QUARANTINE BLOG # 197

October 13, 2020

October 11 was the 52nd anniversary of the flight of Apollo 7.  The three member crew of Apollo 7 was commanded by Wally Schirra, who became the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.  Schirra was accompanied by two spaceflight rookies, Walter Cunningham and Donn Eisele.  Americas’ manned space program had been grounded since a cabin fire during a launch rehearsal test at Cape Kennedy Launch Complex 34 on January 27, 1967,  killed all three crew members – Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee – and destroyed the command module.

The redesigned command module performed well during the first manned fight since the flight of Gemini XII in November 1966.  The 11-day Earth-orbital test flight was the first time a Saturn 1B vehicle put a crew into space; Apollo 7 was the first three-person American space mission, and the first to include a live TV broadcast from an American spacecraft.  It also featured the first mutiny in space.  All 3 astronauts came down with head colds and told mission control they were going to leave their helmets off during re-entry so they could blow their noses to equalize the pressure, if they needed to do so.  Whether it had anything to do with their return to earth helmetless, none of the 3 ever flew into space again.

👉  With the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of stopping, there’s a lot of responsibility on people to wear face masks while out in public.  But even if you do wear a mask, you might not be wearing it properly.  According to CDC guidelines, face masks are meant to cover both the nose and the mouth and fit securely under the chin.  However, some people prefer to wear their masks pulled down so it only covers their mouth, leaving their noses exposed.  But this can defeat a key purpose of wearing a mask – research from several scientists have demonstrated that the nose is highly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.  

Waradon Sungnak, an immunologist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, explained that the nose is a main pathway for the virus.  “It doesn’t really make sense if you’re putting on a mask, to not be putting a barrier on the nose, he said. 

Richard Boucher, a pulmonary researcher at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, explaining the dangers of wearing a mask under your nose says, “In one sense it’s the worst of all worlds.  It’s ineffective, but it may deceive you into thinking you’re protected.” 

👉  Here are some warnings from the comic strips:

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👉  When Forrest Mars was in Spain during the 1930s, he came across a candy being eaten by British volunteer soldiers taking part in the Spanish Civil War: chocolate pellets with hard tempered chocolate shells that helped keep the candy from melting.  Mars used this candy as a model for m&m's which is celebrated today on National m&m Day.

Mars partnered with Bruce Murrie, an executive at Hershey, and named the candy m&m’s.  The candy received a patent in 1941, and came in cardboard tubes, with the original colors being orange, yellow, red, brown, green, and violet (tan would replace violet by the end of the decade, and tan was replaced by blue in 1995).  In 1950, an “m” began being stamped into m&m’s so that consumers knew the candy was authentic.  From 1976 to 1987, there were no red m&m’s, after the dye Red No. 2 was banned by the FDA.  In 1981, they became the first candy in outer space, when they were taken on the first space shuttle voyage, aboard the Columbia, as part of the astronauts’ food supply.

👉  We’ve played a lot of tunes over the last few days, celebrating singing cowboys Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.  Let’s drop some coins in the nickelodeon and listen to some country songs by “The Silver Fox,” Charlie Rich.  While stationed in Enid, Oklahoma with the Air Force, he formed “the Velvetones,” playing jazz and blues and featuring his wife, Margaret Ann, on vocals.  

Charlie changed record labels frequently over the next two decades, and it wasn’t until the early 1970s that his career really took off.  His first major hit was “Behind Closed Doors” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyoPaVxMyWY which was the title track from his 1973 album “Behind Closed Doors.”  It became a number-one country hit, then crossing over into the top 20 on the pop charts.  His follow-up hit was “The Most Beautiful Girl” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnhAdO-_anw which spent three weeks at the top of the country charts and two weeks at the top of the pop charts.  Rich was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

👉  Today’s close is from Back to the Bible.

“Praise God forever and ever, because he has wisdom and power.  He changes the times and seasons of the year.  He takes away the power of kings and gives their power to new kings.  He gives wisdom to those who are wise and knowledge to those who understand” (Daniel 2:20-21 NCV).

How are you feeling about the upcoming election?  Daniel reminds us that it is also God who “deposes kings and raises up others.”  With an election coming up – and early voting already started – many Christians find themselves anxious.  The leadership of this country affects our daily lives.  It is important for us to pray and to vote as we feel lead.  But remember, it is not the American people who determine who the next president is.  God is the one who ultimately determines that. 

Daniel praises God for his wisdom and power.  And he praised Him for deposing leaders and raising up new ones.  If anyone understood what bad leadership can do for a nation, it was Daniel.

As a young man, he watched as his nation was carried off into captivity because of corrupt leadership while he was drafted into the service of the Babylonian king.  He watched the first king that he served, Nebuchadnezzar, pridefully disobey God and go temporarily insane.  Another king that Daniel served was so corrupt, Babylon was overthrown and taken over by the Medes and Persians.  One king threw Daniel into a den of lions for praying to God.

Throughout Daniel’s life, kings would rise and kings would fall.  Nations would conquer and be conquered.  Through it all, Daniel praised God. 

We don’t know how the election will turn out in a few weeks.  We don’t know what the future holds for our country.  But we can be like Daniel who was unwavering in his faith in God.  He served his country, respected the leaders in authority over him, and yet, obeyed God rather than man when the two were in conflict.  And regardless of who was on the earthly throne of his country, he praised his God who was, is and always will be on the heavenly throne. 

Prayer: God, You are sovereign.  I trust Your wisdom in determining the next leader of our country.  Please give me Your wisdom and discernment as I cast my vote.   Amen.

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