The Case for Space*

Photo from Apollo 8, NASA

"The Case for Space"

A plea for freeing the human spirit

By Ralph F. Couey

Somerset, PA

*Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, March 30, 2010
as "Unshackle Human Spirit From Earthbound Cage"

Copyright © 2008 by Ralph Couey

For uncounted generations, humans have looked to the night sky, pondering what lies beyond our planetary cradle. That stubborn curiosity has forever marked the human species. Even today we remain fascinated by what lies Out There. Such contemplation is profound, especially when one considers that humanity is the only intelligent technological species known to exist within the 154 billion light years that defines the known universe.

And that Earth is the only known cradle of life.

The universe calls to the explorer inside all of us. That desire defines our natures; to explore; to touch the unknown and make it known.

During the 1960’s, the drive to the moon was undertaken in a blizzard of emotion and wartime urgency. However, that frenetic momentum faded after Project Apollo. We still launch shuttles and send robot probes to the planets with spectacular results.

But no one can ignore the fact that humans haven’t left earth orbit in 40 years.

Civil War: Events of January 1865

On January 12th, Francis P. Blair, the man who had unsuccessfully communicated President Lincoln's offer to Robert E. Lee to command all United States Forces, arrived in Richmond, Virginia to meet with Confederate leaders with a proposal for a peace conference.

From January 13-16, Union and Confederate forces battled over the strategically vital Fort Fisher, the guardian of the port of Wilmington, North Carolina.  Using a combined force of soldiers and Navy ships, the Union captured the fort, ending the Confederates use of the port for blockade runners which were supplying the embattled Army of Northern Virginia.

After a month regrouping in Savannah, William T. Sherman put his troops again on the advance, marching northwards into South Carolina.

On the 31st, Jefferson Davis appointed Robert E. Lee to the command of all remaining Confederate forces.  Also on that day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery.

Civil War: Events of December 1864

On December 4th near Waynesboro, Georgia Union cavalry under Judson Kilpatrick set out to attack Joseph Wheeler's Confederate cavalry, after Wheeler had engaged the Bluecoats several times over the previous two weeks.  Kilpatrick attacked Wheeler.  The Confederates met the attacks, and fell back through three prepared positions leading into Waynesboro.  After a final desperate fight, Wheeler withdrew.  The Union victory helped open the road for Sherman to close on the vital port city of Savannah.

Salmon P. Chase was named Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court on December 6th.

On December 13th, Union forces under Sherman overwhelmed a small Confederate force defending Fort McAllister, a strategic redoubt on the Ogeechee River, a direct avenue from Savannah to the sea.  4,000 troops under William Hazen stormed the fort, defended by just 230 soldiers under George Anderson.  The fort fell in just 15 minutes.

Over December 15-16, Union forces under George Thomas met Confederates under John Bell Hood at Nashville, Tennessee.  Thomas combined a diversionary attack on the Confederate right with his main assault on the left.  Union troops overran two redoubts and very nearly routed the Confederates, the day saved by strong rear guard actions.  The next day, Thomas repeated his tactics, breaking and putting to flight the Confederates, who escaped eventually into Alabama.  The battle, however, destroyed Hood's force, losing some 20,000 of his 38,000 soldiers.  Hood later resigned his command and never held a post of major importance again.

On December 21st, Sherman occupied Savannah.

The Blessings of Autumn

Copyright © 2014 by Ralph F. Couey

Except quoted and cited portions.

"I'm so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers!"

--Lucy Maud Montgomery

"Anne of Green Gables"

October has always been, for me, the best of times.  There are a multitude of reasons, cool weather, football, the leaves, and that indefinable yet familiar snap in the air.  I think that I only endure the other eleven months just to get to that special one.  The worst part is that once it has arrived, it never stays around long enough.  October is that houseguest who will never outstay their welcome.

I try to spend as much time as I can outdoors in that month.  In the first days, there are subtle patches of color here and there.  As the days pass, those patches meld into a chorus of bright, vivid colors lit by the rays of the bright butter-colored sun, under a sky of spectacular cobalt blue.  True, the days are growing shorter, but the nights respond with their own kind of magic.  As the haze of summer vanishes, the stars appear, far more numerous even in the city.  Each one shines with a sharp light, giving a soft, silvery touch to the landscape.

October is when I feel most alive.  I wish I could better articulate what I mean by that statement.  Suffice it to say that fall in general and October in particular stirs the passions within that often as not lie dormant during the rest of the year.

Last week, Cheryl and I took a day and drove out to Shenandoah National Park.  We timed this visit perfectly, as the leaves were at or near-peak.  We entered the Park at Thornton Gap, where US 211 crosses Skyline Drive, the main road through the park.

The colors were pretty enough, but as we traveled north, the colors got even more intense.  The view from the overlooks were spectacular, the valley floor bright with reds and golds.