Fifty years ago, John Glenn was alone on top of a rocket waiting to blast into space and around the earth. In these times, when people can become suddenly famous for doing so little, it may be good to recall the daring and imagination of that moment, on February 20th, 1962.
Two Russians, Yuri Gagarin and Gherman Titov, had already dauntlessly orbited the earth. But the Soviets kept their missions' secret until they were underway. John Glenn would fly with the eyes of the world watching every second.
He was a hero before he ever pulled on a silver spacesuit. John Glenn was a small-town guy from the heart of America—New Concord, Ohio, population 2651, and they're very proud—who left Muskingham College to enlist when he just 20 and Pearl Harbor was bombed.
He became a US Marine fighter pilot in the south Pacific, which is a long way from New Concord, flying 59 missions during World War II, and then 90 more in Korea, where his wingman was Ted Williams—a mere Hall of Fame baseball player.
John Glenn was a mild-drinking, clean-joking, fair-haired flyboy among fighter jocks. But his fellow pilots hailed him respectfully as Magnet Ass, for all the shrapnel his plane took.
He married his childhood sweetheart, Annie; they've been married almost 70 years. He became a celebrated test pilot. He was the oldest of the 7 original astronauts and more than 40 when he went into space.
So when John Glenn took off his helmet, Americans saw a sun-creased face under wispy, evaporating strands of red hair, and a crinkly I-Like-Ike-grin.
He circled the globe 3 times in his space capsule, Friendship 7. If you see it now in the Smithsonian, it almost makes you cringe to think of a man inside such a small, frail vessel, alone in the vast universe.
Days and nights flipped in 45 minutes. Excitement crackled in John Glenn's voice when he told the people of Perth, Australia that he could look down from the dark of space and see the lights that they had left on for him. What a neighborly thing to do! And it reminded us how people on opposite sides of an ocean shared the same world.
When an automated steering system jammed, millions of people watching held their breath. But John Glenn was a pilot, not a tourist. He took manual control of this brand new machine and threaded it back into earth's atmosphere. 50 years ago, John Glenn's nervy maneuver was a timeless reminder that the most amazing and marvelous inventions won't work without human skill and a good man's daring.
"Here are the values I stand for: I stand for honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you'd want to be treated, and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values. That's what I stand for."
Ellen DeGeneres.
The shooting renewed debate about a federal law that made it legal for people to take loaded weapons into national parks. The 2010 law made possession of firearms subject to state gun laws.
Bill Wade, the outgoing chair of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said Congress should be regretting its decision.
"The many congressmen and senators that voted for the legislation that allowed loaded weapons to be brought into the parks ought to be feeling pretty bad right now," Wade said.
Wade called Sunday's fatal shooting a tragedy that could have been prevented. He hopes Congress will reconsider the law that took effect in early 2010, but doubts that will happen in today's political climate.
Calls and emails to the National Rifle Association requesting comment were not immediately returned on Monday.
The NRA said media fears of gun violence in parks were unlikely to be realized, the NRA wrote in a statement about the law after it went into effect. "The new law affects firearms possession, not use," it said.
The group pushed for the law saying people have a right to defend themselves against park animals and other people.
Once upon a time, Georgia-based writer Gail Brewer-Giorgio concocted a story about a popular Southern rock and roll singer named Orion Eckley Darnell. Orion became so famous that his fans referred to him as “The King.” Sadly, Orion eventually felt trapped by his success and staged his own death, complete with a wax figure in his likeness and an elaborate funeral. Elvis Presley died in August 1977 and shortly afterward Brewer-Giorgio’s story was published. It didn’t take fans and conspiracy theorists very long to decide that she was telling the true story of the King, and that the real Elvis was alive somewhere. A producer named Shelby Singleton sensed the opportunity and found a singer named Jimmy Ellis whose voice and style were nearly identical to Presley. Singleton dyed Ellis’ hair black and had him grow some sideburns, but there was no hiding the fact that his face didn’t look anything like Elvis’. Shelby had a brainstorm – have Ellis perform while wearing a mask. Not only that, but have him perform under the name “Orion,” just like the guy in that book.
(CBS News)As another mean campaign unfolds, I get this question a lot: "Why would anyone put themselves through the abuse that comes with running for or serving in office?"Well, for some anyway, I'd say, "It's the money, stupid."Running for office has become a great way to make a fortune.You no longer even have to leave office to cash in. A "60 Minutes" expose revealed that Congress has carved out a provision which allows its members to use insider information gathered in their official capacities to buy and sell their own stocks and bonds. Democrats AND Republicans are doing it.Reforms are promised, but not yet passed.For other Congress members the answer to the old question "When does life begin?" comes when they DO leave office. Even those driven from office under a cloud can wind up making millions as lobbyists.Sarah Palin didn't even get to Washington, and became a multi-million dollar industry.There is no end to the ways money can be made just campaigning. Candidates sometimes pay themselves salaries out of campaign funds. The Washington Post reports that Newt Gingrich charged his own campaign $42,000 to use his personal Rolodex of potential donors.Critics said Herman Cain wasn't really running for president, just selling books and campaigning for a job on cable TV. Well, his campaign crashed, but it may have been a sound business plan. The New York Times reports that Fox may be interested in hiring him, and quotes a Fox official as saying, "He's interesting."Well, aren't they all?
