Moon and Cow

Hey diddle, diddle

The cat and fiddle

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed 

To see such sport.

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

(The Cow Jumped over the Moon)

Moon and Cow, with the moonlit night and the resting cow, evokes a feeling of peacefulness.  I think of the nursery rhyme, The Cow Jumped Over the Moon.  I think of the steady rhythm of the poem and the innocence of a young child.

On the other hand, in 1963, when Alex Colville completed the painting, the world was in the throes of the Cold War.  Children hovered under their desks during atomic bomb drills.  The hands of the superpower leaders hovered over the nuclear "button".  Mercifully, President John F. Kennedy had recently averted disaster with the diplomacy he displayed during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Only two years before however, President Kennedy had promised to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.  And while the world sat on the precipice of World War III, which would have put us back into the stone age, the two superpowers were working feverishly behind the scenes to forge ahead and put a man on the moon.  The Space Race refocussed their attention.  It would be only six years later that 600 million spectators would watch in hushed silence as Neil Armstrong placed his boot on the moon's dusty surface and declared:  "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

http://www.duluthaviationinstitute.org/apollo_11_flag.jpg

"The Eagle Has Landed" Earns Armstrong Fame

"We want to thank you for being so brave and walking on the moon.  We are proud that you are from Ohio." (Traci-Lea Barnardo)

In 1970, one month before the first anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, a grade 1 student from Ohio penned a letter to Neil Armstrong.  "We want to thank you for being so brave and walking on the moon," opens the letter.  "We are proud that you are from Ohio."  The letter now sits in a file at Purdue University, one of 70,000 letters, cards and autograph requests received by the first man on the moon. (http://www.jconline.com/story/opinion/columnists/dave-bangert/2014/12/05/dear-neil-armstrong-fan-mail/19917881/)

Traci-Lea Barnardo was one of 600 million spectators to watch Neil Armstrong set his boot on the lunar surface in July of 1969.  It was one of those moments where everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing.  "Parents huddled with their children in front of the family television set, mesmerized by what they were witnessing.  Farmers abandoned their nightly milking duties, and motorists pulled off the highway and checked into hotels just to see the moonwalk." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2193587/Neil-Armstrong-dead-Famed-astronaut-man-moon-dies-aged-82.html

Neil Armstrong, along with his fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, quickly entered the American lexicon.  A ticker tape parade, at which 4 million spectators were in attendance, was held in their honour in August of 1969.  Interviews and speaking engagements became part of the astronauts' routine.  Dozens of American elementary, middle and high schools adopted the name Neil Armstrong.  

However, Neil Armstrong did not embrace the limelight.  "I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer," he protested.  From the time he was a little boy, he wanted to fly. In 1936, he took his first ride in an airplane nicknamed the Tin Goose.  At 16, he earned his pilot's licence.  Armstrong received a degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and flew 78 missions in the Korean War.  

Yet it wasn't his 78 mission flights in Korea that earned Armstrong his fame.  It was his one flight to the moon and the four words:  "The Eagle has landed."

New York City ticker tape parade for Apollo 11 astronauts circa August 1969 courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticker_tape_parade.

Unlock Your Potential

"The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good." (Brian Tracy)

Some scientists claim that we only use 10% of our brain.  However, in recent years, other scientists have argued this point.  Nonetheless, many scientists would agree that humans have an unlimited capacity to learn.  "No human brain has ever said 'hard drive full'", according to Neil Slade.  

Humans have unlimited potential.  It is only after we start to tap into that potential, that we realize how wide and how vast it is.  For instance, who would have thought 75 years ago that a runner would break the four minute mile?  Yet, in 1954, that's exactly what Roger Bannister did.  Who would have thought 50 years ago that the United States would put a man on the moon?  Yet, in 1969, Neil Armstrong planted his boot on its rocky surface. One hundred years ago, who would have thought doctors would find a treatment for diabetes?  Yet, in 1921, Sir Frederick Banting invented insulin. Back in 1898, weight lifter Georg Hackenschmidt bench pressed 361 pounds setting a world record. In 2004, Gene Rychlak became the first man to bench press upwards of 1000 pounds!

Humans continue to push the envelope:  Citius, Altius, Fortius...Faster, Higher, Stronger.  We continue to surprise ourselves with our new accomplishments.  We all have untapped potential.  Now is the time to tap into yours!

Georg Hackenschmidt circa 1900 courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hackenschmidt.