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Miles And Miles And Miles.
-Alan Shepard
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Miles And Miles And

Alan Shepard
Miles And Miles And Miles.
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Topic
Golf
Miles
Railroad Tracks
More From Alan Shepard
Miles And Miles And Miles.
Golf
Miles
Railroad Tracks
Because Of The Suit I Was Wearing, I Couldn't Make A Good Pivot On The Swing. And I Had To Hit The Ball With One Hand.
Golf
Swings
Hands
When I First Looked Back At The Earth, Standing On The Moon I Cried
Moon
Space
Earth
Obviously I Was Challenged By Becoming A Naval Aviator, By Landing Aboard Aircraft Carriers And So On.
Navy
Becoming
Aircraft Carriers
I Think First Of All You Have To Be There For The Right Reason.
Thinking
Firsts
Reason
You've Done It In The Simulator So Many Times, You Don't Have A Real Sense Of Being Excited When The Flight Is Going On. You're Excited Before, But As Soon As The Liftoff Occurs, You Are Busy Doing What You Have To Do.
Real
Done
Flight
Then I Thought, With The Same Clubhead Speed, The Ball's Going To Go At Least Six Times As Far. There's Absolutely No Drag, So If You Do Happen To Spin It, It Won't Slice Or Hook 'cause There's No Atmosphere To Make It Turn.
Golf
Atmosphere
Balls
You Have To Be There Not For The Fame And Glory And Recognition And Being A Page In A History Book, But You Have To Be There Because You Believe Your Talent And Ability Can Be Applied Effectively To Operation Of The Spacecraft.
Believe
Book
Pages
There's No Question That All The Generations Got Excited About The First Flights, With Kennedy's Inspiration To Go To The Moon, Leaving The Planet For The First Time, And Fortunately Coming Back.
Inspiration
Moon
Leaving
You May Not Have Any Extra Talent, But Maybe You Are Just Paying More Attention To What You Are Doing.
Attention
May
Talent
If Somebody'd Said Before The Flight, 'are You Going To Get Carried Away Looking At The Earth From The Moon?' I Would Have Say, 'no, No Way.' But Yet When I First Looked Back At The Earth, Standing On The Moon, I Cried.
Moon
Space
Earth
I'd Like To Say I Was Smart Enough To Finish Six Grades In Five Years, But I Think Perhaps The Teacher Was Just Glad To Get Rid Of Me.
Teacher
Smart
Thinking
I Realized Up There That Our Planet Is Not Infinite. It's Fragile. That May Not Be Obvious To A Lot Of Folks, And It's Tough That People Are Fighting Each Other Here On Earth Instead Of Trying To Get Together And Live On This Planet. We Look Pretty Vulnerable In The Darkness Of Space.
Peace
Fighting
Space
We're Going To See Passengers In Space Stations In 15 Years, Who Will Be Able To Buy A Ticket And Spend A Weekend In Space.
Weekend
Years
Space
The Suit Was So Clumsy, Being Pressurized, It Was Impossible To Get Two Hands Comfortably On The Handle And It's Impossible To Make Any Kind Of A Turn. It Was Kind Of A One-handed Chili-dip.
Golf
Hands
Two
I Can Hit It Farther On The Moon. But Actually, My Swing Is Better Here On Earth.
Moon
Swings
Earth
I Just Wanted To Be The First One To Fly For America, Not Because I'd End Up In The Pages Of History Books.
Book
America
Pages
The Fact That Every Part Of This Ship Was Built By The Low Bidder.
Ships
Facts
Lows
We Had Some Adverse Conditions In The '60s, In The '70s And The '80s. The Agency Has Risen Above That In The Past And Will Rise Above That Again.
Past
Agency
Rise Above
It's A Very Sobering Feeling To Be Up In Space And Realize That One's Safety Factor Was Determined By The Lowest Bidder On A Government Contract.
Space
Government
Safety
I Didn't Mind Studying. Obviously Math And The Physical Science Subjects Interested Me More Than Some Of The More Artistic Subjects, But I Think I Was A Pretty Good Student.
Math
Science
Thinking
I Woke Up An Hour Before I Was Supposed To, And Started Going Over The Mental Checklist: Where Do I Go From Here, What Do I Do? I Don't Remember Eating Anything At All, Just Going Through The Physical, Getting Into The Suit. We Practiced That So Much, It Was All Rote.
Suits
Remember
Eating
We Also Knew It Would Be Difficult, Because Of The Financial Condition Of The Family, For Me To Go To College.
College
Would Be
Financial
The Pilot Looked At His Cues Of Attitude And Speed And Orientation And So On And Responded As He Would From The Same Cues In An Airplane, But There Was No Way It Flew The Same. The Simulators Had Showed Us That.
Attitude
Airplane
Pilots
On The Periscope . . . . What A Beautiful View. Cloud Cover Over Florida - Three To Four Tenths Near The Eastern Coast. Obscured Up To Hatteras . . . I Can See [lake] Okeechobee. Identify Andros Island. Identify The Reefs.
