Ahh ... I will never forget twisting the dial on our old, 3 channel, B&W TV on that hot Sunday night in 1967. I heard Walter Cronkite say 9 short words about the future and I was HOOKED! This fifth grade boy missed an episode of "The Twenty-First Century." I made certain our RCA was perfectly tuned to CBS at 6pm sharp! From my amazed viewpoint, the show was perfect. It started with Aaron Copland's stirring music that set the tone for my entire night. (I still search for the Copland piece, but I remember the notes: "da, dumb. (pause) da, da, da, dom. (pause) da, da, da, dom.) Then Walter would give us a sneak peek of the night's amazing science. Next he would break for an "important commercial message" from our proud sponsor Union Carbide. And sixty seconds later, the machines, the science, and the predictions were marched out for all of America to see. WOW! What a show. What a show. Even after Walt said goodnight, I would stay on cloud nine the rest of the evening: Convinced that my Flash Gordon sketches WOULD be needed in the twenty-first century. Excited by Walt's certainty. Wound-up by Union Carbide's enthusiasm. Yes, it was hard to sleep on Sunday nights.
And now ... forty years later ... I try my best to recreate that same excitement for my first year engineering students.
Thank you Walter for producing such a marvelous show.
I am most appreciative, dave in austin, Texas
And now ... forty years later ... I try my best to recreate that same excitement for my first year engineering students.
Thank you Walter for producing such a marvelous show.
I am most appreciative, dave in austin, Texas