The Green Hills Of Earth, Thread for The Shuttle.

February 1, 2003 | Luis Gonzalez

[Luis Gonzalez]

The Green Hills of Earth

Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.

We rot in the moulds of Venus,
We retch at her tainted breath.
Foul are her flooded jungles,
Crawling with unclean death.

[ --- the harsh bright soil of Luna ---
--- Saturn's rainbow rings ---
--- the frozen night of Titan --- ]

We've tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.

The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS! STAND BY! FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.

Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet ---

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.

Robert A. Heinlein

[Victoria Delsoul]

Amen!

May they rest in peace.

[yoe]

Thank you for posting that beautiful poem, I couldn't find my copy.

If you Freepers haven't already, now is the time to lower your American flag to half-mast.

[300winmag]

This time, the media is going to make sure we know we have fewer friends and more enemies who gloat.

No, the elite media will "tastefully" avoid showing us the celebrations going on in the savage parts of the world. Three guesses what religion they will have in common.

It will be up to us to call attention to this psychotic jubiliation, and remind everyone that this is just another reason why we have to visit some high-yield justice upon them.

We also need to invite some of the real "space buffs" to FR to explain the sclerotic nature of NASA, where federal bureaucrats can "study" something for decades, and not come up with any replacement for the chewing-gum-and-bailing-wire Shuttle, except for asking for another billion dollars for a new study. There have already been three replacements for the Shuttle planned and dropped over the last 20 years.

Maybe the plans weren't any good, but NASA's other mission, to keep private enterprise and civilians out of space, has been blindingly successful. After this disaster, they will fight even harder to make sure that only federal employees fly only federal property into space. If that means it takes us 100 years to go back to the moon, so be it, according to their mentality. After all, it's a "small price to pay" to guarantee employment of generations of bureaucrats and staffers.

Please excuse the rant, but this is all the anger I can muster right now. I have to now go back to my crying.

[Reagan Man]

From another day of tragedy

*************************************************

President Reagan's Speech on The Challenger Disaster

Ronald Reagan -- Oval Office of the White House, January 28, 1986

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them...

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoured us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'

[Luis Gonzalez]

Unity in Flight

all alone I learned to fly
but flight held no true meaning
disoriented my soul wandered among
worlds of neither time nor space
i yearned to glimpse them
but my soul was ignorant and earth-bound
i was dying within a mortal vessel
with wings unfurled
you took my hand
we two became as one
unfettered souls
we knew infinite time and space
and we explored the stars
gazing into
our universal self
united in our ecstasy
my mortal vessel perished
i realized harmony
and was unafraid
then at last we drifted back
i heard you call my name
together we had broken the barriers
of variable time and space
and found our flight's true meaning love is the universal truth
and our love will never change

[weikel]

This is dervived from the Dragonlance Solamnic Knights Prayer but hope you like it. Sounded like a good eulogy for Astronauts.

Return these men to the Lord's breast
Beyond the wild, impartial skies;
Grant to them a warrior's rest
And set the last spark of his eyes
Free from the smothering clouds of war
Upon the torches of the stars.
Let the last surge of his breath
Take refuge in the cradling air
Above the dreams of ravens where
Only the hawk remembers death.
Then let his shade to the Lord rise
Beyond the wild, impartial skies.

[weikel]

Correction of their breath...

[Luis Gonzalez]

"No, the elite media will "tastefully" avoid showing us the celebrations going on in the savage parts of the world. Three guesses what religion they will have in common."

Nice tactic.

Take an unrelated national tragedy, attach an unfounded accusation, and use this to inflame our broken hearts.

Our enemies have always rejoiced in our failures, they will always continue to do so, and this is no more or no less reason to do what we have to do.

I guess you could attach your rant to any news report of fatal auto accidents as well.

”It will be up to us to call attention to this psychotic jubilation, and remind everyone that this is just another reason why we have to visit some high-yield justice upon them.”

And I guess it’s up to me to mention the fact that as of yet, we have no proof of any “psychotic jubilation” by anyone, anywhere.

But hey! You covered that by suggesting that the same media that showed the rejoicing last time, for some obscure reason, will not do so this time.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

A very nice memorial Luis. God bless them.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thank you, Luis. May God grant us peace.

Israeli woman Sara Yohanan weeps as she hears news about the loss of contact with space shuttle Columbia as TV shows a picture of the crew in Jerusalem on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Space shuttle Columbia apparently disintegrated in flames over Texas minutes before it was to land Saturday in Florida. STS-107 Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli austronat, was a member of the crew. (AP Photo/Baubau)

[Rocko]

[Luis Gonzalez]

Sat Feb 1,10:24 AM ET

Spectators console each other after hearing news of the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia over Texas while leaving the Space Shuttle landing facility on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003 at the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Space shuttle Columbia apparently disintegrated in flames over Texas on Saturday minutes before it was to land in Florida. TV video showed what appeared to be falling debris, as NASA (news - web sites) declared an emergency and warned residents to beware of falling objects. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

[Gracey]

Thanks Luis. You're writing is beautiful, as usual.

It's a sad day
for the USA

[Jhoffa_]

May God bless and watch over them all..

[300winmag]

But hey! You covered that by suggesting that the same media that showed the rejoicing last time, for some obscure reason, will not do so this time.

I'd like to be proven wrong, and see an article about Arafat ordering the PA flag flown at half-staff. I'd like to see Osama release a video expressing his condolences. I'd like to see Saddam attend the memorial services here. I won't bet the house on it.

What will be interesting is seeing what comes from the arab media and web sites, and what gets preached in the mosques and madrasses. The American media has had a long time to think about things since 9/11, which caught them and everyone else totally off guard. Whatever gets said will eventually make it here, probably despite the lack of coverage from our establishment media.

To some extent, we're arguing epistemology here, "if a tree falls in the forest" type of stuff. I'm just speculating based on the track record of American and arab media.

What disturbs me more will be the "stop manned space flight now" drumbeat, which I guarantee will start in a couple of days. Emails are flying, and faxes are humming right now over that between various domestic agenda groups, who will argue that this tragedy would best be served by taking the money, and giving it to them. These are the real jackals.

[tiki]

When I saw that thread I couldn't open it. I remember the day and I'm usually pretty tough but I cried all day. It affected me so personally and I know that it touched the hearts of many.

I had the TV on but was still sleeping this morning and I heard but my mind refused to connect it to the present and reality but when it finally did, I woke up crying hoping it was just a dream.

[Budge]

Beautiful, Luis, very apropos.

[Truth29]

Ping. See post #20.

[ELS]

That is beautiful. Thank you.