The Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom for September 08, 2023

Archeological history

So Uncle Ted was an astronaut?

If it happened during your lifetime, especially if you have memories of it, then it’s not technically “history.” (In the context of history = old happenings.) Part of my philosophy.

Many years ago, during the very first moonwalk, the news was showing in an airport bar. Being a young kid of 9, the bartender told my mom I was not allowed in. He changed his mind and let me in the bar to watch TV, he gave me a coke and everything. He said I would remember this moment for the rest of my life. So far, he’s right.

I recently visited Houston space center and saw a Saturn V rocket and the mission control room, which is now a national historic site that is preserved just as it was on July 20, 1969, complete with full ashtrays.

These new fangled schools! First they have New Math. Check box B if the 3 in the previous problem made you feel intimidated. Now they are changing Headline News to History.

He’s old enough to have lived that history, but he’s never done it…never been to the moon.

Though, like Ted, I lived through the USA space program and well remember the Apollo spacecraft, it wasn’t till last year that I learned there were female engineers that worked for NASA on the Apollo Mission. Just because you’ve lived through history, doesn’t mean that you can’t learn more about that history.

I pretty sure he ain’t that old… but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. :)

I think back on the history which has occurred during my lifetime thus far. Alaska and Hawaii becoming states, the Cuban missile crisis, men landing and walking on the moon, changing from radio to television as the source of entertainment and news, wars, terrorist attacks, microwaves, cell phones, etc,. It boggles the mind.

Exactly. At his age I was reading about the Mercury and Gemini programs.

We baby boomers have certainly lived through an epochal time. Technological progress alone is staggering and often overwhelming. To think we have more computing power in our phones than the Apollo engineers had is mind blowing enough. But it is sobering to think that what I regard as touchstones in my life – Kennedy assassination, Mercury flights, Vietnam War, moon landing – are as ancient history to my grandkids as World War I was to me. But one thing that amazes me – my kids and grandkids all love the Beatles and Beach Boys and sing along with songs that are 50-60 years old. We definitely weren’t singing songs from the roaring 20’s or earlier in the 60’s or 70’s!!

I love Uncle Ted . Always to the point .

As one ages, that sentence fits in very well.

This is also why Ted skipped watching Ken Burns’ The Civil War .

Been there, done that.

Not quite unless you actually participated in those events. Apollo 11 was really one of the greatest scientific achievements of Mankind, an event the whole world could get behind and much is written. One of my older brothers, a Math genius was the quality control officer for the lunar lander and worked with Dr Werner von Braun. He actually married von Braun’s secretary. He was the smartest person l have ever known, not just in math, but had a outstanding analytical mind. Died very young though, still miss him…..

With you Uncle Ted. I remember what they are teaching today – wasn’t history. Had yet to be done and we were there to be a part of it.

It happened one Monday…

Miss Grundy: You should be getting higher marks in history, Jughead. It’s not that difficult.

Jughead: That’s easy for your to say. You were there for most of it.

For Jughead, suddenly it was Thursday.

Indeed.

I may be a walking history book now, but I still had to take history in school.

Everyone has a history, some are just longer or more interesting than others.

I also enjoyed reading about history, but at the time we called it Current Events.

“Wilberforce” Uncle Ted goes on, “I remember distinctly, the time I was at the Alamo, fighting off all the Mexican Army and”…

Uncle Ted can now enjoy his history through the eyes of his nephew.

it won’t be too much longer before i’ll be history… ☺

People use been there done that too loosely. Living during a time something happened is not the same as doing it. Just say I remember when that happened.