Hey readers. I know I said I planned to blog more often, but life has been super busy of late I know. Life is ALWAYS busy. I’m reminded of a line from the Lord of the Rings, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.”
There’s a lot of truth in that statement. Time passes quickly. Before long a year, ten, twenty, even fifty have passed. On Sunday, hubs and I had a date night (or actually at date afternoon).
Any of you who have followed me for a while know I have a fascination for the moon. Full moons, super moons, blood moons—doesn’t matter. I’ve spent countless hours outdoors with my camera trying to capture that perfect moon shot. (It has yet to happen.)
A few years ago, I researched Native American names for each of the full moons. I even wrote a short story titled The Blue Moon Murders, which is featured in the anthology Unshod. (Trust me, I’m going somewhere with this.)
Back to the date. This weekend, I got a different view of the moon.
The Apollo 11 command module is now in the Smithsonian.
Guess I’m not ashamed to admit my age, but I was around in 1969 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon almost fifty years ago. I watched the launch on TV. Three days later, while visiting relatives in Alabama, I was able to see Neil Armstrong’s first historic steps on my grandparent’s black and white television. So when I learned Apollo 11 was showing this past weekend, my husband and I decided to go.
I’ve seen a lot of movies, but this was my first time to see a documentary at the theater. I wasn’t disappointed. The video and still shots were amazing, especially considering 1969 technology. (Of note, the images were digitized.) The film held my attention from start to finish—from pre-launch to splash down and into the quarantine chamber.
Quaranteen chamber. I would hate to spend eighteen days locked in there!
The only narration is from the voice of the legendary Walter Cronkite (from his television broadcasts of the event) and actual radio transmission between Houston and the astronauts.
Maybe it’s the historical aspect, but the film entertained me as much as any drama, thriller, or comedy.
Oh and as for my age? A couple of years ago a thirty-something-year-old coworker said to me, “You’ve lived in an age where men walked on the moon. I haven’t.” Made me feel pretty good.
22 Responses
I am old enough to remember the moon landing. I live near Apollo, PA. They celebrate the moon landing every year with a carnival and fireworks.
I’ve not heard of Apollo, PA. I’ll bet they do celebrate. Of course, people in Texas love to remind others the first word spoken from the surface of the moon was “Houston.” (Not my favorite city, so I couldn’t care less!) If it had been Dallas, I’d feel differently. 😀
We want to see the movie! But alas, it’s not playing anywhere near us.:-(
That’s too bad. I think it only has a limited run. Hopefully it will probably be on streaming video soon.
And didn’t we think we would be living in glass pods on the moon by now – but perhaps it’sbest the moon still looks white and unsullied up there.
I agree with you completely! Leave me moon unsoiled. Back then I figured we’d be flying around in spaceships like the Jetsons in the twenty-first century.
I was around in 1969 for that moon landing, too, although I don’t remember it well. What I do remember is being in fifth grade and writing to a “celebrity” as part of a class project. I chose Buzz Aldrin and got an autographed photo. I still vividly remember the thrill of receiving that photo.
I also remember them walking on the moon:) At the time I thought it was a birthday gift…lol. I’ve always been fascinated with the moon and like you getting that perfect shot.
That’s neat, Denise. I have fond memories of that summer. My grandfather passed away the following May, so that last visit was special. He was 85 years old, so he saw lots of changes in his lifetime.
How neat! My brother was a camp counselor one year and had an Apollo astronaut’s son in his cabin. Can’t remember for sure but I think it was Charles Conrad who flew on Apollo 12.
I blinked open my tiny new eyes about three years after this enormous event. I haven’t seen Apollo 11 but would love to. I’ll wait until we can get it on streaming, lol. It’s amazing what they achieved with so little tech back then. 🙂
You’re just a babe! If you get a chance to see this, do. The video and images are amazing!
I was around too. That comment from your co-worker is awesome. It says a lot about our space program.
Doesn’t it, Craig? Seems like we’ve gone backward instead of forward. Now we even have to depend on the Russians to get us to the space station.
I think that’s sad. I’d like to see us get back in the space race. Don’t mind the private companies, but I’d like to see NASA become more prominent.
I agree with you completely!
I just missed the moon landing, but I do remember Walter Cronkite. His voice would be perfect for narrating that documentary, even if it was just his news coverage. It seems appropriate to have done it that way.
I’m looking forward to seeing your perfect moon picture. I know you’ll get it someday!
One of these days, I’ll get back into photography. I haven’t given up on the moon! Yeah, Walter was perfect for this.
We were set to return from “the folks'” in Virginia to our home in Texas, a fifteen hundred mile car trip, AFTER the walk was to occur. If you remember, there were some delays, and we were still watching and waiting with my parents way after midnight EST. We KNEW we should go to bed and get SOME sleep before leaving Virginia around 4 a.m. as planned and arriving home in Texas in plenty of time to go back to school to teach. And it all depended on leaving ON TIME. Yet, what would we have to say if someone, a student perhaps, asked, “What were you doing when man first walked on the moon; did you SEE it”? How could we reply, “It was late; we had gone to bed”? When “it finally happened, we stumbled into bed, slept approximately three hours and then drove about nine hours on the “Superslab” (interstate highways) before giving up and stopping for the night. We made it back in time to have all day Sunday before starting class at 8:00 a.m. Monday CST, but we had a case of “jet lag” plus back-to-school-fatigue for the next full week. We were young then. Now, I doubt we’d survive.LOL
The things we used to do. LOL. Yes, it was history in the making. I vividly recall that night, watching, waiting. I remember being outside looking up at the moon and thinking that there were people up there. Amazing.
The moonwalk was before my time, but I just saw a documentary on it, and also saw the movie Hidden Figures, which was fascinating. I do remember the launch of the first Space Shuttle (and the subsequent tragedies of Challenger and Columbia). Next thing we know we’ll be sending people to Mars 🙂
I haven’t seen Hidden Figures. Wanted to, just never got around to it. I remember well the tragedies of Challenger and Columbia. The Columbia explosion happened close to home.