Mother Earth sucker punched seventy-five years ago today.

Mother Earth has been around a long time…over 4 billion years. But she never was dealt as heinous a blow as she got from some scientists and military men 75 years ago today, the first atomic blast detonated at Trinity Site, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. Tho miles from civilization, the radioactive dust and sand kicked up by the blast traveled afar, contaminating every person and animal in its path. How many died excruciating deaths from the cancer caused we’ll never know. The U.S. government said everything was fine and no records were kept to say differently. In the ensuing 75 years, man, who has only roamed Mother Earth for 6 million of her 4 billion years, set off an additional 2,055 atomic blasts, on land, in the air and underground.

Couple years back I got to stand on the exact spot of that first blast. All that was left was a small, flat piece of melted steel, that remains of the 300 foot tower that the ‘Gadget’ was hoisted up for its big bam. It was a creepy feeling as I pondered that my life spanned the nuclear age, being just 128 days old when Nuke No. 1 went skyward. It’s astonishing to me we haven’t self-destructed in the ensuing 75 years. We’re not very good….but we’ve been very, very lucky.