No matter what tune you play someone will come out to dance." Sometimes I wonder how people get set up as teachers. I have written about Mr. O'Conner, my elementary school science teacher, who, when in my 11 year old enthusiasm and interest in the solar system said that I would like to go to the moon, scornfully said "Don't be ridiculous. Man can never go to the moon." I bet if I hung out a sign offering instruction in something I don't know anything about, someone would come knocking at my door to sign up.

Yesterday I spent a few hours watching the astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope. It still amazes me how far we have come in space technology since Mr. O'Conner's faulty, authoritative pronouncement of "scientific fact."

Another thing I note with astonishment is, after all the comings and goings of earth life, the societies, the governments, the tribes and nations, wars and trade, the history books and artifacts collected and gathered into museums, we still know very little about this place we live on, this globe floating around in space for no apparent reason. We live on one tiny, insignificant speck on the nose of the universe and Hubble keeps giving us more and more information of the immeasurable vastness of it all. But there is still something else even more amazing.

When Mr. O'Conner gave forth with his "expert opinion" man had never been to the moon, yet. During the NASA program there was a lecture about the plans to put astronauts on Mars; 6 months to get there, 6 months to poke around, 6 months to get back. Considering the starscapes presented to us by Hubble, a trip to Mars seems like a baby step. And so it is.

There are those who think all this space exploration is a total waste of time, money and resources. Those are the same people who did not wish to precede Thomas Paine and his friends. But those who did, did begin the world over again: two new continents, a new story and a new way of life. As Margaret Thatcher said, America was built on philosophy.

Is there life on Mars? It's likely, in some form. Is there intelligent life in our solar system or in some distant galaxy? Most probably. And that means we are citizens of the universe. It means our world is now part of a larger society, a grander civilization than we have known. Our world is much larger than it has ever been. It's a new world, begun all over again.

In 1959 my girl friend and I went to a Dave Brubeck concert at the Revere Beach outdoor stadium outside of Boston. While listening to "Take Five" I leaned back and stared up at the clear night sky and saw a slowly moving star. It was Sputnik. orbiting overhead. Sputnik's successful journey began the world all over again with one small baby step.

Ii is in our power to begin the world over again, every day.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
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You have a happy Sunday now, your hear me?
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