StarTribune.com
EDAY100807

Home | Opinion Exchange | Letters

Letter of the day: The space race hits home (and the garage)

Last update: October 7, 2007 - 4:02 PM

While the launching and successful orbiting of Sputnik scared America into focusing on math and science, it scared me and my family in a very personal way. Fifty years ago in Pittsburgh, a poor working-class family made their journey to a new home in the first-ring suburbs. My father was intrigued by a new product which recently had come on the market -- the electric garage door. We had one of the first ones in the neighborhood and enjoyed the freedom of not having to get out of our car to open the door. One night around 8 o'clock we were watching TV as a family when the garage door suddenly went up. We pushed the button to lower it only to find it went up again and then again at regular intervals throughout the night. We later found out it was the transmissions Sputnik sent that made our door go awry. Happy 50th, Sputnik.

JAMES V. GAMBONE, ORONO

Recent Letters stories

Comment on this story   |   Be the first to comment   |  Hide reader comments

Subscribe

About Opinion Exchange

Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

Subscribe to RSS|Learn more about RSS

Follow Opinion Exchange on Twitter Do you use Twitter? Follow Opinion Exchange.

StarTribune.com: Steals + Deals & Classifieds

My Job Account

Learn how to do it right.

Simplify your job search by learning the best way to approach networking, resumes, cover letters, and interviewing.

Win tickets to The Midnight Movie Society's screening of cult-classic film "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" at Red Stag Supperclub.

Vita.mn and DJ Jake Rudh present the first meeting of The Midnight Movie Society at Red Stag Supperclub on Feb. 19, with drinking, dancing and a midnight screening of cult-classic film, "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls."

See all contests