August 3, 2008 – Kwajalein Atoll, South Pacific Ocean: On a tiny 8-acre island, almost 5,000 miles southwest of Honolulu, his 70-foot tall Falcon 1 rocket sat on the launch pad. Liftoff was perfect and at nine miles up the first stage separation was also perfect. Then...
Winter 1915 – Antarctica: Captain Ernest Shackleton made the gut-wrenching decision. They would eat their 70 sled dogs. With their food stores almost gone, the 28-man crew had been expecting the decision. Some were disgusted by the idea – many of the dogs had become...
October 29, 1941 – Harrow School – London, England: When Sir Winston Churchill, the great British prime minister, was in his late sixties, he was invited to address the students at the Harrow School. More than 50 years earlier, he had finally graduated from this...
1937 – New York City: Ted Geisel was at the end of his rope. As he walked down Madison Avenue to his apartment, he made a decision. He would burn the manuscript in his apartment incinerator – 27 rejections were enough – his book would not be turned down again. His...
August 1964 – Anderson, South Carolina: He showed up on the hill overlooking the McCants Junior High football practice field. From a safe distance, he watched the team practice each afternoon. After a week, Coach Harold Jones invited the young man to attend practice....
1992, Veterans Administration Clinic – Baltimore, Maryland: “Mr. Boorman, you need to face the facts,” the VA doctor told him, “You will never walk again without assistance.” Boorman, age 32, was a former Army paratrooper who made more than 200 jumps during the Gulf...
