Whenever someone says the name ‘Armstrong’ within my earshot, I’m reminded of the death defying, great comebacks by 2 men of the same name known to me. True to name both the men achieved extraordinary glory by pushing-the-envelope in their chosen fields.
In case of Lance Armstrong it was literally death defying to recover from the severe illness. With Neil Armstrong it was figurative, but nonetheless the venture of going to the moon and back, even today is considered risking life.
Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the Moon and the patent holder of the famous ‘Small Step for Man and a Giant Leap for Mankind’ quote died yesterday (25 Aug 2012) aged 82. On 16 March 1966, on board the Gemini 8 spacecraft as command pilot, he became one of the first Americans to travel to space. Throughout his career there were whispers that his (& co-pilot David Scott’s) actions in space led to the Gemini 8 mission being cut short and missing targeted objectives.
With his passing away, we have lost forever the man who made the Giant Leap with a Small Step.
At just half his age (~ 41) this year, Lance Armstrong had achieved the extra-ordinary feat of winning the Tour de France a record consecutive seven times, while surviving one of the severest life threatening diseases. Throughout his cycling career there were whispers of performance enhancing drug use. Day before yesterday (24 Aug 2012), he was stripped of all his medals and titles won after 1998 - which means his record 7 Tour de France titles are ‘his’ no more.
With that stripping away, we have lost forever the record of the man who made the Giant Laps seem like a severe workout.
Within 48 hours, two men named Armstrong have moved on - one on his eternal spaceflight and another out of the record books. For us, the ordinary guys and gals standing by is the disappointment of losing the men of Giant Leap and Giant Lap.
In case of Lance Armstrong it was literally death defying to recover from the severe illness. With Neil Armstrong it was figurative, but nonetheless the venture of going to the moon and back, even today is considered risking life.
Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the Moon and the patent holder of the famous ‘Small Step for Man and a Giant Leap for Mankind’ quote died yesterday (25 Aug 2012) aged 82. On 16 March 1966, on board the Gemini 8 spacecraft as command pilot, he became one of the first Americans to travel to space. Throughout his career there were whispers that his (& co-pilot David Scott’s) actions in space led to the Gemini 8 mission being cut short and missing targeted objectives.
With his passing away, we have lost forever the man who made the Giant Leap with a Small Step.
At just half his age (~ 41) this year, Lance Armstrong had achieved the extra-ordinary feat of winning the Tour de France a record consecutive seven times, while surviving one of the severest life threatening diseases. Throughout his cycling career there were whispers of performance enhancing drug use. Day before yesterday (24 Aug 2012), he was stripped of all his medals and titles won after 1998 - which means his record 7 Tour de France titles are ‘his’ no more.
With that stripping away, we have lost forever the record of the man who made the Giant Laps seem like a severe workout.
Within 48 hours, two men named Armstrong have moved on - one on his eternal spaceflight and another out of the record books. For us, the ordinary guys and gals standing by is the disappointment of losing the men of Giant Leap and Giant Lap.
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