Light This Candle

“Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” - Socrates 500 B.C.

Have you ever caught yourself pondering, “I wonder what historical event happened on this day?”

Well, just last week, I noticed my brother's birthday was approaching, he was born May 5, 1962. This got me thinking. With Google at my beck and call, I’m curious, what other events, on May 5th, in my lifetime, have shaped our future?

It was a day for the history books, May 5, 1961. The entire world was watching. A moment in time that shaped the future of NASA, the Apollo program, advances in science, and the direction of America.

Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7.

It's storytelling at its best . . .

In the opening pages, you read endorsements from numerous publications and familiar people. But my favorite is this:

“Tough to say what’s cooler: that Alan Shepard was the first American in space, or that he hit a golf ball on the moon. Light This Candle chronicles the amazing life of the brashest, funniest astronaut ever.” - Men’s Health

Listen to this paraphrased excerpt from the book.

“John Glenn was furious. He thought he’d played it just right, made all the right moves, and that he would become the first American in space.”

“You don’t want Alan Shepard,” he said.” The one they call the Icy Commander, with his egotistical indifference, his questionable morals, his disregard for authority, and disdain for the press.

When asked, Why Shepard?

NASA’s gruff spokesman, Shorty Powers tried to explain to the press how “the Mercury Seven astronauts were all exceptional men and among the nation’s most dauntless test pilots.” But one had to go first, and Shepard had what all the others had, with just enough to spare to make him the logical first choice. Whatever that meant.

According to Thompson, the truth which NASA chose not to acknowledge at the time was, Alan Shepard was the most capable of the bunch. As one NASA official put it in the Glenn vs Shepard decision, “We wanted to put our best foot forward.”

So, they picked the best of the best.

Today, May 5th, 2020 I’m calling my brother to wish him a happy birthday and sending out this tribute to an American hero, Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Jr.

This is Patrick Ball, thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Truth for Sale

This episode is inspired by Elton John & Bernie Taupin On Memorial Day, I took my first bike ride since the accident , seeking proof that my legs, lungs, and nerves still remembered the road. The morning air carried that familiar Southern California mix of ocean haze, exhaust, eucalyptus, and sun-baked asphalt. My tires hummed across pavement I’ve ridden for years. Somewhere between the steady click of the chain and the rhythm of my breathing, Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s The Captain and the Kid found its way into my ears. There’s a strange kind of magic when the cadence of a ride syncs perfectly with a song you know by heart. Suddenly, the music and lyrics stop being background noise and become a lens. And through that lens, the road started talking. I've been cycling on this road some, Can't help feeling I've been showing my friends around. I've seen it grow from next to nothing, To a giant eatin’ up our town. Called up the tealeaves and the tarots, Asked the...

That Fateful Four-Letter Word

In this episode, A Masterclass in Efficiency. For nearly four months, the western border of our property has stood as a living monument to determination, dubious planning, and forensic-level lumber acquisition. Since February, our neighbor Steve has been conducting what can only be described as a masterclass in deliberate calculation. This was never going to be one of those slick home-improvement shows where a cheerful pair of men installs a fence between commercial breaks, sipping lemonade. No. This was real life in retirement. We scaled the vertical wilderness of our hillside. We mixed concrete with the precision of medieval alchemists. We bled, we sweated, and we fought hand-to-hand with a buried tree stump that had the structural integrity of a Cold War bunker. By this week—May 16th, for those keeping score—the glorious end was finally within reach. The fence stood proudly, the line was straight, and victory practically hummed in the air. Only one major task remained: installing t...

The Eighth Wonder of the Suburban World

Mark your calendars, folks. Update the history books. Notify the Smithsonian. Move over, Pyramids of Egypt. Step aside, Hoover Dam. Future civilizations will speak of this day in hushed, reverent tones. May 22, 2026, will forever be remembered as the moment humanity reached the pinnacle of suburban engineering excellence. Earlier today, my neighbor Steve and I drove the final screw into what can only be described as the most overbuilt property divider in North County. The Fence! And then there’s the gate. Good grief, the gate. Calling it just a gate is almost disrespectful. It looks like the entrance to a medieval fortress or to Hogwarts Castle. It swings open with the heft of a bank vault and closes with the wave of a magic wand. At this point, we’re considering applying for FAA clearance to install a helicopter pad on top of it. This glorious odyssey began in early February, the primitive era. From the start, we made a sacred pact: we would not become one of those people. You ...

Epictetus, Ego, and Acronyms

In this episode, Destroy Communication, One Three-Letter Acronym at a Time This week, I want to explore a deeply relatable, universally feared workplace character: the "know-it-all." Now, I’m not pointing fingers here. If we are being completely honest, we have all played this role. We've all uttered some version of, "Yes, absolutely, that aligns with our strategic objectives," while our internal monologue is screaming, "I don't even know what the objective is, let alone the strategy." What got me thinking about this was a chapter in Ryan Holiday's book, Wisdom Takes Work . Holiday leans on a powerful piece of Stoic truth from the ancient philosopher Epictetus: "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." It's a brilliant quote that strikes right at the heart of the human ego. You can't learn what you already know, and you certainly can't learn what you pretend to know to save face. Though to be ...

On The Fly

Search This Blog