On May 10th, Kathy and I opened for renowned scientist and author Dr. Timothy Ferris at the Santa Rosa Junior College in Petaluma. He
was given an award for all his achievements, and Saturday, May 10th,
2014 was declared Timothy Ferris Day in Petaluma.
What a thrill to sing to him the song we wrote that was inspired by his book 'Coming
of Age in the Milky Way'. We sang the chorus with the audience waving
their books to the rhythm of the song. I'll always remember
that!
So here's a guy who worked on one of the top
missions NASA ever did: Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were all young men
in those days including the late great Carl Sagan. Dr. Ferris was in
charge of producing the "Golden Record" which compiled descriptions of the human
race, our location in the galaxy, and a fascinating collection of music
including Mozart, World music, some blues by Blind Willy Johnson, and rock n
roll Chuck Berry's "Johnny Be Good". I guess Carl didn't want that one in
there. I'm glad he was outvoted on that one.
The Voyager spacecraft (which are the size of small
semis!) were hastily put together when a NASA scientist realized that a
rare planetary line-up was about to happen that would make it possible
to send a probe up--that would not only take amazing photographs--but would be flung
by Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn at tremendous speeds...a million miles a
day! Washington blew their minds when they funded not one, but two
probes!
So that's a combination of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter
giving the thumbs up on this one. We gotta work together folks!
Voyager
1 and 2 are currently leaving the Solar System on their immortal
journey across the galaxy. They are expected to outlive the Earth. Now
that's a hit song!
I sat with the Ferris' after the event, and Carolyn
Ferris confided with me that she really liked my lyrics and expressed
relief that we weren't hokey. I understand that! Writing about this
stuff requires the songwriter to find out how things feel on an authentic emotional level. 'No feeling and you get hokey'; it's a law of
songwriting.
At the end, I thanked Dr. Ferris for all his hard
work and inspiration. I also said that for me the Voyager missions were a
metaphor for all the higher instincts of our species. Think of it, in
1977 at the height of the Cold War, when a nuclear war seemed almost
inevitable, these two spacecraft were launched with a hope for a more
peaceful future and a general view of a friendly universe. Now that's inspirational!
Metaquizzically yours,
Jim Ocean
p.s.
The guy has nerves of steel and a very warm
heart. He hugged everybody before he was presented the plaque. It was a
thrill to give him a disk our original "space rock" songs, and he accepted the gift like we
gave him the keys to the city.
After years of opening for astronauts I've
noticed some things they have in common. A light-hearted enthusiasm and
politeness seems to animate them. 
