Just back from an event where Neil Armstrong spoke. This was the 40th anniversary of the splashdown when the Apollo 11 crew got back from the moon. The line to get in was a good quarter mile long. The auditorium filled and we had to watch on a big screen in the overflow. It was still good. The sound system was piped directly to us so it sounded live.
Several people from the Apollo program spoke. Charles Bolden spoke as well. After the talk we saw Gene Kranz in person.
I get a mixed vision for the space program from everybody. Frankly, it leaves me confused. This may be the left over taste after hearing the last talk by Buzz Aldrin. There was a timeline with arrows, comets, mars, moon, phobos and on and on that left me sorta baffled... if not feeling sorry for him. While the others were reminiscent, speaking mainly about the people they worked with, the amazing teamwork, the hardwork etc... Buzz was in space... out there... He seemed out of place. Isn't that terrible to say? It's like saying, "That whack-o charismatic thinks we're some sorta space nut organization." Neil Armstrong began with something like "this place is the place of progress" and ended with "this place is it. It *is*."... I think he knows we don't think we are either *it* or a place of progress. It was quite possibly a challenge if not a reprimand. I don't know. Wish I could come away inspired.
I just saw America as a giant three layer cake slowly slipping apart on a mudslide. I suppose the 60's were much worse... That gives me a bit of confidence :)
In 1492 Spain set foot on "The New World". Now they purposefully let bulls run loose on the streets so they themselves can be chased, gored and trampled. We really need to be careful.
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