Have you ever watched tape of the original network broadcasts of the Moon Landing? I recall seeing quite a bit on the 30th anniversary and it just looked like it was from a different world. And it was. So primitive. So optimistic and full of awe. And Uncle Walter was not yet decrepit.
Of course, I hadn't yet made my world premiere 35 years ago this evening, so my memories necessarily come from seeing the Apollo XI Mission through documentaries and such.
But it was interesting to see how television of the time saw it. And it seems like the whole world was watching and feeling unified ---for at least a moment.Anyway, I remember the descent that Armstrong made from the LEM and how very frightened and anxious he seemed to me. Maybe I was just reading something into his behavior that was simply not there. But he went through quite a while of chattering and huffing and talking himself through it. That's my recollection. You won't see that in any news item today or in any documentary I can think of, but if you ever see the raw footage, it is some very human behavior.
And can you imagine being the very first human being who has ever walked on the face of another world?
I sometimes kid myself that the Moon Landings were such an important period in World History that we cannot yet see just how important or momentous it was. But now? I fear that humanity doesn't give a damn about the Next Big Thing. I fear we are condemned to being the small furry animals we are, but could be more than.
I never fail to remember what happened on this day because I hope it will someday be seen as a true birthday for celestial man.