{"id":158226,"date":"2026-04-23T12:31:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=158226"},"modified":"2026-04-23T12:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:57:47","slug":"the-view-beyond-the-balcony-to-the-moon-and-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-view-beyond-the-balcony-to-the-moon-and-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The View Beyond The Balcony: “To the Moon and Back”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I remember how as a young boy I used to lie in the St. Augustine grass in my front yard at night, gazing at the moon and stars through my father\u2019s military binoculars. I wondered at all the things out there just waiting to be discovered. I imagined aliens on other planets and pondered if they were looking back at me with the same curiosity. Those were some of my first existential experiences which, upon reflection, were telling me that, while there was much to be explored \u201cout there,\u201d there was much to be explored inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April 1 we witnessed the launch of Artemis II, one of, if not the greatest manned space flights in the history of Earth. Astronauts Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman made history for many things, not the least of which was traveling deeper into space than any human ever had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had been fifty-four years since Apollo 17 took seventy-five lunar orbits, ending the mission of the Apollo rocket program. That program had brought us innumerable discoveries and crossed incalculable hurdles, the most notable of which was the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. Prior to that, Mercury and Gemini rockets had flown major milestones in NASA\u2019s space program. Every step along the way prepared for the next, with the ultimate goal of building a permanent habitat suitable for humans on the Moon. Even that will be a tactical maneuver in readiness for further space exploration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning of the space race my parents, siblings, and I would gather around our black-and-white TV to watch the launches and splash downs of every flight we could. The news icon, Walter Cronkite, a man most Americans trusted so much they called him \u201cUncle Walter,\u201d reported these stellar events live on CBS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket awaits launch on the pad with the Moon centered behind its tip, symbolizing humanity’s return to the lunar surface<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m old enough (barely) to remember Alan Sheppard emerging from Freedom 7, a part of the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission, who took a suborbital flight, becoming the first American to reach space. I remember when, in 1962, John Glenn stepped out of Friendship 7, a part of the Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, after having become the first American to orbit Earth. And, of course, I remember when Apollo 11 landed men on the Moon and walked its surface in 1969. In fact, I still have a copy of the Look magazine with the moon landing on the cover and the edition of Mississippi\u2019s Clarion Ledger with the banner headline \u201cMan Walks on the Moon.\u201d (By then we had a color TV but the event was broadcast in black-and-white.)

We gave particular attention to the Apollo rockets because my uncle, Lewis LaRon Gober, was an engineer on the team that developed the timing system for the rockets. It used a tuning fork mechanism that was later replicated and commercialized in the Accutron watches because . . . well, because it was so darned accurate.

People sometimes complain about how much the space program costs. They forget all the by-products that came through the space program like Dustbusters, camera phone sensors, water purification systems, Velcro, Teflon, Memory foam, scratch-resist lenses for glasses, grooved pavement, freeze-dried food, athletic shoes with space boot technology, advanced heart pumps, components for heart bypass surgery, CAT scans, solar cells, cloud-based computer platforms (OpenStack), LEDs, powered lubricants, food space food products partnered with Pillsbury (Another uncle of mine, Paul J. Kelsey, was an Executive VP with Pillsbury during that time.), jaws of life, adjustable smoke detectors, baby formula, artificial limbs, powerful telescopes, computer mouses (mousi or meeces?), portable computers, and cochlear implants\u2013these\u2013\u2013all these things and much, much more plus all their spin-offs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond all that are the intangibles space travel has inspired. The entire genre of fantasy and science fiction literature is largely based on our dreams of outer space. There\u2019s a plethora of television programs, music, and movies that were spawned from the dreams of outer space. Those dreams have brought us this far. They will take us farther still into this ever-expanding universe of which we are merely a speck. Just look at what all our imaginings have yielded! What dreams may come? I can only imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026and that\u2019s The View from Beyond The Balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Randy Weeks is a Licensed Professional Counselor, singer-songwriter, actor, ordained minister, and former triathlete. He still wonders at space and Earth exploration. He thrives on exploring the space within.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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