On The Fly

In this episode - One Giant Leap: 55 Years Later . . .   “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." - Neil Armstrong. It's hard to believe that today marks the 55th anniversary of one of humanity's greatest achievements: the first moon landing. I vividly remember July 20, 1969. Reports say over 57 million people were glued to their TVs, just like me, captivated by the suspense of that historic moment. Watching the original CBS broadcast was a defining experience. In the 1960s, NASA's Apollo program seemed like science fiction. As a 13-year-old, I was mesmerized by Walter Cronkite's coverage on our black-and-white Zenith. For a kid who devoured science fiction, this was the ultimate reality. But behind the awe-inspiring success, the Apollo missions were fraught with peril. The astronauts faced constant dangers, from the Saturn V launch's immense power to the vacuum of space and its unforgiving environment. A single technical malfunction or human err...

Podcast - " Acronyms ." In today's language, we're bombarded with acronyms. And every profession has its own unique list of them. ICYMI (in case you missed it), acronyms, and abbreviations are ways to shorten phrases and ideas both in normal speech and through texting and email. But a common FAQ (frequently asked question) explains the nuanced difference between the two ways to save time LOL (Laugh out loud).  So, what is the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation? According to Lucie Turkel in a Readers Digest article, an acronym is a way of shortening a phrase by combining the first letter of each word to form a new pronounceable word. A common acronym is NASA, which stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It's easy, to form the acronym NASA, you take the first letter of each of the words in the phrase "National Aeronautics and Space Administration" and then pronounce the collection of letters as a new word, which is why we ...

Podcast - Freedom 7; 65th Anniversary . "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. May 5, 2026, marks the 65th anniversary of Freedom 7's launch. Commander Alan B. Shepard, Jr. became the first American in space. A 15-minute sub-orbital flight, a day for the history books; the entire world was watching. NASA and the world had witnessed many trial runs explode violently on the launch pad. The space program was in its infancy. Unlike today, there were far too many unknowns. This prompted me to pull out one of my favorite books from my office library,  Light This Candle , by Neal Thompson, copyright 2004. Light This Candle is a biography of Alan Shepard, Jr., you won't be able to put down. It's - "Story-telling at its best . . . every page is alive," says David Hartman, U.S Naval Institute. In the opening pages, you read endorsements fr...

“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...