THE MAN OF LA MANCHA

There is a La Mancha in Spain, but there is no real Man of La Mancha.

• This all began with Miguel de Cervantes.
• Was born in Spain in 1547 (?, maybe) and passed away in 1616 at the age of 68.
• Considered to be the greatest Spanish writer, best known for what is said to be the first modern novel, Don Quixote, perhaps even the best book of all time.  As translated by Edith Grossman, widely regarded as one of funniest and most tragic  books ever written.

• 
  Cervantes spent most of his life in relative poverty and obscurity.
• At the age of 22, moved to Rome, where he worked for the household of a cardinal.
• Enlisted in the Spanish Navy infantry a year later, 1570, and got severely wounded, losing use of his left arm and hand.
• There are no portraits of him, but this one to the right is generally used.

• In 1575 was captured by Barbary pirates, and ransomed to Madrid five years later.
• First significant novel, published in 1585, was La Galatea.
• Don Quixote was published between 1605 and 1615, for there are two parts.
• Wrote over 20 plays.
• Died of diabetes in 1611, but was reburied only in 2015 in a public ceremony.

• 
  La Mancha is a region (red) spread over several Spanish provinces.
• Mancha means stain or patch.
• Is the largest plain in Spain.
• Chosen by Cervantes as the setting for his dignified knight-errant Don Quixote.

• 
  While many early versions of Don Quixote were actually filmed here, both the 1957 Russian (this is the entire film) and 1972 productions were not, with the site for the conversion of the 1965 Broadway show shot in Italy.  The 2000 made-for-TV Don Quixote starring John Lithgow and Bob Hoskins was filmed in Spain, but not La Mancha.
• 
  The Man of La Mancha is a 1965 musical from the book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion.
• Began with a 1959 television non-musical, I, Don Quixote, by Wasserman.
• Was a play within a play.
• The 1965 musical version ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.  Has been revived four times.
• The principal song, The Impossible Dream, is my theme song.

The film version starred Peter O'Toole as Don Quixote, but the song was sung by Simon Gilbert.  Sophia Loren actually did her own singing in this film.

I myself can't sing this song, for I have a limited range.  However, I've actually almost embarrassed myself twice, last year on our Norwegian Encore cruise, and most recently at 15 Craigside.  Both would have been on a karaoke platform, but I was saved because the sessions ended and I was never called up.

But Impossible Dream is my theme song because much of what I tried to accomplish in my professional life had to do with trying to attain impossible goals.  What were they?  Go the Huffington Post, listed under Patrick Takahashi, and read my essays on what they were.

• 
  Star Power for Humanity:  spent two assignments at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Laser Fusion.
• The Sustainable Expo for 2020:  toyed with idea of bring the World Expo to Honolulu.
• The 10% Simple Solution to Peace:  I tried to get President Barack Obama, and two presidents from China to consider my plan.

• 
  The Future of Sustainable Aviation:  attempted to influence the nation and world to develop hydrogen to power future jetliners.
• The Carbon Dioxide Credit Credit Program:  how to remediate global warming.
• What is the Best Biofuel?:  the ideal transition for ground transportation.

• 
  Blue Revolution:  perhaps my most desirable impossible dream for the future of Humanity.  Watch two presentations I gave on this subject;
• To the Seasteading Institute in San Francisco.
• TEDx talk on the Blue Revolution.

• 
  The Promise of Hydrogen, Part 1 and Part 2:  I drafted the original hydrogen bill when I worked in the U.S. Senate way back in 1980, and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii, which I directed, became the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Research and Education Center.

All those were impossible dreams, as was my attempt in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence at the NASA Ames Research Center.  Nobel Laureate Charles Townes and I proposed a better way to find Earth-type extra solar planets.  The final report I submitted was titled, TO SEE THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM, and used that Playbill caricature of the Man of La Mancha on the cover.

Oh, if you were wondering if anyone had a winning ticket for the $1.8 BILLION Powerball jackpot, the answer is yes, one in Missouri and another in Texas.  They will share the loot.  Additional two tickets, sold in Kansas and Texas, won $2 million, and 18 across 13 states each won $1 million.  The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44,61,62, with the red Powerball of 17 and a Power Play multiplier of 2.  Monday's drawing?  Only $20 million.

If you were worried about Hurricane Kiko, she has weakened into a Category 2, and is continuing to move on a path sufficiently north of Hawaii to minimize severe wind and flood damage.  But remain cautious, for there will be dangerous surf conditions.

$1.7787 billion

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