The Daily Dose/July 21, 2022
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
3…2…1…BLASTOFF: Longtime readers of ours know our opinion not only of the Apollo program, but also of our failure to put humans on Mars: one’s a triumph, the other a tragedy, both in more or less equal measure.
Oh Hell, Here We Go: We’ve thought a lot over the years about why Apollo worked and why man has not left lower Earth orbit since. Part of it, of course, was that America happened to have the right people at the right time to respond to President Kennedy’s challenge. The Soviets gave it a good shot, and actually had their share of admirable firsts in space, but they were never able to do anything more than crash space capsules into the moon while Americans planted Old Glory on the moon’s surface six times and brought everyone back.
This Isn’t Dry, Technical Matter, Is It?: The original plan for Apollo was for ten lunar landings. However, Apollos 18-20 were scrapped before the decade was out and plans for a manned Martian landing, still not off the drawing board, were scrapped too.
The Verdict Is In: We’ve thought about why man hasn’t returned to the moon or gone to Mars a lot over the years and we’ve concluded that Apollo was ahead of its time. Proof of this, we think, can be found in the fact no one else has gone to the moon since. Sure, the glamor of being the first to land on the moon was lost to History, but there were other rewards waiting, including the impetus to go to Mars. No one else bothered, though.
The Bottom Line: America taking a flier on going to Mars will always be a tragedy. Not only did we miss out on the scientific advances such a mission would’ve provided, but we shut down man’s age-old desire to explore and America and Americans stopped dreaming because there was no longer anything big to dream about. Apollo’s legacy is still waiting for everyone else to catch up.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the latest news from the hotel’s remodeling. Today’s Diary.
The room wings are all done except for a sign or two that needs to be put up and all that remains is the wallpapering in the stairwell and an area off the lobby…The lobby remodeling that was scheduled for this past spring has, reportedly, been put off until fall.
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1861 – The Confederate Army defeats the Union Army at the First Battle of Bull Run in Manassas Junction, Virginia – about 30 miles southwest of Washington, DC – the first major battle of the Civil War. Both sides were evenly numbered, poorly led, and poorly trained and the Confederate victory was followed by a disorganized Union retreat. Despite being relatively close to Washington, Confederate troops, also somewhat disorganized, did not pursue a follow-up attack.
In 1957 – Lionel Hebert of the US wins the PGA Championship, defeating Dow Finsterwald of the US 2 & 1 at the Miami Valley Golf Club in Dayton. (2 & 1 means the winner was two holes ahead with one to play.) It remains the only major championship for Hebert, while Finsterwald would win the PGA title the following year. It was the last year of match play competition in the PGA and Hebert earned $8,000 for the win, about $79,000 in today’s money. This remains the only major played at the Miami Valley Golf Club.
In 1990 – Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown is at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two consecutive weeks with She Ain’t Worth It. It was the second of three Top 40 hits for Medeiros and remains his only #1 song and it was the second and final #1 song for Brown. The song also peaked at #12 in Great Britain and at #43 on Billboard’s soul chart. After his singing career, Medeiros become an educator, working as a teacher, professor, and administrator in his native Hawaii.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
But all that is yesterday. This…is the adventure now.
Gore Vidal
Lincoln
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
Apollo 8 orbited the moon ten times.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Who are the two golfers who have won five PGA Championships? – Answer next time!
