John Glenn

Fifty years ago today John Glenn became the first American to circle the earth.  I was in junior high at the time and people of that generation were awed.  But more than that, they placed a high value on space exploration.  That was justified by the hundreds of inventions that had their root in America's space exploration. . . the pacemaker for heart patients, cell phones, smoke detectors, medical imaging, cordless tools, invisible braces for teeth, telescopes that look for cancer, and hundreds more.

Classes stopped in school and we all gathered around a black and white television to watch this historic event.

I was a sports fan way back then, as I still am.  But John Glenn was my true hero.

I find it tragic that the current Administration does not have the intelligence to realize why America needs space exploration, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.