With all the tributes to Walter Cronkite, we got to hear parts of the original broadcast. I burst out laughing when Cronkite said (something like) "Armstrong said that's one small step for man and I didn't catch the second part, did you?" to his fellow newsman. Someone must have given Cronkite the prepared text, because he got it right (in yesterday's rebroadcast) a few seconds later.
Tom Wolfe had a good essay on NASA in today's NYTimes.com
I was a geeky little kid watching in complete and utter awe. I even recorded the sound on my little cassette recorder...and I still have the darn thing!
I know the "space race" was done for many reasons (and a tip of the hat to the Tom Wolfe piece) but it DID galvanize us in some ways and gave us something larger than petty politics to believe in....
I was a grade-schooler who knew the story of the Tower of Babel and I reasoned that if God got pissed over a measly tower, he would surely send a stronger message if humans started cavorting on the moon. I kind of expected some giant thumb to come down and squash the astronauts and the lunar lander like a bug. So I sat there with my family and held my breath...and nothing. Well, one more chip in my belief in religion which was pretty much entirely gone by junior high.
Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
With all the tributes to Walter Cronkite, we got to hear parts of the original broadcast. I burst out laughing when Cronkite said (something like) "Armstrong said that's one small step for man and I didn't catch the second part, did you?" to his fellow newsman. Someone must have given Cronkite the prepared text, because he got it right (in yesterday's rebroadcast) a few seconds later.
ReplyDeleteTom Wolfe had a good essay on NASA in today's NYTimes.com
I was a geeky little kid watching in complete and utter awe. I even recorded the sound on my little cassette recorder...and I still have the darn thing!
ReplyDeleteI know the "space race" was done for many reasons (and a tip of the hat to the Tom Wolfe piece) but it DID galvanize us in some ways and gave us something larger than petty politics to believe in....
Now, I want to go to Mars!
I was half expecting the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteI was a grade-schooler who knew the story of the Tower of Babel and I reasoned that if God got pissed over a measly tower, he would surely send a stronger message if humans started cavorting on the moon. I kind of expected some giant thumb to come down and squash the astronauts and the lunar lander like a bug. So I sat there with my family and held my breath...and nothing. Well, one more chip in my belief in religion which was pretty much entirely gone by junior high.