[July 14, 2023] I was sitting in church with my family in late February 1962, only a few weeks shy of my 10th birthday, with my favorite yo-yo in my front pocket. My friends and I ran outside to do the “John Glenn” trick when the sermon concluded. This yo-yo trick would be three loops around and then back again into your hand. We did this as our salute to American John Glenn, who, just a few days earlier in the week, had orbited the Earth three times in a spaceship (Friendship 7). To us kids, it was a great achievement despite the fact we could not fully comprehend the importance of the event.
We kids from rural Louisiana had a general idea that there was a space race between America and the USSR but no idea that the competition was white hot and that things were boiling. Winning the race into outer space seemed the right thing to do, even if we kids were nobodies who knew nothing about space and lived in an out-of-the-way little town in the boonies; we were in “Nowheresville.” However, we knew we were good Americans and proud of our country.
We all wanted to be astronauts. Moreover, we all wanted our town’s folks, like our schoolteachers, neighbors, and parents, to look up to us. I can still do the John Glenn yo-yo trick; I tried it out just a few days ago, one just like the yo-yo I had as a kid. That day that Sunday morning in 1962, in my back pocket was my slingshot, and I had my trusty Boy Scout pocketknife. Be prepared! A yo-yo, a slingshot, and a pocketknife; were the basic tools of the trade of the ordinary 10-year-old boy of the early 1960s.
Later that same year, I would break my left arm, zooming around the neighborhood with friends pretending to be astronauts, even if we had no idea what astronauts did. But we looked up to them anyway and wanted very much to fly into space. All of us boys wanted to be an astronaut, but that desire took a backseat to our yearning to be firefighters and army men. We now know how those childhood dreams worked out for some of us.
My broken arm would heal nicely. A year later, I would break my arm again, just in a different spot but doing the same thing and trying unsuccessfully to jump over an old clothing trunk that my friends stood on end. Later, after my arm was set and a plaster cast put on it to hold the bones in place, I discovered that a coat hanger worked best to scratch the itches that inevitably occurred underneath the cast. I give my mother credit for telling me how to do that.
We had an old black and white television set at home, but I never saw any astronauts orbiting the Earth. My dad controlled our television time, and besides, I liked playing outside in our yard more than watching the news. Shortly after my 17th birthday, I would watch the first man moon landing on a color television set. Technology was advancing quickly.
I was never an astronaut, and, in fact, I never really had the desire to fly after I grew up. I will attribute that to watching old war movies that changed my ideas of what I wanted to do as an adult. I regularly watched shows that convinced me leading soldiers in combat would be my real-life’s goal. I wanted to be an Infantry Sergeant just like the fictional Sergeant Chip Saunders (Vic Morrow) in the 1960s television series Combat!, the TV show of my youth. Many years later, I would be promoted to Infantry Sergeant and achieve my childhood dream.
The astronauts of the 1960s provided a spark for me to look outward from myself – as a hick from a small town – and that would allow me to follow my destiny.
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Excellent series, sir. Keep it going.
Great job my friend. She is so blessed to have you as s grandfather teaching her life lessons. ❤️ she may not be an astronaut or scientist, the life lessons can help her navigate through life
Good points Eddie, I think Gen. Satterfield understands and can appreciate what her parents and grandparents can do for her. Remember, like you and I, Gen. Satterfield is a great American Patriot.
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Thank you, Eddie.
Wow, nice! Your granddaughter, Gen. Satterfield, is one lucky girl.
Nice. Also the numbering helps.
Thanks Gen. Satterfield for your newest series, “Letters to my granddaughter.” I esp. like the “introduction” letter. I do hope you make these into a book.
Lady Hawk, I think Gen. Satterfield already said this might be his next book. Also note that he created a tab with these letters too.
Another excellent, and informative letter to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter that made me smile. 😉
If you want to read more informative stuff, then go to DAILY FAVORITES, where you will get some great insights into the thinking of Gen. S by the articles he picks. Gen. S. is all over senior leaders who fail. Today it is about “Climate Czar” John Kerry who is the biggest hypocrite in the WORLD. That is really hard to do but somehow that whacko liberal has managed to do it.
Ha Ha, Under, you made me laugh, thank you for doing so.
Loving this series, please keep these ‘letters’ coming, Gen. S. We are waiting each day for a new one. Oh, for those who have not yet done so, please purchase a copy of his books and leave a comment on Amazon. These books might be in other sites like Goodreads, but Amazon is the best place. Get a copy today. Even better, get more than one copy and give them out as gifts. To repeat, here are the direct links:
https://www.amazon.com/55-Rules-Good-Life-Responsibility/dp/1737915529/
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Longest-Year-Iraq-Construction/dp/1737915510/
You’re going to appreciate yourself for that decision!
Thanks Willie, I’ll be ordering my copies soon.
Welcome Jessica, I see that you are new here. You will find that this is the place to ‘bounce’ ideas off folks who can give you positive feedback without being nasty. Take this as a great resource for you. Others can join too, there is no admission fee.
Yes, like Yusaf noted, welcome aboard!
Thank you, sir.
Gen. Satterfield …. “The astronauts of the 1960s provided a spark for me to look outward from myself – as a hick from a small town – and that would allow me to follow my destiny.” His destiny as an army General.
Once again, Gen. Satterfield is giving us full access to his brain as a kid. What an opportunity to get an understanding of someone who was very successful in the US Army. Sir, thanks for the insights.
Fred, you’re right and I’m also sure that his granddaughter will appreciate these letters later when she is an adult and can read them with some maturity under her belt.
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Wow, nice!
Where the heck did you get this Shawn? Wowzers!!!!!!! ❤
Cool feature.
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