American Hero, RIP

[Bushwacker]

American Hero RIP



Didn't want to derail Strick's thread, but he was right to pay tribute to Neil Armstrong! He was one amazingly brilliant but quiet and humble guy that deserves a lot more homage than he ever got. Many fighter pilots and experimental flight test pilots have enormous egos, but here was a guy that, although one of the best pilots of all time, went out of his way to AVOID attention at all costs! Saw a recent show commemorating the Apollo program and first moon landing; all the Apollo astronauts said that Neil was, by far, the coolest guy under pressure of any of them. His calm, low key manner was exemplified by the following incident:

One day he was practicing lunar landings with the "Flying Bedstead", a contraption that resembled a tubular bed frame with a jet engine on it, that was used to simulate landings. The control system went haywire and it pitched over almost 90 degrees before he punched out at the last possible moment, coming down nearly on top of the burning wreckage! After that event, most guys, after changing underwear, would have headed for the nearest bar to celebrate their survival! Neil simply changed out of his flight suit and went into the office to continue working! A fellow astronaut in the next office stopped by and said "Neil, did I hear right, that you just survived a crash of the "Bedstead"?! Neil's only comment . . . "Yes."!

For those that are interested, here's a rare public address he gave to a group of his fellow test pilots a few years ago: http://www.setp.org/setp-news/neil-a...n-address.html It's a little over 20 minutes long but it gives you a real sense of the unique personality and character of this talented but humble hero! (drag the cursor to 2:45 to bypass the introductory BS!)

If only our politicians of today could model their behavior after this humble man of few words and MUCH action, maybe this country could get back to accomplishing the sort of stuff it did back in the late 50's & 60's! Denny

[DonV]

"If only our politicians of today could model their behavior after this humble man of few words and MUCH action, maybe this country could get back to accomplishing the sort of stuff it did back in the late 50's & 60's!"

Hey Denny, sorry and I hate to say it, just ain't gonna happen!!

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by DonV

"If only our politicians of today could model their behavior after this humble man of few words and MUCH action, maybe this country could get back to accomplishing the sort of stuff it did back in the late 50's & 60's!"

Hey Denny, sorry and I hate to say it, just ain't gonna happen!!

SeaCraft Island.

[McGillicuddy]

Denny,
Thanks for the follow-up on Commander Armstrong.
Great shot by the X-15.
Like truly great men, such hope doesn't come by every day but we who hold SeaCraft dear are an optimistic bunch... so we keep wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'...

Heck, I learned to sail in an Optimist with only hope that the little open box would float

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by DonV

Hey Denny, sorry and I hate to say it, just ain't gonna happen!!

Unfortunately you're right! I meant to preface that statement with "I realize this is too much to hope for, but . . . "!

[Bushwacker]

Sent this to some CSC folks earlier, but thought other folks might enjoy it too!

Who's Mr. Gorsky?

IN CASE YOU DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THIS LITTLE TIDBIT OF TRIVIA, ON JULY 20, 1969, AS COMMANDER OF THE APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE, NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.

HIS FIRST WORDS AFTER STEPPING ON THE MOON, "THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND," WERE TELEVISED TO EARTH AND HEARD BY MILLIONS.*

BUT JUST BEFORE HE RE-ENTERED THE LANDER, HE MADE THE ENIGMATIC REMARK - "GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY".

MANY PEOPLE AT NASA THOUGHT IT WAS A CASUAL REMARK CONCERNING SOME RIVAL SOVIET COSMONAUT. HOWEVER, UPON CHECKING, THERE WAS NO GORSKY IN EITHER THE RUSSIAN OR AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAMS.
OVER THE YEARS, MANY PEOPLE QUESTIONED ARMSTRONG AS TO WHAT THE - 'GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY' STATEMENT MEANT, BUT ARMSTRONG ALWAYS JUST SMILED.
ON JULY 5, 1995, IN TAMPA BAY , FLORIDA , WHILE ANSWERING QUESTIONS FOLLOWING A SPEECH, A REPORTER BROUGHT UP THE 26-YEAR-OLD QUESTION TO ARMSTRONG. THIS TIME HE FINALLY RESPONDED. MR. GORSKY HAD DIED, SO NEIL ARMSTRONG FELT HE COULD NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION.

IN 1938, WHEN HE WAS A KID IN A SMALL MID-WESTERN TOWN , HE WAS PLAYING BASEBALL WITH A FRIEND IN THE BACKYARD. HIS FRIEND HIT THE BALL, WHICH LANDED IN HIS NEIGHBOR'S YARD BY THEIR BEDROOM WINDOW. HIS NEIGHBORS WERE MR. AND MRS. GORSKY. AS HE LEANED DOWN TO PICK UP THE BALL, YOUNG ARMSTRONG HEARD MRS. GORSKY SHOUTING AT MR. GORSKY "SEX! YOU WANT SEX?! YOU'LL GET SEX WHEN THE KID NEXT DOOR WALKS ON THE MOON !"

TRUE STORY. It broke the place up.

[Old'sCool]

So we just laughed our azzes off here...I would like to think that's true