"Beam Me Up, Scotty!"

Gosh! As a kid, 2010 was some futuristic science fiction scenario.
Now, here it is!

I remember the day in 1963 when President Kennedy was shot. I was in the second grade, and I heard about it on the school bus as some of the older kids got on board crying and talking about it.

I also remember watching a black and white TV program in the mid-60’s called "Lost In Space", with that whimpering Dr. Smith, the cool Robinson family, and a large robot resembling a 55 gallon drum with a flashing light for a head and flailing arms made from dryer vent tubing, alerting everyone, "DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!"

The space ships looked like they were created out of a toilet tissue roll wrapped in aluminum foil. You could see the strings suspending the ship in mid-air, and fireworks sparklers provided the illusion of the rocket’s exhaust.
I was 10 years old.

Later, in 1969, I heard the words over and over again, "The Eagle has landed" and "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," as Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. An exciting time for America and the world, yet many unbelieving skeptics called it "just a government hoax."

While I was in the Air Force in 1977, I watched from on top of the control tower at Edwards AFB, CA, as the first space shuttle, "Enterprise", slowly inched down the flightline, dwarfing the tractor-trailer that was hauling it. Soon after, I watched it being mounted onto, and launched from a Boeing 747 jet. I was 21.

Well, today there are millions of real robots, some of which can fit through the end of a needle in a syringe. And Captain Kirk’s Star Trek flip communicator has evolved into what we now call cell phones.

Looking back in retrospect, it seems like imagination paves the way for the realities in our future. Maybe that’s why Albert Einstein said,  "Imagination is more important than knowledge".  If that is indeed true, I wonder when we can expect "Beam me up Scotty", to become a reality.

Now I’m not much of one to make New Year’s Resolutions, because statistics show they seldom last over a few days anyway. You know, the common ones like dropping a few pounds, getting into better shape, eating right – those people make every year, probably out of guilt for over-indulging through the holidays.  Many times, when the guilt is gone, so is the ambiton for change.

I did set a few new goals for myself in 2010 though. I’m not sure why, but for some reason I see the beginning of this decade as being different. Sort of like a "milestone", or a "springboard" for new things, more positive and progressive changes on my own journey. No doubt, it is a conglomeration of physical, emotional, spiritual, and who knows what other influences have created this illusion. No question, meeting my new grandson for the first time this Spring will have a major impact on my life.

Well, President Kennedy had a vision of America putting a man on the moon, and then bringing him back home safely for the decade of the 60’s – and it came to pass. As we look forward into a new decade, I wonder where our imaginations will take us.

Einstein also said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them".  Change happens so quickly, and it seems as though each change lays the groundwork for new and more accelerated change.

I think Ghandi said it best – "YOU must be the change you wish to see in the world."  If we want change, we must be willing to change, and it’s in our imagination where the seeds of change are planted.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!! May it be the best one ever for you.

Think BIG!!!

Gene

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