Bob Richards

I recall as a young lad my family gathered around the TV hearing the words of the Apollo astronauts proudly announce, "The Eagle has landed!" A few hours later Neil Armstrong placed his foot on the lunar soil and we heard his all inclusive words, "That's one small step for a man but one giant leap for mankind." It truly was an American achievement realizing the goal set by John F Kennedy on May 25th 1961 when he stated, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."  Armstrong's first words placing his foot on the moon seem to want to include  humanity universally as responsible for the achievement,  defining it as "...a giant leap for mankind'   After Apollo we saw Project Skylab which lasted from 1973 to 1979 and the Shuttle Program from 1981 to 2011. Not to take away from those achievements,  but all kno...

      Undoubtedly the Canada Day celebrations of July 1, 2011 will go down as significant and the one most talked about for the  generation. The city of Ottawa, the Canadian capital, experienced a  wonderful blue sky day---perfect weather! Music groups from a variety of different ethnic groups took the stage on Parliament Hill playing their own brand of music and exhibiting their own type of cultural expression. This was all very wonderful but such has been the norm for a great many years. Why would I define this particular celebration as one which stands  out for the generation? Clearly for the reason of the special guests who were in attendance the Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus and his dear wife, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge, better known to all as Will and Kate.     Will and Kate---what a sensation!  Two months ago on April 29th the couple were married at Westminster Abbey w...