The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: jaybet on July 20, 2009, 05:20:37 PM
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Forty years ago Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren walked on the moon for the first time. I remember watching the landing and the first steps...I remember Walter Cronkite choking up when they landed.
Good stuff. In those days there was some SPIRIT in this country and we were proud....in fact the whole world was proud of us (except the Russians).
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I agree, absolutely fantastic. Anyone else remember exactly where you were and what you were doing? I do. Living room of our cook's house (I was on an archeological dig that summer) with the rest of the crew and her family - maybe fifteen people crammed into the LR of a double wide.
Sorry, can't resist this though. From despair.com, for all of the tin foil hat wearers out there . . .
(http://images.despair.com/products/demotivators/accomplishments.jpg)
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I was in the living room of a tiny Miami apt. in utero, during my mother's 3rd trimester.
But she was watching for me, I was just listening....
Awesome accomplishment. Marshal'ette's "crackberry", has more power than the onboard computer used than.
We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
Pres. John F. Kennedy
for all of the tin foil hat wearers out there . . .
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/twyacht/tinfoilhat.jpg)
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I am not one given to flag pen wearing, flag waving, Lee Greenwood listening, overt patriotism. I just think that that kind of patriotism is a bit cheap and easy. Its doing the real stuff day by day thats hard. You can keep your yellow ribbon bumper stickers, its the young military wife with a small kid depending on food stamps while her husbands over seas that makes me tear up. That being said the fact is that ever since we climbded down from the trees, man has wondered what was on the moon. My whole life I've known there was an American flag flying there. THAT makes me tear up as well. Free minds, free markets and a free society. Don't think it works? Step outside one night and look up. God Bless the USA (okay I don't totally hate Lee Greenwood ;D).
FQ13
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I am not one given to flag pen wearing, flag waving, Lee Greenwood listening, overt patriotism...
FQ13
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Shock !
Shouldn't this comment be over on the confessions thread ::)
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3 Generations of the family gathered at my Uncles house to watch it on the black and white TV.
Any body else remember the Paper model of the Lunar lander given out by the gas stations, Then there were the plastic scale models of the whole rocket that came apart just like the real thing, and pennies with the lunar lander in front of Lincolns nose
"One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind."
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Just got this,
Posted by Ilya Somin:
Buzz Aldrin on the Need for Private Property Rights in Space:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_07_19-2009_07_25.shtml#1248147606
Before the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing ends, it's worth
noting that Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, is a
leading advocate of allowing private property rights in space. I
blogged about some of his ideas in [1]this 2007 post, as well as
considering the more general case for private property beyond Earth.
Unfortunately, Aldrin's article on the subject (coauthored with Taylor
Dinerman) no longer seems to be available online (though I excerpted
some parts in the above post). This [2]Boston Globe article provides a
good summary of proposals to establish private property in space.
References
1. http://www.volokh.com/posts/1172136960.shtml
2. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/05/18/my_space/
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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Shock !
Shouldn't this comment be over on the confessions thread ::)
Any comments on the rest of the post, or should the silence be on the cofessions page as well? Just askin'. ;)
FQ13
PS Call me what you want, I have a pretty thick skin. But don't question my patriotism, because I signed on the dotted line when I was 18. Just like my father, uncle, grandfather and great uncles before me. We've never been a military family, but we have always volunteered to serve. Thats something I don't joke about.
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I watched Moonshot on The History Channel last night, an interesting combination of made-for-TV-movie and video (kinescope?) from the day). Learned one thing - the moon stinks according to Moonshot. There was the clip where Armstrong and Aldrin re-entered the LEM, pressured up, and then started to take off their space gear to chuck it to lighten the take-off load. Aldrin is shown sniffing his fingers and going - onions? skunk? To which Armstrong replied, let's not tell people the moon stinks. Who knew?
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.........Any body else remember the Paper model of the Lunar lander given out by the gas stations, ........"One small step for man, One giant leap for mankind."
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I got three of those paper models from eBay this year. They were Gulf Oil giveaways. I also remember they moved up the schedule for the first moonwalk, as it was scheduled to occur later after they landed. My family and I were swimming in Lake Maurepas and word got around the schedule had been moved up so there was a mad dash of boats back upriver so everyone could get home to watch the moonwalk.
Does anyone remember the Apollo 11 Command Module being trucked across the nation and being put on public display? That was most kewl too.
It's a shame our greatness is diminishing daily. All these things that were accomplished as a nation, by a government of the people, for the people, by the people....the interstate system, the space race, stadiums, parks, solid school systems that truly educated, an awe inspiring military for the common defense....then came the Gimme Great Society. For those who are too young to remember what it was like to walk the streets without fear of crime, to live behind unlocked doors, to know your neighbors would support you in the bad times, to live knowing your government IRS was not a political tool....consider those things and know you are poorer now.
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We were in a city park in Norwalk, CA where the Montgomery Ward's my father worked at was having a large family picnic. They had brought in concession trailers, and there was a small b&w tv on the shelf of one. I remember standing and watching those first steps and listening to Armstrong as he did it. (Can't remember what I had for breakfast an hour and a half ago, or which cup of coffee I'm on for the day, but I remember this, and the Kennedy funeral, as if they were yesterday)
Does anyone remember the Apollo 11 Command Module being trucked across the nation and being put on public display? That was most kewl too.