Beautiful
Moon
Lakes
The First Plane Ride Was In A Homemade Glider My Buddy And I Built. Unfortunately We Didn't Get More Than Four Feet Off The Ground, Because It Crashed.
Feet
Four
Firsts
We Wanted To Be In Great Shape, We Wanted To Be Able To Cope With Zero Gravity, We Wanted To Be Able To Cope With Accelerations And Decelerations And So On. So All Of Us Trained So That We Were Probably In The Best Physical Condition We Had Ever Been In Up Until That Point.
Zero
Shapes
Able
And I Think That Still Is True Of This Business - Which Is Basically Research And Development - That You Probably Spend More Time In Planning And Training And Designing For Things To Go Wrong, And How You Cope With Them, Than You Do For Things To Go Right.
Thinking
Research And Development
Design
Unfortunately, The Suit Is So Stiff, I Can't Do This With Two Hands, But I'm Going To Try A Little Sand-trap Shot Here.
Golf
Hands
Two
Roger, Liftoff, And The Clock Is Started.
Airplane
Roger
Aviation
The Same Way People Are Now Paying A Couple Thousand Dollars To Fly To Other Parts Of The World, People Will Be Paying $50,000 To Spend A Weekend On A Space Station.
Couple
Weekend
Space
Al Is On The Surface. And It's Been A Long Way, But We're Here.
Moon
Long
Als
I Must Admit, Maybe I Am A Piece Of History After All.
Pieces
I Think All Of Us Certainly Believed The Statistics Which Said That Probably 88% Chance Of Mission Success And Maybe 96% Chance Of Survival. And We Were Willing To Take Those Odds.
Thinking
Odds
Survival
I Think About The Personal Accomplishment, But There's More Of A Sense Of The Grand Achievement By All The People Who Could Put This Man On The Moon.
Moon
Men
Thinking
Got More Dirt Than Ball. Here We Go Again.
Golf
Balls
Dirt
I Guess Those Of Us Who Have Been With Nasa Kind Of Understand The Tremendous Excitement And Thrills And Celebrations And National Pride That Went With The Apollo Program Is Just Something You're Not Going To Create Again, Probably Until We Go To Mars.
Pride
Mars
Apollo
We Worked With The Engineers In The Design And Construction And Testing Phases In Those Various Areas, Then We Would Get Back Together At The End Of The Week And Brief Each Other As To What Had Gone On.
Design
Together
Gone
Later, In The Early Teens, I Used To Ride My Bike Every Saturday Morning To The Nearest Airport, Ten Miles Away, Push Airplanes In And Out Of The Hangars, And Clean Up The Hangars.
Morning
Airplane
Airports
We Need A Continuing Presence In Space.
Space
Needs
Continuing
But When I Was Selected, After My Very First Tour Of Squadron Duty, To Become One Of The Youngest Candidates For The Test Pilot School, I Began To Realize, Maybe You Are A Little Bit Better.
School
Firsts
Littles
Of Course, In Our Grade School, In Those Days, There Were No Organized Sports At All. We Just Went Out And Ran Around The School Yard For Recess.
Sports
School
Yards
The Excitement Really Didn't Start To Build Until The Trailer - Which Was Carrying Me, With A Space Suit With Ventilation And All That Sort Of Stuff - Pulled Up To The Launch Pad.
Space
Stuff
Pads
Of Course I Was Delighted The Flight Was Over, But I Still Had To Worry About Cleaning Up Inside The Cabin, I Had To Worry About The Hatch, How To Get In The Sling, And So On.
Worry
Cabins
Cleaning
Why Don't You Fix Your Little Problem And Light This Candle?
Moon
Light
Littles
I Know You're All Saying I Can Go To The Moon But I Can't Find Pasadena.
Moon
Pasadena
Knows
Why Don't You Light That Candle ?
Science
Light
Candle
Then There Was The Challenge To Keep Doing Better And Better, To Fly The Best Test Flight That Anybody Had Ever Flown. That Led To My Being Recognized As One Of The More Experienced Test Pilots, And That Led To The Astronaut Business.
Challenges
Pilots
Tests
You Know, Being A Test Pilot Isn't Always The Healthiest Business In The World.
World
Pilots
Tests
So Everything Turned Out Fine, And We Were Given The Opportunity To Go To Washington And Be Briefed On The Project Of Man In Space, And Given The Opportunity To Choose Whether We Wanted To Get Involved Or Not.
Opportunity
Men
Space
I Think The Sense Of Family And Family Achievement, Plus The Discipline Which I Received There From That One-room School Were Really Very Helpful In What I Did Later On.
School
Thinking
Discipline
Whether You Are An Astronomer Or A Life Scientist, Geophysicist, Or A Pilot, You've Got To Be There Because You Believe You Are Good In Your Field, And You Can Contribute, Not Because You Are Going To Get A Lot Of Fame Or Whatever When You Get Back.
Believe
Pilots
Fields
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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