But this Saturday, we all later agreed, was the first day of summer: the smell of plowed fields and first-cut grass, the river flushed by rains, its banks covered with ferns and May apples and early wild flowers, dame's rocket and white trillium.
He suffered broken bones and detached retinas, but out of these wild rides - by December 1954, Stapp had volunteered for 29 rocket sled deceleration and windblast experiments - came improved helmets, arm and leg restraints, better aircraft seats, stronger safety harnesses and techniques for positioning the body to help absorb powerful forces.