The Command Module made a stop at a mall a half mile from us (the Buena Park Mall). I bet I went through the display a dozen times in the couple days it was there.
I think I had one of those paper models, but I had so many of the large plastic ones that I can't remember every thing I had concerning NASA.
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Any comments on the rest of the post, or should the silence be on the cofessions page as well? Just askin'. ;)
FQ13
PS Call me what you want, I have a pretty thick skin. But don't question my patriotism, because I signed on the dotted line when I was 18. Just like my father, uncle, grandfather and great uncles before me. We've never been a military family, but we have always volunteered to serve. Thats something I don't joke about.
Nahhhhhhh ... I think I'll stop there. Just feellin' line shock and aw, hit and run abuse for a while ;D
Actually, in my mind the two parts of your post could be taken together or separate. I chose to take it as two separate statements tied to some of your other posts, act like a smart ass, and have a little fun. Welcome to my world today!
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I remember having my uncle drive to about 7 or 8 Gulf Stations to get one of those paper Lunar Modules, but I always wanted one of those Grumman Contractor Model LEMs but didn't know how to get one. About 15 years ago I met someone who still worked at Grumman in their model department and after I brought up the topic, he offered me a pristine contractor LEM model made in the late 60's as well as the original proposal model made in 1962 that Grumman provided along with their written proposal to NASA. It looks completely different than the final version, but it won them the contract, making Grumman the pride and joy of Long Island.
The proposal model he came across was still unpacked in its original box and looks as if it was made yesterday. It is by far and away the rarest of the Lunar Module models with a round green lucite base that says "Proposed Lunar Excursion Module" with Nasa and Grumman logos. Incredibly, it had been stored away since the early 60's with no one at Grumman knowing it was there until then. He was packing up models, as they were shutting down the Grumman model department following their merger with Northrop, and was nice enough to call me to ask if I wanted it as he knew from our conversations how much I liked the other LEM model. He also included a few of the bases the final version LEM came with depending on the year of manufacture, with varying logos and sayings, as well as a smaller LEM model, a mini version of the larger contractor model. These models sit proudly in a model case and remind me everyday of all the wonderful memories I have of all the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. They sit right next to my personalized autographed photo of Neil Armstrong, which he was nice enough to send me years ago after I wrote him a letter.
Here's a link about the history and development of the LEM for those interested.
http://www.ehartwell.com/LM/SCATKellyInterview.htm
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Is it just me or does that 1965 version look like a storm trooper from Star Wars?
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I watched a few related shows, one of which was interviewing all of the men they could who had been on the moon. Buzz Aldren was talking about being the second guy down the ladder, and he said that he and Armstrong decided that he should jump the last two rungs or whatever. In the film you seem him stand on one leg, hanging the other leg out off the rung. Aldren said, "It was at that moment that I decided to take care of a minor bodily function and add some volume to the urine bag. So we ALL have our "firsts" on the moon".
Buzz Aldren...first man to piss on the moon.
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If the Stone wall at Gettysburg is the "high water mark" of the Confederacy, it seems the Moon landing has been the "high water mark" for America. Since that day we have developed "stuff" (computers, cell phones etc.) but we have ACCOMPLISED nothing to compare to that trip.
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I was there with my Boy Scout troop when Apollo 11 took off. I was 10 years old, just about to turn 11. It was one of the more memorable events of my life. We were all (my troop) given official Apollo 11 mission patches. I still have mine.
We were about 5 miles away when the launch took place. I was on the flat roof of an adobe building, watching through my binoculars. Just as the rocket disappeared from sight we were hit by the awesome roar of the Saturn 5 Rocket. The noise was so loud and the earth shook so violently, that I bailed off of the roof. I thought that it might colapse.
It is a moment forever frozen in my memory. In a small way, I felt that we were part of history, just by being there. We left for home after the launch. I was even more excited as I sat glued to the TV when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon. At that very moment I remember how proud I was to be an American and I always will be.
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What I find almost unbelievable is there are actually people who still think we "faked" it. I've come to notice that most who believe this total nonsense weren't alive when the Apollo Program took place. As Charlie Duke said, "We went to the Moon 9TIMES! Why would we fake it 9 TIMES!" You can actually see how this nation is "dumbing down" with much of the nonsense the younger generation believes. Of course we have the sheer genius of Rosie O'Donnell, "This is the first time fire actually melted steel!" Just when you think they can't get any dumber. Bill T.
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What I find almost unbelievable is there are actually people who still think we "faked" it. I've come to notice that most who believe this total nonsense weren't alive when the Apollo Program took place. As Charlie Duke said, "We went to the Moon 9TIMES! Why would we fake it 9 TIMES!" You can actually see how this nation is "dumbing down" with much of the nonsense the younger generation believes. Of course we have the sheer genius of Rosie O'Donnell, "This is the first time fire actually melted steel!" Just when you think they can't get any dumber. Bill T.
NEVER underestimate the human capacity for stupidity. It will bite you every time.
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Nahhhhhhh ... I think I'll stop there. Just feellin' line shock and aw, hit and run abuse for a while ;D
Actually, in my mind the two parts of your post could be taken together or separate. I chose to take it as two separate statements tied to some of your other posts, act like a smart ass, and have a little fun. Welcome to my world today!
Peace M58, I was not in a great mood last night. Nothing Personal.You are one of the good guys.
FQ13