On The Fly

“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science.” Edwin Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954 . “It’s cold out here, what are we looking for?” As an avid six-year old TV viewer my response was, “A space capsule.” No binoculars, no telescope, we naively looked to the sky thinking we would see a jet trail or something. We had watched Walter Cronkite, the anchor of CBS Evening News, broadcast the launch of Friendship 7 from Cape Canaveral on our black and white console television. It was 21 degrees Fahrenheit on February 20, 1962. The skies were clear blue as we stood outdoors in our back yard in West Central Illinois (Cuba). Shivering in the cold, my father and I were looking skyward for the Mercury capsule with John Hershel Glenn Jr. to pass overhead. The first American to orbit Earth. My Hero, America’s hero. He was a man destined to become a National Treasure.  How many other father and son duos do you suppose...