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July 20, 2005
36 years ago today
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth".
John F. Kennedy set that goal in 1961 and a mere 8 years later, the US achieved it.
I was 15 years old and I can recall the fevered excitement that dominated the nation and the news. From the launch on July 16th to the landing on the 19th, we held our breath and were glued to the tv.
My maternal grandparents were at our home to watch the landing. After Neil Armstrong had done his One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind step on the moon, my grandfather walked out of the house into the evening and stood on the frontwalk, staring up at the moon. I joined him and he said,
"You know, when I was a kid, if I had ever said I would live to see a man walking on the moon, everyone would have thought me crazy. I'm amazed to live in such a time."
My grandfather was born in 1901, a time when mere electricity was basically only available to some who lived in cities (and most people lived in rural areas). Women did the laundry by hand and entertainment was homegrown (getting hold of a popular song was defined by buying the sheet music and learning it yourself). The world he found himself in, in 1969, was the stuff of wild dreams.
I can remember that night and the awe I felt as I stood by his side and thought, not only of the bravery of the astronauts, but of the people who invented their little lifeboat. I was already a big Star Trek fan, but I put as much faith in seeing that come about in my lifetime as my grandfather imagined living long enough to see men on the moon.
I had thought, though, I would live to witness a landing on Mars.
And as I sit here, typing on a laptop with much more power than the 'puters that ran Apollo 11, I still hold hope for it ...
That 15 y/o is still here and a girl can dream.
Posted by Darleen at July 20, 2005 06:30 AM