Neil Armstrong, famous son of my old home town of Wapakoneta Ohio, has passed away at 82 yrs young. Live long and prosper first on the moon! May heaven’s gates open for you and may you rest in God’s great peace.
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“He thinks, he acts, ’tis done.” –from his high school yearbook.
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Article about the 40th anniversary of the Moon Landing.
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We fail the younger generations by not holding up such men as the only truly worthy heroes. Sports are for sissies compared to THESE men! These men were the great ones. Men like Neil Armstrong are the inheritors of the spirit of the heroes of myth and legend.
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Our children should have picture books of their heroic lives. They should see DVDs of the lives of these men. Men who took what they were given in the way of brains and talent and USED them fully, pushing the envelope of their own brains and bodies until they achieved true greatness.
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Our children should have action figures and space modules to play with instead of comic book toys.
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Another biography.
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The single observation I would offer for your consideration is that some things are beyond your control. You can lose your health to illness or accident. You can lose your wealth to all manner of unpredictable sources. What are not easily stolen from you without your cooperation are your principles and your values. They are your most important possessions and, if carefully selected and nurtured, will well serve you and your fellow man. Society’s future will depend on a continuous improvement program for the human character. And what will that future bring? I do not know, but it will be exciting.– Neil Armstrong (PJ Media)
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And still Another Article on his life and work; this one off of Instapundit from PJ Media.
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“Every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”– Neil Armstrong
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“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” –Neil Armstrong
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Can you see it? A large action figure in a suit, wearing glasses, holding a pointer, all ready to teach his college classes. It would come with math workbooks and an Apollo 11 space suit for the figure, and a child size NASA themed jacket. Perhaps children given such story books and action figures would discover that math and science are tools of greatness and seek them out. Perhaps a generation of greatness could grow from such encouragement.
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I remember his mother teaching Sunday School at St. Paul United Church of Christ. I remember attending Blume Jr. High which was the High School in Neil Armstrong and my Dad’s day. I cherish these little connections to true greatness because they remind me that we are all created to be great but most give up too soon.
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I remember staying up and watching our home town hero landing on the moon and stepping down into the soft dust. Before that day, no man had walked on the moon, after that day, man knew he could eventually reach the stars.
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Fr. Z blogged on his passing even before I did! Also here.
I look for heroes from history. There are many of them and yet, even the day of his death, Neil Armstrong barely made the news. Greatness passes by and is ignored. The prurient and shallow gets all the press.
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Our children need REAL heroes. Like John Paul II who climbed mountains without any special gear. A man of letters who studied for the priesthood when getting caught doing that could get you killed. Blessed John Paul II is a real hero. The Saints are worthy of emulation but there are others too.
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Neil Armstrong is another real hero. A man of faith, science, courage and humility whose courage and determination took him to the moon and home again. His is one of the kinds of greatness our children NEED to be taught from infancy.
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Neil Armstrong died on the feast of St. Louis who is one of the very few monarchs declared a Saint. A political leader worth emulating. St. Thomas More is another political leader worth emulating. And the Carrolls of Carrollton were certainly worthy of emulation as well. In the annals of American History, Neil Armstrong should be at the side of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as men of greatness. That he is not is an indictment on us all.
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Heroism is not something that only exists in comic books. Heroism is NOT what is found on the sports field. Heroism is found in a humble professor who once was first on the moon.
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Lord, please grant heaven to Neil Armstrong. Thank you for his example, his life’s work, and his faith. May he rest in Your peace. Amen.
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