One Small Step.....

I lost my hero! I was just a boy when he stepped out onto the moon. Dad got me up gone 3 in the morning. My sister Karen 2 years younger slept on. Mum, Dad and I sat silent and spell bound at the smudgy black and white Images coming from the moon. Mum and Dad held hands and the emotion of the moment was clear. A mild manoured American from Iowa, the perfect man for that momentous moment. Younger than my dad by just 5 years I think.

The rivalry beween the US and Russia was impossible for a boy to understand. That it was a race I got. The Russians put Yuri Gagarin into space first and with out him Neil Armstrong would not have walked on the moon. I'll raise a glass to Yuri while I'm at it, and the Russians. What a wonderful childhood they contributed towards. I took it all for granted. Grandma had followed the Wright brothers progress towards powered flight just a few decades earlier, and she enthusiastically followed the exploits of the Russians and Americans into space on her television (also arriving in her long lifetime). You know, for a while it felt these guys did it for all of us. Their adventures belonged to all of us. British, Swedish, German, Swiss, we all felt part of it I think. Little boys the world over, sitting with their Dads, watching open mouthed.   

I grew up thinking that the world had changed forever. Like most men of my age I expected we would have colonies on Mars by now. Instead we played with our gadgets and toys. Consumerism took the moon from us. So dumb. Right now I hope there is a boy watching, and dreaming of setting foot on Mars. Who ever you are, do it son! Do for those of us that regret that a generation have squandered the opportunity. Carry the torch for those of us too old to go. The world still needs its Neil Armstrongs to literally look up to.

Can't believe your gone. RIP Neil Armstrong.


Next time you look at a full moon, give Neil a wink.