Now, many people here by now know that I couldn't give a fig about Easter. To me, it's bollocks. But this year's Easter happens to coincide with one of the anniversaries of one of the most important events in human history. April 12th, 1961, a 28 year old Red Air Force pilot named Yuri Gagarin escaped earth's atmosphere for 89 minutes, orbiting this small blue globe once and then returning to earth. Gagarin didn't get to do much in orbit; he was just along for the ride. But what a ride!
When we think of our explorations, this species of advanced monkeys we call "man"'s first step into the vastness of space, we consider Armstrong's small step; we consider the International Space Station; we may even consider John Glenn. But many people forget Yuri and how he took that first bold step into the final frontier. Tonight is Yuri's Night, an international celebration of space exploration in memorium of Gagarin and the first explorers, and to let space enthusiasts meet and unite. There's no party in my area, but I will be pondering it - these are the achievements we should celebrate, in my opinion, the holidays we should have.
So here's to Yuri Gagarin, to Gherman Titov, John Glenn and Alan Shephard; Ed White and Alexei Leonov; to Armstrong and Aldrin and the people who have pushed us into a whole new universe. And that's what I'll be doing this Easter weekend.
When we think of our explorations, this species of advanced monkeys we call "man"'s first step into the vastness of space, we consider Armstrong's small step; we consider the International Space Station; we may even consider John Glenn. But many people forget Yuri and how he took that first bold step into the final frontier. Tonight is Yuri's Night, an international celebration of space exploration in memorium of Gagarin and the first explorers, and to let space enthusiasts meet and unite. There's no party in my area, but I will be pondering it - these are the achievements we should celebrate, in my opinion, the holidays we should have.
So here's to Yuri Gagarin, to Gherman Titov, John Glenn and Alan Shephard; Ed White and Alexei Leonov; to Armstrong and Aldrin and the people who have pushed us into a whole new universe. And that's what I'll be doing this Easter weekend.