July 20,1969-one small step for man- Where were you?

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   Credence2posted 6 years ago

   So, where were you?

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      GA Andersonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Really? Can you remember where you were?
      
      As a teenager, I was probably figuring out how to get a girlfriend or soup-up my car. ;-)
      
      GA

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         Credence2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

         GA, I did. I thought of it as one of "those" events when we generally knew where we were and what we were doing when the news broke.
         
         I believed that this was such an event...…..

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            GA Andersonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I agree it was one of those lifetime events Cred. At one time I may have remembered where I was, but you know how it is, they say your memory is the second thing to go.
            
            GA

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   PrettyPantherposted 6 years ago

   I was ten years old and remember spending the day alternating between watching TV and playing outside. I knew it was a big deal because Mom and Dad were glued to the TV. We lived in a small town in Oregon.

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   Randy Godwinposted 6 years ago

   I was busy impregnating my first wife. Not kidding. My daughter was born 9 months later.

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      GA Andersonposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Wow! Two climatic events in one day. You lucky dog.
      
      GA

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         Randy Godwinposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, it was a memorable event, Gus. Both of 'em!

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   Credence2posted 6 years ago

   Panther and Randy thank for sharing this. I have to remember that this was so long ago in reality, that many of our forum participants either were not born yet or were not sentient in regards to the events of the period.
   
   I had passionate interest in the program and always have. I followed every launch since Gemini and Ed White's "walk in space" in 1965. I was even a fan of Orange Tang, the drink of the Astronauts.
   
   At the time, I was to enter a Denver high school as a sophomore that fall. I watched the launch on July 16th with great anticipation. Afterwards, I went to visit grandparents in neighboring Utah and watch the landing on July 20th. My step-grandfather was irritated saying that it was all nonsense and wondering why his baseball game was preempted.
   
   The picture that was transmitted was terrible, that I remember. I could hardly make out light verses shadow.
   
   I look back on it in disappointment, between that event and my seeing "2001" earlier that year, I was believing that by today, we would have "Howard Johnson's", with even Disney having a theme park on the Moon. I thought that transportation from Earth to Moon would be no more daunting than air transportation at that time.
   
   The Challenger  tragedy in 1986 brought us all back to Earth reminding us all of the danger and expense of the  space travel relative to our present stage of technology. No more school teachers or kids on excursion passes.  So, my hope of actually being able to visit the Moon within my lifetime is dashed.
   
   Those were exciting times, when we had a goal and a challenge. I think that the human species needs a frontier if for nothing else to relieve the pressure of simply being in to close proximity to one another. I always believe that the country and its people have lost something precious on account of the loss of a "frontier" or the lack of interest in the same.

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   Randy Godwinposted 6 years ago

   Exciting times indeed. The race to the moon inspired many of us at the time and also created many new aspects of, not only space exploration, but also the byproducts of electronic and scientific discoveries because of the attempt.

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