Moon Day

As almost everyone knows, today is the 40th anniversary of the day that man first landed on the moon. In the years that have passed, the event seems to have receded in memory, and I wonder if anyone thinks it's such a big deal anymore. But it certainly was at the time, especially to people who were of a certain age.

At the time I was eight years old, and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit I have no clear memory of the actual event. I certainly was aware of what was going on--I remember that in school the teachers would set up TVs in the classrooms so we could watch lift-offs and other important events. But Apollo 11's activities took place in July, so I would have been at home. I'm sure I was watching when the Eagle landed (with 25 seconds of fuel to spare) and then when Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the lunar surface, but I don't have a specific memory. I'm reminded of the Simpson's episode when Grandpa Simpson watches, a tear in his eye, while Homer is oblivious, rocking out to "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy."

Unlike some of my contemporaries, I wasn't captivated by space exploration. I didn't have much interest in science fiction or stargazing. My passions were in history and animals--I could name all the presidents in order and tell you what made a marsupial a marsupial, but all the space stuff left me indifferent. However, even then, I had a sense of the magnitude of the achievement. My great-grandparents, who were born in the 1890s, were around before the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, yet lived long enough to see man on the moon. I also remember they had an atlas that I used to pore over when I visited. It had a section on the solar system, and of course had only diagrams, no photos, of the dark side of the moon.

Looking back there is no end to the amazement of the achievement. First of all, it took incredible balls to sit on top of those rockets and get shot into the sky, unsure whether you would ever come back again. By 1969 we knew that the astronauts would not be greeted by monsters or moon maidens upon landing, but there was all sorts of questions on what they would experience. And, compared to today, the sophistication of the computers involved were downright primitive.

What I do remember from that time period was President Nixon proclaiming that from then on July 20 would be known as Moon Day. It didn't really catch on, but in honor of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, Happy Moon Day, everyone!