July 20, 1969

Today is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.

It was an exciting time. The excitement of the space program dovetailed with the optimism of the early '60s. We felt that we could do anything.

By the time Apollo 8 made its historic Christmas Eve flight in 1968, showing us Earthrise among many other spectacular things, the year had been one of the worst in American history. As a citizen wrote to NASA, "You saved 1968!"

Aploolo 11 saved 1969, too. For a brief time, humanity was truly one as we watched Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon, before the end of the decade as JFK predicted.

The Earthrise photo was awe-inspiring. Made people think and experience a sense of wonder. They say it inspired the environmental movement in a big way, with the first Earth Day in 1970.

It's amazing the space program didn't have more disasters. Everything had to go perfectly on every mission! And they were flying with primitive computers that were the equivalent of the horse-and-buggy when compared to today's tech.

I just watched another special last night on PBS, 8 Days: To The Moon And Back*, and learned that the switch to blast the lunar module off the moon had a problem. While Mission Control tried to figure out how to bypass it, the astronauts came up with their own solution. Whew!

I also loved how after the astronauts reported the problem, Mission Control told them to get a good night's sleep and they'd have an answer in the morning. Yeah, right, I'm sure they slept like babies without knowing if they would be able to blast off or not!

*I also recommend the three-part Chasing The Moon. Both specials can be streamed from the PBS site.

Fic: The General And The Jedi V: Homecoming (1/2)

Title: The General And The Jedi V: Homecoming (1/2)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Characters/Pairings (this chapter): Han/Luke, Chewbacca, Rolf/Lyra (Rolf does not appear in this chapter)
Continuity: Star Wars (The Original Trilogy)
Series Notes: This particular series will follow Han and Luke's married life as they help Leia establish the New Republic. The entire series can be found here.
Genres: Angst, Drama
Rating (this chapter): G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: Han takes Luke to meet his family on Corellia.
Chapter Summary: Luke is surprised to learn about Han’s origins.
Date Of Completion: June 21, 2019
Date Of Posting: July 20, 2019
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, Disney does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 2424
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author's Notes: Ironically, the background for Han in Solo was what I’d usually envisioned for him: hardscrabble and on his own, but then this alternative background took hold of me before I saw the movie and the idea simmered for years. I like the contrasts between our rogue smuggler and the family he grew up with. :)
For any who think the use of ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ is jarring, I thought ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ too formal for Han, and ‘Ma’ and ‘Pa’ is more Clark Kent-ish, ha, ha, so I went with ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. ;)

( Once the ship was securely docked, the three of them picked up their travel bags and went down the gangway to a waiting hovercar. A slender young man in an official-looking outfit stood nearby, and he inspected their bags and stamped their passports with a laser light. Once passed, Han took the controls of the hovercar and they were off. )

This chapter can also be read on AO3.