'69 in 8 days (Happy 4th!)

A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Nothing Like It in the World by Stephen Ambrose.  The book describes the building of the Transcontinental Railroad which would bridge the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, bringing people and business closer together and accelerating travel times significantly.  This was long before the Panama Canal, so you could take a ship around the Horn, travel by Wagon, or if you were in a hurry a Stagecoach which still took a month and was extremely unpleasant.

The story is decidedly reminiscent of our space program in the 1960s.  It only happened because of massive government intervention and a president who believed very strongly in its merits (in this case, Abraham Lincoln).  A large percentage of the educated population thought it was absurd, if not impossible.  It would not be replicated  by another nation for some 25 years.  In short, it was decidedly American.  An audacious task undertaken perhaps before its time but finished nonetheless and setting a very high bar for all other accomplishments to live up to.  I also noticed that the last spike was driven in 1869, and another '69 is pretty famous in American History too...

(Okay... so this is actually Apollo 17 but it is a great picture!)

So, in 1869 Americans drove the Golden Spike and it took 8 days to go from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  In 1969 Americans built the Saturn V and it took 8 days to go from the Earth, to the Moon, and back again.  What does 2069 hold?  Happy Birthday America.

 "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants" - Issac Newton insulting Robert Hooke

And in the words of Alan Shephard -- "Don't F$#$ Up."