To sit back and let fate play its hand out and never influence it is not the way man was meant to operate.
The most important thing we can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of science, math and technology education that will help youngsters take us to the next phase of space travel.
I don’t know what you could say about a day in which you have seen four beautiful sunsets.
We have an infinite amount to learn both from nature and from each other.
If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years on this planet, it’s that the happiest and most fulfilled people I’ve known are those who devoted themselves to something bigger and more profound than merely their own self interest.
I suppose the one quality in an astronaut more powerful than any other is curiosity. They have to get some place nobody’s ever been.
I was sold on flying as soon as I had a taste for it.
There is still no cure for the common birthday.
Too many people, when they get old, think that they have to live by the calendar.
Just because I’m 77 doesn’t mean I don’t have a dream.
There are times when you devote yourself to a higher cause than personal safety.
That was a real fireball.
Zero G and I feel fine.
To get your name well enough known that you can run for a public office, some people do it by being great lawyers or philanthropists or business people or work their way up the political ladder. I happened to become known from a different route.
You know, old folks can have dreams, too, as well as young folks, and then work toward them. And to have a dream like this come true for me is just a terrific experience.
I am a stranger. I come in peace. Take me to your leader and there will be a massive reward for you in eternity.
By its very definition, civic responsibility means taking a healthy role in the life of one’s community. That means that classroom lessons should be complemented by work outside the classroom. Service-learning does just that, tying community service to academic learning.
When others kid me about being bald, I simply tell them that the way I figure it, the good Lord only gave men so many hormones, and if others want to waste theirs on growing hair, that’s up to them.
I think a mentor gets a lot of satisfaction in a couple of ways. They’re doing something constructive, so they feel good about that. And when they see the results of this, with the young people they’re working with, it’s very, very rewarding.
This is a day we have managed to avoid for a quarter of a century. We’ve talked about it before and speculated about it, and it finally has occurred. We hoped we could push this day back forever.
The moment of twilight is simply beautiful.