To the moon.
By Eastan McNeal on August 27, 2008 at 5:01 AM in Current Affairs
On a sunny spring morning in May 1961 Mrs. Ford gathered her second grade class around and announced that the president of the United States had just proclaimed that we will go to the moon. “Getting there will take the best minds on the planet working together, lead by the best and brightest to achieve a goal never before attempted.” sic. “I want you to know that the leader of the team that gets us there could be you. As a matter of fact, the lead mathematician for that project was born and raised right down the street from this little school here in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. And, girls gather close and hear this, her name is Katherine.”
Ninety years ago, on August 26th, 1918 she was born and last night NASA leaders and astronauts in Hampton, Virginia – the brain center of the space administration – for her contributions and accomplishments in life celebrated her and her life achievements.
I was one of those 2nd graders who sat in Mrs. Ford’s class, in 1961, thrilled by the thought of going to the moon and proud that a home-town girl was going to help make it so. Then, In 2007 I was honored to introduce Katherine to a hometown gathering by recalling that day in May. I later got to ask her what went through her mind when she heard President Kennedy make that promise to the country. She said they all sat around in shock, at first, then said collectively: “Oh my. We have work to do.”
I introduced her as the hero of a young boy who was liberated by hearing that thinking was just as important as playing and that, even though I was from a little town in the middle of nowhere, even I could make a difference and do something good. Little did I know that was to be the theme of her presentation, as it has been in every presentation she has made publicly and privately for decades.
Due to events beyond my control I was unable to make it to her surprise birthday party last night, but I thought about her often throughout the day and I plan on calling her, once the earth turns around and faces the sun upon the great states of the Virginias again today.
To understand the scope of what she did, with nothing more than a slide rule and her brilliant mind, think of this. You are standing with a basketball in your hand with the other hand strapped to your shorts. You are perched upon a spinning pedestal, like a lazy Susan. Far away, as far as you can see, is the basket. It is twirling around you, in the opposite direction. With your eyes closed you must loft the ball at the perfect speed, with the perfect force, at the perfect angle, at the exact moment to make it hit the goal. If you miss then people will die. If you hit your mark then your country will forever be remembered as the people who put a man on the moon. Pressure? Not for Katherine. She just knuckled down with her team and got the job done.
That day she gave a marvelous life outline for us to follow. Believe in our children. Compliment, support them and believe it when you tell them they can accomplish anything and there are no dreams, just goals and their objectives.
Though I presented her to the audience and should have stayed out of the session, I had to ask her one question after her speech. “When Apollo 13 was stranded in space and you were called into action to set its course to Earth and you had little time to calculate and set the trajectory, how did you maintain your composure under such pressure?”
Her answer was noble, if not predictable. She gave all the credit to her male counterpart, who did become famous in the world of trajectory mathematics. I knew what she was doing. She knew what she was doing. She was not unraveling history with one moment at the podium. But, on the same day this nation celebrated the 19th amendment to United States Constitution, giving women the right to vote, all the men and women of NASA let her know that they knew what she did.
by Ronald Scott
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