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That's W-I-I-M-S-O-U-N-D. U This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. And we tell stories about everything here on this show, including your stories. Send them to ouramericanstories.com. They're some of our favorites.
Up next, a story from a regular contributor, Richard Munez. Today Richard shares with us the story of a magical moment in his life. when he was young. His first time Seeing a satellite. Take it away, Richard.
If you stop and think about it, it's really funny how memories work. I'm not saying funny haha, I'm saying funny strange. When I stop and think about it, before six years old, my memories are They're kinda spotty at best. But there is stuff that sticks out more than others. And one of those that sticks out more than some of the other ones is the first time I ever recall seeing a satellite.
I wasn't even five years old yet, and we were going into the mountains.
Now when I talk about the mountains, what I'm talking about here is a tract of land in northern New Mexico. In years to come, we'd follow Highway 17 up and around Coombres Pass and come into a different road.
Now this led up to our summer range, and this is where we took our cattle in summer. But this time We took the road up through Osier.
Now at the time, it was nothing more than a large water tank for the steam engines that used to move between Antonito and Chama. The other thing I recall about Osher is the station itself. At the time it wasn't open, but in this particular memory, what had happened is we had started out for the mountains. And it was already late in the day and it had been very stormy. What this was was a family and extended family trip.
And we were going to go up to the mountains and we're going to see what we called the Green Cabin. Pretty nice cabin. The reason it had its name was: guess what? It was painted green.
Well, as I mentioned, it was pretty stormy. It rained very heavily. It was raining so heavily up in the mountains, in fact, we kind of aborted our trip up into the mountains. We had two-wheel drive pickups, the soft mud was threatening to get them stuck, so unable to go forward and unable to go back, we stopped and spent the night at Osier. Yeah.
The old station was unlocked, so we took refuge there. I recall everyone bringing in their bedding and we found a corner to sleep in. A fire was started in the old stove and a meal was prepared. We ate and everyone sat around talking. I liked listening to the old timers talk.
They always told such interesting stories. I remember my old granny talking about coming out here with the Mormon expansion. My grandfather talked about coming out here as a boy from Lebanon.
Well later that evening the storm cleared out and the skies opened up. Washed by the rain, the stars were hard and bright that night, I remember. Echo is supposed to be passed over, I remember, someone said. Echo? Yes, that balloon satellite they put up a few weeks ago.
So we all went out into the night to look for it.
Now, as a four-year-old boy, I had no idea what an artificial satellite was. Oh, I'd seen T V shows and stuff like that, so what I was expecting to see was a full-size 1950s style rocket thundering overhead. Of course that's not what I got. The Project Echo satellites were launched in 1960 and 1964. The idea behind them was one we take almost for granted today.
Now, way back in 1945, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, the same guy who wrote 2001 A Space Odyssey, came up with the idea of using satellites as a means of communication. The following year, They tried some experiments using a more natural satellite, in this case our moon, to reflect microwaves for communications.
Well, once Sputnik was launched, Clark's ideas were right on the verge of becoming reality.
Now the first real attempts at using this idea look pretty simple. Put a big, aluminized balloon up in space and bounce the signals off that.
Now it took two tries to get the first Echo satellite up. The first one, on May 13th, 1960, while that satellite ended up in the Atlantic. The next attempt came a few months later, this time on August 12th. This time the satellite settled into orbit some thousand miles or so above the Earth.
So what we have here is a 100 foot across aluminumized balloon miles above the Earth catching the sunlight. It's made it a really easy target for the eye to spot.
So we step out into the cool mountain air. And I remember I looked up. And there's the universe just sprawled out before me. I almost got dizzy looking up. Standing there.
On the loading platform at H train station, I stood at the edge of infinity. Knots and tangles of stars were overhead, and a ghostly cloud stretched from horizon to horizon. and stars of every color and by the thousands blurred into it. I'd never seen anything so glorious. You see the light from those stars I remember dad seeing?
They're so far away light left them before you were even born. They're so far away they may not even be there anymore.
Now the idea of the speed of light meant nothing to me. But if they were that far away then how far was far? And suddenly I felt very small and very lost in it all. It thrilled me. My cosmos had just grown amazingly big and I was part of something so much bigger than me.
Now as a young kid, the horizon is always incredibly close. As a child, my universe ended at the mountains nearing the San Los Valley. There was little beyond it. I never put two and two together yet and realized there was more to my world than I knew. And now with a single sentence, The universe had gotten very, very big for me.
We all peered into the sky, each quietly searching for something. Finally, after several minutes, someone pointed, There, there it is. I looked, and here's a star moving quietly across the sky. I want to travel like some magical force among the stars and that in years to come I learned so well. The star moved with so much quiet and dignity it amazed me.
I remember it'd be several seconds before I even remember to breathe. As I watched it move, it flashed and then it faded away into the night. And even at four years old, there was a part of me that wished I was up there riding along with it. Today I've seen God knows how many satellites flying over. And like that four year old boy, I still wish I was along for the ride.
Uh And a terrific job by Monty on the production of that piece. And the editing. And again, a special thanks to Richard Munez, who's a regular contributor here on Our American Stories. Check out Richard's blog at WilliamAlbin, A-L-B-A-N dot WordPress.com, and check out Richard's other stories at ouramericanstories.com. Just look up Richard Munez, M-U-N-I-Z, in the search bar.
He's got a great one on the first black lawman in Colorado, the Russian MIG Jet. and many others. Richard Munez story about a light in the sky. in the beautiful mountains of New Mexico. Here, on our American stories.
Um Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming. You want the hottest Black Friday savings and Lowe's has them.
Shop amazing deals like up to 50% off select major appliances. Plus get up to an extra 25% off when you bundle select major appliances and save $80 on your choice of a DeWalt 20-volt max drill or impact driver kit.
Now just $99. Shop Lowe's Black Friday savings before they're gone. Ballot through 12-325. Selection varies by location. Select locations only.
While supplies last. See Lowe's.com for more details. Um The only thing between you and your best self is a start button. This Cyber Monday, explore the world with Nordic Track. From the peaks of Peru to the streets of Paris, every workout moves you somewhere new with iFit trainers leading the way.
The equipment's amazing, smooth, quiet, and those screens make it all feel real. Ready to start your next workout adventure with the number one treadmill brand in the U.S.? Shop NordicTrack.com for Cyber Monday savings. Nordic Track. Train anywhere?
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That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year. After that, it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel any time. But don't wait, this Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long.
Go to Washington Post dot com slash iHeart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's Washington Post dot com slash iHeart. Bring incredible sound into every corner of your home this holiday with the new Wim Sound smart speaker. Get high-resolution audio with a 1.8-inch touchscreen, smart control, and modern design in one powerful speaker for just $2.99. From quiet mornings to lively holiday gatherings, WimSound makes every moment sound better and feel better too.
Get the gift of the season for the music enthusiast in your life or for yourself. Wim Sound, beautifully designed, effortlessly connected. Shop now at Amazon and search Wim Sound. That's W-I-I-M-S-O-U-N-D. This is an iHeart podcast.
Guaranteed human. Mm-hmm.
