The Change Dude’s Blog

Proof…Nothing is Impossible

A vintage photograph hangs on the wall in my office, it’s there to remind me that no goal is too high to reach for. 

In this photograph from 1962, President John F. Kennedy is captured attending a briefing given by Air Force Major Rocco Petrone during a tour of Blockhouse 34 at the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex. The men flanking President Kennedy were the pioneers of manned space flight that only 72 months later safely landed and returned 3 astronauts to earth from our first trip to the surface of the moon.

Each time I look at this photo it reminds me of the warm summer night I watched that whole moon landing things happen in grainy black and white on an 18 inch television.  I was 10 years old and a space fanatic.  Back then you could write to NASA and they would send you photographs of just about anything.  I had a complete collection of black and white photos from every angle possible of the Saturn V, the Lunar Module, and rockets of all types.  The space race was pretty important to kids back then, it was all about a goal.  A goal that became a national obsession to honor a young, charismatic leader that established with clarity and confidence what the space program would accomplish.

In the midst of one of the key transformational decades in the history of the United States the adults around me struggled with Vietnam, the civil rights movement, the cold war and young adults that we’re freaking out in rebellion.  Yet America set it’s sights on a goal and beat the schedule. 

Over the years that came after this historic event the path of my life led me to meet and become associated with much of the space program as an adult.  Defending this country as an Air Force flyer gave me the knowledge and experience to understand just how hard this success was to achieve.  As an executive with Rockwell, North American Aircraft I met and worked side by side with the men that designed, built and managed the Apollo program.  Not one single thing was every considered beyond doing.  It was never about the problem, it was about the solution.

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 touchdown at a time when America again is turning a page let’s remember the courage, teamwork and grit it took to make the landing a reality. 

Nothing is impossible…I can prove it.

July 19, 2009 Posted by thechangedude | Thinking About Change | Leave a comment