IN THE EVENT OF MOON DISASTER (by William Safire, speechwriter for President Nixon, July 1969):
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
Others will follow and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.
For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.
PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT: The president should telephone each of the widows-to-be.
AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, at the point when NASA ends communications with the men: A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to "the deepest of the deep," concluding with the Lord's Prayer.
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Can you imagine being marooned on the moon, left there to die a ghastly death when your oxygen ran out? While the entire world watched helplessly? I'd warrant there was at least a 50/50 chance just that was going to happen. Sleep well, Neil and Buzz, sleep well. Jay Leno will still be here tomorrow and so will you.
WHen I saw the subject line, I misread it as "Lance", not "Neil", and wondered if someone had cut off his other testicle..
ReplyDeleteHmm . . . Lance has his own troubles to be tossing in his bed about. A bigger scumbag I have yet to discover. Just imagine how many kids worship him.
ReplyDeleteScary, ain't it?
ReplyDeleteHe'll get away with it. But people are just so naive . . . they actually believe Lance Armstrong is a superior athlete. That's part of why I never follow sports. Before steroids there were amphetamines . . .
ReplyDeleteSports is for people who think Pro Wrestling is for real!
Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteQaro,
ReplyDeleteWhy thanks? \(^=^)/
I don't watch the Olympics anymore either!
ReplyDeleteI mean, it doesn't matter to ME whether these people consume massive quantities of drugs in order to win contests, but at least do me the favor of having the Doping Olympics and the Regular Olympics so we at least have a notion of what we're dealing with, here.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I think it's more relevant to contemplate who might NOT be doping, not with who IS doping, because you'd have a lot less searching to do.
Oh, and the very week we are commenting about Lance, he DOES get away with it. Let's not kid ourselves. The Olympics is one vast, well-oiled corruption machine.
ReplyDelete