The Day I was Born
On 20 February 1962, Colonel John Glenn climbed aboard Friendship 7 and became the first American to orbit the Earth. It was a considerable achievement and received extensive international coverage.
Meanwhile, back in the UK at RAF Scampton, Corporal Frank Stainer and his wife, Mary, welcomed me into the world.
Glenn had a plan: circle the planet three times and come home. He did exactly that. I was born at 7 p.m.; 43 minutes later, Friendship 7 splashed down. At 43 minutes old, I hadn’t travelled as far as Glenn. Although in fairness, he had Friendship 7. I had my parents.
I never had a master plan for my life. Mostly, I followed whatever interested me, dealt with whatever arrived, though not always successfully, and tried to make something out of it. John Glenn had NASA. I have imagination and a tendency to assume that most things are possible until proved otherwise. Even then, I have been known to have a go.
I have plenty of flaws. I’ve made plenty of mistakes and had more failures than I would have liked. But I have two children, two grandchildren, a third on the way and a marriage that has lasted more than 37 years. Whatever else I got wrong, I think I got the important things right.
So, this is me. This is David. Make of it what you will.