Sam: I want to know what you remember about the first time man was on the moon. Do you remember where you were? What was it like? How did people feel about it?
It seems strange to me that I don't remember where I was when it happened. I do remember reading an interview with a woman who commented, "We have enough troubles in our own country." I guess she thought it was a waste of money or that the moon was just another country. I often use her quote, when people totally miss the main idea. There were lots of people who thought it was a government hoax and that it never really happened.
I remember watching on television, the first step on the moon and hearing the great quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
I do remember exactly where I was when I heard that Kennedy was shot and, again,exactly where I was when I heard that the Challenger had exploded with the teacher, Crista McAuliffe on board. I know where I was when I heard about the twin towers.
That semester I was teaching at Mesa Community College and an older woman who was in my class had a daughter working in the Twin Towers. The daughter had stayed home to go to the dentist that day and so had survived. This woman was so shaken at how unpredictable life can be, that she moved back to New York to be near her daughter and grandchildren.
Maybe, the reason I don't remember the exact moment I heard about the landing on the moon is because it came about in stages and was no surprise when it finally happened.
I got to see the John Glenn space capsule in Manila when I was in the Peace Corps. The U.S. sent it around the globe for exhibits. It was in a park not too far from the Peace Corps office the summer we were working in Manila.
I saw some space capsules at the Smithsonian and touched a moon rock there. From an overpass in Reston, Va, I also saw the space shuttle come down the Dulles Toll Road on the back of a truck on its way to be flown back to Florida.
Sorry, Sam. No great stories about the Man on the Moon.
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