Day 3495

There have been so many documentaries about Apollo 11 this week that I feel I know more about the space program now than I did when all this was actually happening. Looking back, it is amazing that John Kennedy's promise to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the decade was actually fulfilled. Kennedy himself was starting to have second thoughts about the huge expense of the program just before he was assassinated in Dallas. I don't think we could do something like this today. Can you imagine today's politically correct politicians putting Wernher von Braun in charge of the space program? During the 60's Americans hadn't become tribal yet. Despite all the unrest surrounding the Vietnam War, most Americans still had a lot of national pride. They really wanted to beat the Russians to the moon. I can't even imagine 400,000 people working toward a common goal anymore. That's how many people the Apollo program employed at its peak. Just about everyone my age knows someone who had a connection to the Apollo program.

I'm glad we persevered and kept going despite all the initial failures. It proved that you can do just about anything if you stay focused and put your mind to it. Many of those early space pioneers genuinely believed we would be living in cities on Mars by now. It was definitely possible. They didn't realize how fickle politicians can be and how quickly dreams can fade. When I was a kid I thought we'd be living on Mars by now too. I remember reading articles about space travel in my Dad's copies of Scientific American. We were already designing atomic powered rockets in Nevada during the late 1950's. Project Orion was going to take us to Mars using a rocket powered by firing a series of nuclear bombs. What could possibly go wrong?

I didn't feel like fixing our usual Saturday breakfast. I didn't watch old Have Gun Will Travel episodes while I was eating either. I found some granola that was still sitting in a box in the kitchen that I'd bought over a year ago. It tasted fine. Apparently granola lasts forever. I went shopping for fresh fruit early today, hoping to get my morning walk in before it got too hot. Once again I failed. I think it was too hot before I woke up this morning. At least there was a breeze. It was a warm breeze but it was better than nothing.

My feeble attempts at being useful today were limited to defrosting the small refrigerator and washing the car. I don't count the long walks as being useful. I'm not even sure they are healthy in all this heat. It's something to do though. I do feel like I'm starting to get some muscle tone back. In the Winter these walks might even be enjoyable.

It's time to go to the gym again. It would make sense to use the indoor track for walks but I'm reluctant to do this. I like my rituals. I've convinced myself that memorizing all the details of my route will keep my memory sharp. I make a point to look for specific objects every several hundred yards. So far, I'm memorized a lot of signage, know where to look for Egrets and turtles, and am slowly learning the names of all the plants I see. I imagine I'll take 20,000 steps tomorrow. That's what I do on Sundays.

Lady Jane is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day