| | | The
astronaut who put Apollo back on course after the disasterous lanch pad fire in
1967. They thought it was "Just like Honky Donkey' he would say. But in fact,
it was very difficult. One of the original seven, I'll never forget him for driving
the most exciting years of my youth. He was up there! He was a real-life hero!
Just as if I had grew up with him and the other seven. Having followed the space
program since it's birth, I recall waiting to hear who the seven were going to
be! I recall reading all about him in Time and Life magazines. And then following
his mission on Mercury. And the absolutely hair raising lift-off of Gemini which
ignited the two engines and then they shut down. And Gemini never rose from the
pad. It just sat there, waiting to blow! Schirra could have pulled the ejection
handle but he rode the crises out. "Milli-second gut logic" he said; 'told
me to just wait!" If he had ejected with fellow crewmember Stafford, it would
have put the project way behind, and it's doubtful that the moon landing would
have happened before 1970. This alone rocketed Wally Schirra into the realms of
a hero. He put the three man Apollo back on the rails and put mission control
in their place by refusing to wear the bubble helmet during re-entry. He had a
cold and feared for his hearing during the sudden pressure changes. He wanted
to blow his nose, but since the bubble helmets didn't have a visor you couldn't
get to your nose to equal the pressure without taking the whole damn thing off!
After Wally's Apollo 7 mission success we were going to the moon again! This was
Wally's last flight as he had announced his retirement from NASA previously. Then
came a little light hearted dig at NASA when he said this line in an Actifed advert
on TV, "Ever tried sneezing in one of these?" Wally
Schirra- Astronaut and one of the original seven. And as Allan Shepard once said,
"Fine weather and good tail winds buddy'. | | |
TRILOGY
EDITION THE SURKLING
BOOK ONE THE
VOYAGE BOOK
TWO THE
DARK KING BOOK
THREE THE
THRONE AND THE STARS | | geoffweston@paradise.net.nz 
The Surkling
is around 700 pages. It is organized around 34 Chapters, split into three books.
Each book of this trilogy brings events to a conclusion but leaves you thirsting
for the next book. It is broken into a trilogy for conveniance. The detail of
the background is extraordinarily well developed, and the history has amazing
depth as though it were real. Of course, this world is The land of Muggy which
is the Authors Fantasy land. A place in its own right! |
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