A Story that Shouts!

 Sally Ride, 1951-2012

First Woman in Space

 

Thanks for the Ride, Sally 

Be brave enough to live life creatively.
You have to leave the city of your comfort
and go into the wilderness of your intuition.
You can't get there by bus, only by hard work
and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing.
What you'll discover will be wonderful. 

Yourself. 

                                                           Alan Alda

The story of Sally Ride has stones that shout to the heavens. No words can capture the character of this woman—brilliant, compassionate, sensitive and funny.  Let this post be dedicated, however, to her awareness of who she was and how she used that to further the lives of others.  In death—she lives on in countless people she set the example and pace.

Sally Ride, the first female astronaut in space, waged her last heroic fight against pancreatic cancer before dying at age 61.  Her legacy is far more than the cultural fact that she broke barriers that held people back for her gender and orientation. The point is that Sally knew that she knew that she was a role model and that she could make a difference for other people.  How many of us achieve, but fail to inspire others?  Think the list of the top achievers in any field.  The accomplishments are spectacular, we say, but as a person, well that remains a question mark.  Sally put an exclamation point on everything.  President Obama put it this way:    "Sally was a national hero and a powerful role model. She inspired generations of young girls to reach for the stars."  Let’s add: women and men of all ages. 

The Christian Science Monitor captured her contribution: 

When Ride first launched into space, feminist icons such as Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda were at Kennedy Space Center and many wore T-shirts alluding to the pop song with the refrain of the same name: "Ride, Sally Ride.  NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, said Ride "broke barriers with grace and professionalism — and literally changed the face of America's space program. "The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers," he said in a statement.