Editor's Notes
Feeling Earthbound?We are awash in problems these days, but we've always had a strong sense of possibility
Do you remember where you were on the night of July 20, 1969? I do. And if you are old enough to have a conscious memory of that night 40 years ago, you will, too.
I was watching television. So were you. With that comfortable old shoe, Walter Cronkite, holding our hands, we were all watching in amazement as Neil Armstrong took that “giant leap for mankind” and then hopped around on the surface of the moon, wearing that big puffy space suit. (That’s why we didn’t see any little moon people that night. They all ran away and hid as soon as they saw that getup. They’re probably still talking about it.)
Technology moves and changes so fast now that it all seems like an indistinguishable blur. But in 1969, landing on the moon was a very big deal indeed. I actually drove home in my rust-bucket Ford Falcon to watch it with my father, hoping that my brakes would hold and I would stop before crashing into the house. I wanted to see how a man who started farming literally with horsepower and thought his Model T was the be-all and end-all would react to such a stunning feat—all in one lifetime. I don’t think any of us ever looked at the moon on a crystal clear night again in the same way. The magic wasn’t gone, but we had been there.
Everybody was abuzz about the moon landing—even more commotion than “Dancing with the Stars.” The New York Times ran its biggest headline ever. Thousands of people signed a waiting list for the first commercial flight to the moon, scheduled to blast off in the year 2000. Ironically, Pan American World Airways managed the reservation list—another not-so-hot business idea. And politicians just couldn’t stop talking. President Nixon said it was “the greatest week in the history of the world since the Creation.”
The landing was hailed as the dawn of a new era, a shining example of Yankee ingenuity, set against a volatile background of political and societal strife. And forever the core of thousands of complaints: If they can send a man to the moon, why can’t theyÉ. But whatever its legacy, the landing was an astonishing example of what we can do when we set our minds to solving a problem.
We have a few problems of our own these days. The one word I’m hearing more and more often is: transformation. We are standing on new ground and health care delivery will emerge as a new entity. Those attending last month’s Non-Profit Health Care Investor Conference in New York City were aware of the magnitude of the shift created by the economic downturn in the face of pending health care reform.
They are also equally determined to solve the problems with financial rigor and a laser focus on internal operations. Who among us does not have a much deeper understanding of our business now than we did last September? That bodes well for our future.
Housekeeping note: Starting with this issue, H&HN is also available as a digital edition. Take a look! Go to www.hhnmag.com and click on the digital magazine button. Also check out the Outbox column. Ian Morrison is lurking back there to tell you all about the Health Forum Summit. It’s not the moon, but it is San Francisco.
This article 1st appeared in the June 2009 issue of HHN Magazine.
To respond to this article, please click here.
