Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...
I can't believe no one has commented on the poem I posted called High Flight by J.G. Magee. Granted it's not Shakespeare, Milton, Wadsworth or Poe. I didn't study it at college or hear it in church. No one ever asked me to memorize it or even recite it. But all the same, it is very memorable to me and I think of it often.
I first heard it when television programming actually signed off for the night and was replaced with a test signal. All the channels used to sign off in those days. (I'm thinking of the 60's). But each had a slightly different protocol. Usually the American flag was waving and the National Anthem was sung, following a somber statement like "This ends our regular broadcasting. Our programming will resume...." One channel showed an airplane, I can't even remember if it was a jet or not, soaring through the clouds, as if you were in the cockpit. Accompanying this film was a man's voice (Donald Sutherland before he was famous?) reciting "High Flight". I was awestruck.
Over the years it has come to represent many things to me like NASA's triumphant space and shuttle missions , the Blue Angels, the pilots in training at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs ,and a variety of lofty human accomplishments.
Remember the first picture of Earth from space? The Earth looked like a bright shining jewel and I immediately thought of this poem. Whenever I travel and the plane rises above the clouds into brilliant sunshine , I think of this poem. In fact, whenever something big happens, or even beckons to happen, I think of this poem, as if it represents a pinnacle of human achievement and a hope that humankind can overcome the worst adversities and still prevail.
So am I the only pre pubescent, night owl ,baby boomer who remembers this?
I first heard it when television programming actually signed off for the night and was replaced with a test signal. All the channels used to sign off in those days. (I'm thinking of the 60's). But each had a slightly different protocol. Usually the American flag was waving and the National Anthem was sung, following a somber statement like "This ends our regular broadcasting. Our programming will resume...." One channel showed an airplane, I can't even remember if it was a jet or not, soaring through the clouds, as if you were in the cockpit. Accompanying this film was a man's voice (Donald Sutherland before he was famous?) reciting "High Flight". I was awestruck.
Over the years it has come to represent many things to me like NASA's triumphant space and shuttle missions , the Blue Angels, the pilots in training at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs ,and a variety of lofty human accomplishments.
Remember the first picture of Earth from space? The Earth looked like a bright shining jewel and I immediately thought of this poem. Whenever I travel and the plane rises above the clouds into brilliant sunshine , I think of this poem. In fact, whenever something big happens, or even beckons to happen, I think of this poem, as if it represents a pinnacle of human achievement and a hope that humankind can overcome the worst adversities and still prevail.
So am I the only pre pubescent, night owl ,baby boomer who remembers this?
posted by ljmcinnis at 12:07 PM
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