Gratitude Friday 10 25 24 Missing the Game and Saving It from the Sidelines

One year ago, an American hero passed on 10/31/24 at age 87. His name was Ken Mattingly. Odds are the name does not ring any bells for readers. He was an aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, rear admiral in the United States Navy, and astronaut who flew on Apollo 16 and Space Shuttle STS-4 and STS-51-C missions. Quite an impressive resume!

What made him a hero was in essence missing the game he had trained for, which was the NASA Apollo 13 mission. Apollo 13 of course, (April 11–17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon, but instead had a malfunction, did a flyby and attempted a return home. These were tense moments that captured the attention of the whole world and on the edge of my memory as a five year old kid.   

Mattingly was supposed to be on that mission, but three days before the launch, he was pulled and replaced by Jack Swigert because he was exposed to German measles (which he did not contract). If you ever saw the 1993 movie on Apollo 13, he was portrayed by actor Gary Sinse. During a two-hour conversation with his replacement, Jack Swigert, who was on the crippled spacecraft, Mattingly, read out every switch setting, every keystroke of the computer, the steps that would bring Odyssey (the command module of Apollo 13) back to life and ready for re-entry. He had trained to be the guy sitting in that seat. Instead, he was on the ground helping instruct the person sitting in the seat what to do to get back home. He helped save the game by missing it. The hero who was sidelined to the bench but was in the right place to call the shots from the sideline and be a gamechanger.

We all know, they got back home. I was watching something recently and ran across a reference to Mattingly and what he did.  It really captured my attention. Here is a story of a person who missed the game and helped win the game all at the same time. How often are we in our own lives positively shaped by the thing that we wanted or worked for and did not get, and it was the better result. It is a reflection that resonates with me. In my own life, I was quite fortunate not to get the things I wanted. In this way, instead I received the things I needed.

There is a song I am fond of that captures how the twists and turns of life can turn disappointments into the very best outcomes. The song is called Thanksgiving by a band called Poi Dog Pondering. The lyrics go:

Somehow I find myself far out of line

from the ones I had drawn

Wasn't the best of paths, you could attest to that,

but I'm keeping on.

Would our paths cross if every great loss

had turned out our gain?

Would our paths cross if the pain it had cost us

was paid in vain?

There was no pot of gold, hardly a rainbow

lighting my way

But I will be true to the red, black and blues

that colored those days.

I owe my soul to each fork in the road,

each misleading sign.

'Cause even in solitude, no bitter attitude

can dissolve my sweetest find

Thanksgiving for every wrong move that made it right.

Ken Mattingly was a hero because he did not get what he wanted. He ended up in the exact place he needed to be. The other facet of this story that resonates with me is the “can do, never give up” attitude of the NASA engineers who were working alongside Mattingly. One of my earliest memories is watching those men emerge from the capsule in the tense moments following the uncertain reentry into the earth’s atmosphere. The whole world was grateful in that moment.

So, this gratitude Friday, I am grateful for all the times I did not get what I wanted, and I ended up exactly where I needed to be. I often joke that I failed at drug use and found recovery. But if I had been better at it, I would likely been in jail of dead. I am deeply grateful for the forks in the road that diverted my path, so I am here today.

What are you grateful for today?